Show me the primary colors

Color Basics | Usability.gov

A color wheel is an illustrative model of color hues around a circle.  It shows the relationships between the primary, secondary, and intermediate/ tertiary colors and helps demonstrate color temperature. Digital teams communicate exact colors through the use of hex codes.

Understanding the Color Wheel

Many color wheels are shown using 12 colors.  Using this color wheel as an example, it can be read as follows:

• Three Primary Colors (Ps): Red, Yellow, Blue
• Three Secondary Colors (S’): Orange, Green, Violet
• Six Tertiary Colors (Ts):  Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green, Blue-Green, Blue-Violet, Red-Violet, which are formed by mixing a primary with a secondary

It’s important to note that some people add more intermediates, for 24 total named colors, and some color wheels show interior points and circles, which represent color mixtures.

Color Temperature

The colors on the red side of the wheel are warm; the green side of the wheel has the cooler colors. These color temperature designations are absolute. More subtle color temperature relationships are relative, meaning that each color on the warm side of the wheel can be known as cool, and colors on the cools side of the wheel can be known as warm depending on the relationship to their neighboring color. Colors from the same hue, for instance red, can also be warmer or cooler than one another.

Color temperatures affect us both psychologically and perceptually by helping us determine how objects appear positioned.

Neutrals

Neutral colors include black, white, gray, tans, and browns. They’re commonly combined with brighter accent colors but they can also be used on their own in designs. The meanings and impressions of neutral colors depend more so upon the colors around them.

Color Models: CMYK vs. RGB

There are two models for colors.  They have different purposes and different attributes.  They are as follows:

• CMYK Color Models: Stands for cyan, magenta, and yellow. It applies to painting and printing.  The CMYK model is a subtractive model, meaning that colors are created through absorbing wavelengths of visible light. The wavelengths of light that don’t get absorbed are reflected, and that reflected light ends up being the color we see.
• RGB Color Models: RGB stands for red, green, and blue. It applies to computers, televisions, and electronics. The RGB model is an additive model, meaning that colors are created through light waves that are added together in particular combinations in order to produce colors.

Hex Codes

To name colors in web design, teams use hexademal code. All hexadermal codes:

• Start with a hash mark (#)
• Consist of three pairs of characters sequenced together (totaling of six characters), with each pair controlling one of the primary additive colors (red, green, blue)
• Those six characters following the hash mark consist of ten numerals (0-9) and/ or six letters (a-f)

It is easy to identify patterns in the hex codes some colors; see SmashingMagazine’s great chart  at the right for this. Some things to know include:

• 00 is a lack of primary
• ff is the primary at full strength

To find additive colors, start with black and change each pair to ff:

• #000000 is black (no primaries)
• #ff0000 is the brightest red
• #00ff00 is the brightest green
• #0000ff is the brightest blue

To find subtractive colors, start with white and change each pair to 00:

• #ffffff is white (all primaries
• #00ffff is the brightest cyan
• #ff00ff is the brightest magenta
• #ffff00 is the brightest yellow

It is also possible to abbreviate some hex numbers.   For instances #fae expands to #ffaaee and #09b expands to #0099bb.

Additional Resources

• Color Meaning
• Color Pallets
• Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color 
• The Code Side of Color 
• Color Theory 101: Deconstructing 7 Famous Brands' Color Palettes 
• Color 
• Color Meanings 
• Color Wheel Pro: Color Meaning 

What's the Difference? Find out at Color Wheel Artist

Primary colors are everywhere when we take the time to notice.  So are Secondary and Tertiary colors. As a creative person, you are likely inspired by the colors you see in the world. Without a doubt you might be moved to capture the brilliance in a painting.

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But as mentioned in another post, artists work with pigments which are Subtractive Color. As a result we often end up with muddy colors that don't look anything like we envisioned.

For instance you may want to paint the delicious-looking strawberries above. However, it's not enough to just use red paint. You know this of course. However, the trouble begins when you mix in other pigments. Instead of luscious reds, you may get frustrated because the results are sometimes drab, dirty colors instead.

Obviously, you want to mix yummy-looking colors that almost look good enough to eat. Therefore, you must understand the root of every paint pigment you use. 

