Arts
What is the colour wheel?
Quick answer
The colour wheel is a circle that arranges colours to show how they relate. Colours opposite each other, like blue and orange, are complementary and make strong contrast.
In one sentence
The colour wheel is a circle of colours that helps artists see which colours go well together and how to mix them.
Explained
Imagine the colours of the rainbow bent into a circle: that is the colour wheel. People have used the idea for hundreds of years. The scientist Isaac Newton arranged the colours of the spectrum in a circle in the early 1700s. Artists now use it as a map for mixing and choosing colours.
palette
rainbow
paintbrush
A typical 12-colour wheel has three layers:
- Primary colours: red, yellow and blue, spaced evenly.
- Secondary colours: orange, green and purple, each between two primaries.
- Tertiary colours: six in-between colours, such as red-orange or blue-green. See primary and secondary colours.
The wheel also shows useful colour schemes:
- Complementary colours are directly opposite each other: red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple. Put them side by side and they make each other look brighter. Mixed together, they dull to a brownish grey. Sports teams and logos often use them for strong contrast.
- Analogous colours sit next to each other, such as yellow, yellow-green and green. They look calm and blend together, like a sunset or a forest.
- Warm and cool halves. Reds, oranges and yellows feel warm, and blues, greens and purples feel cool. See warm and cool colours.
Try making your own: draw a circle, divide it into 12 slices, and fill in the colours using only red, yellow and blue paint, plus white. Place yellow at the top, then go around the circle mixing. It is also helpful to know that rainbows are made of light split into colours; see light.
Examples
| Scheme | Example | Feeling |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | blue and orange | bold, lively |
| Analogous | yellow, yellow-green, green | gentle, harmonious |
| Primary | red, yellow, blue | bright, playful |
Common mistakes
- Confusing complementary and analogous. Complementary are opposite, analogous are next-door neighbours.
- Thinking the wheel is fixed. Different wheels (paint, print, light) have different primaries.
- Mixing complementary colours expecting a bright result. They make brown or grey.
Quick quiz
The colour wheel
Check what you know with 4 quick questions.
Question 1 of 4
Which colour is opposite red on the traditional red-yellow-blue wheel?
Practise it
Try it
Colouring pages to try colour schemes
For grown-ups
Related topics
Primary and secondary colours
Red, yellow and blue are the primary colours in painting: you cannot make them by mixing. Mixing two primaries gives a secondary colour: orange, green or purple.
Warm and cool colours
Warm colours are reds, oranges and yellows, which remind us of sun and fire. Cool colours are blues, greens and purples, which remind us of water, ice and sky.
Light
Light is a form of energy that travels in straight lines, very fast. We see things when light from them enters our eyes, either because they make light or because they reflect it.
Perspective drawing
Perspective drawing is a way to make a flat picture look three-dimensional. Things that are farther away look smaller, and parallel lines seem to meet at a vanishing point on the horizon.
Musical instruments
Musical instruments make sound in different ways: by plucking or bowing strings, blowing air, or hitting. In an orchestra they are grouped as strings, woodwind, brass and percussion.
Musical notes
Musical notes are written symbols that show which sound to play and for how long. Their position on a five-line staff gives the pitch, and their shape gives the length.