Primary Colors are Called That for a Reason

First and foremost, the Primary Colors, Yellow, Red and Blue, are at the top of any color structure. That's because you can think of the three Primaries as the original parents of all the future generations of colors.

In Theory, Primary Colors are the root of every other color. 

So in other words, you could conceivably mix gazillions of colors with only three pure Primary pigments of Yellow, Red and Blue. Of course that's what they teach us in school. However, as I wrote in a previous Color Wheel post, color is not an exact science.

The problem is paint pigment never works like that in real life. For instance, if you mix Cadmium Red + Ultramarine Blue, you'll likely be sadly disappointed. If you were expecting a deep rich Violet (Purple), the resulting Brown will be a total surprise. 

To understand why, we need to look at paint pigments. A Primary Yellow, Red or Blue paint color usually refers to a paint that contains only one pigment. They are unmixed pigments that can't be created by mixing other colors.

Paint is manufactured with organic, mineral and chemical pigments. As a result, there are many different pure Yellow, Red and Blue pigment paints available.

In our example above, Cadmium Red is a warm pure hue,  leaning toward Orange. Blue and Orange are Complementary Colors. Brown is the neutralized result we get from mixing Complementary colors. In this case it's pure Blue + pure Orangey/Red. This result is only great if you actually want a rich Brown.

In this example, if you want to mix a rich Purple instead, use a cool pure Red such as Quinacridone Red. That's because this pure pigment leans away from Orange and mixes harmoniously with the cool pure Blue.

Painting Tips for Primary Colors

*  On the whole, my advice would be to have six Primary Colors in your paint kit. 

*  These would include Yellow, Red and Blue that lean toward the warm side. And in addition it will be helpful to have another set of Yellow, Red and Blue that lean toward the cool side of the color wheel. Just remember to make sure they are unmixed, pure pigments.

Secondary Colors are Second in Line

​

Next come the three Secondary colors, Orange, Purple and Green. Think of the Secondary colors as the children of the three Primaries as shown above.

​In color theory we are taught that the Secondary colors are mixed like this:

​

• Yellow  +  Red  =  ORANGE
• Red  +  Blue  =  PURPLE
• Blue  +  Yellow  =  GREEN

Again as explained earlier, Color Theory is correct on the surface. It shows us how colors interact in a perfect world. In other words, it serves as a general compass to point us in the right direction. 

However, paint color in the real world is another thing entirely. This is why so many artists think a Color Wheel is useless. They mix Red and Blue hoping to get Purple. But if you refer back to my example in the previous section where we mixed Cadmium Red with Ultramarine Blue, you'll see the theory doesn't seem to work. In this case, the result is an unexpected Brown. Before long, their Color Wheel gets put aside, never to be looked at again.  

We'll be exploring the inner secrets of a color wheel in a later post. In the meantime concentrate on getting a basic understanding the Primary Colors, Secondary and Tertiary colors.

Painting Tips for Secondary Colors

*  In general, it's not really necessary to buy Secondary colors. Yes, it's true that you can mix a really broad range of Secondary colors from three warm and three cool Primary colors. But in practice, that's sometimes too much work when you're painting.

*  My suggestion is to have at least one pure Orange, one pure Purple and one pure Green on hand. If your budget allows it, you can get three that lean toward cool and three that lean toward warm. Again, let me remind you. Your mixtures will be cleaner and much easier to control if you stick with pure pigment paint color.

Tertiary Colors are the In-Betweens

Finally the remaining six colors are referred to as the Tertiary Colors. Think of these as the six grandchildren of the Primary Colors.

Again, Color Theory teaches us that each Tertiary color is the result of one Primary Color mixed with one of its nearest Secondary colors. Therefore we end up with a new color somewhere in between.

• Yellow  +  Orange  =  YELLOW/ORANGE
• Red  +  Orange  =  RED/ORANGE
• Red  +  Purple  =  RED/PURPLE
• Blue  +  Purple  =  BLUE/PURPLE
• Blue  +  Green  =  BLUE/GREEN
• Yellow  +  Green  =  YELLOW/GREEN

As explained earlier, in practical terms, we artists can quickly find ourselves mixing truly ugly colors. If we follow the theory too literally, a lot of paint will get thrown away. It's always best to try out some test samples first. 

Painting Tips for Tertiary Colors

*  Tertiary colors are truly gorgeous because of their complexity. When you go to an art supply store and see the beautiful array of colors, it's so tempting to buy lots.

*  Don't let yourself be seduced. Pre-mixed Tertiary paint colors can easily get you into a huge dull  mess of clashing colors. Unless you totally understand how pigments will react to each other, it's best to stick with pure Primary colors and pure Secondary colors.

*  If you're adventurous, go ahead and buy yourself some Tertiary colors. Just be sure they contain as few pigments as possible. There should be no more than two pigments in the mixture, a Primary Color and a Secondary Color. To be clear, when more pigments are used, the chance of them clashing with your other colors rises about 80%.

Let's Review What You Learned

• Primary Yellow, Primary Red and Primary Blue are considered the root of every other color. They are colors that can't be created by a mixture.
• The Secondary colors are Orange, Purple and Green. They are the 'children' of each pair of Primary colors.
• Tertiary colors are the six 'in-between' colors. They are each a mixture of one Primary Color plus its nearest Secondary. They are complex and seductive. But beware!
• If you're a painter and want clear, harmonious colors when you paint, keep it simple.  Work with 3 pure warm Primary Colors + 3 pure cool Primary Colors. 
• You can paint faster and more spontaneously,  if you add a few Secondary pigments to your palette. As I said before, try to find a single pigment Orange + a single pigment Purple + a single pigment Green.

BONUS TIP: ​  Always get familiar with how your paint palette mixes before you start painting. Take a little time to do some mixing tests.

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Colors in English with Russian translation 🌈

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The colors of the rainbow are part of the main lexicon - without knowing the shades of colors in English, you can’t ask the seller to talk about store to bring you a lilac sweater and even admire the golden autumn in New England. Try to spend the whole day without naming colors even in Russian, and you will see for yourself how difficult it is to do without them.

In this article we have collected all the colors in English: name, transcription and pronunciation. You will learn the names of rare, non-basic shades. Any child already at the age of 4 knows the palette of primary colors, but not even all adults can say exactly what purple - means, we will also deal with these difficulties in the subject.

Read also our articles - the most popular male and female names in English!

Colors of the rainbow: translation table

How do you spell color in English? There are two ways: Color and Color. Both are correct, read the same way and are actively used in speech. Unless in England they write color more often, and in the USA - color.

In addition to color / color, other terms are used in English to describe color: tint (low tide), hue - tone and shade - shade.

As in the Russian rainbow, in the English 7 colors:

Russian-speaking children memorize the sequence of colors in the rainbow with the help of a mnemonic trick - the phrase "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting. " And young Englishmen for the same purpose memorize the phrase Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain (“Richard of York gave the battle in vain”).

In addition to the colors of the rainbow, the list of basic shades includes:

• Brown - brown (brown) [braun]
• White - white (white) [waɪt]
• Black - black (black) [blæk]
• Pink - pink (pink) [pɪŋk]
• Gray/grey [ɡreɪ]

Translation of colors from English into Russian can be allegorical. After all, figurative meanings have also been attached to different colors in the culture of peoples from time immemorial.

For example, in Russian “red” often means “beautiful”, and “black” often means “gloomy, tragic, bad”. English also has color associations: the word green (green) often refers to someone inexperienced and young (green workman is an inexperienced worker).

Blue (blue) is sometimes translated as "sad, dreary" - hence the name of the music blues. Gray (gray) can also be translated as "gloomy" or "bleak" (grey thoughts - gloomy thoughts). White (white) is often translated as "innocent, harmless" (white lies - an innocent lie, a white lie).

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Shade Dictionary: shades in English

Now you know the main colors in English. But this is not enough to make your speech accurate and figurative. It would also be nice to remember the names of shades that are very often used in English speech. To make it easier for you, we have broken these shades into primary colors.

Red

• Carmine
• Auburn - reddish chestnut
• Burgundy - wine
• Crimson - raspberry
• Scarlet - scarlet
• Ruby

Pink

• Magenta
• Coral - coral (coral) [ˈkɒrəl]
• Raspberry color
• Salmon - pink-orange, salmon

Orange

• Copper
• Flame - fire orange
• Tangerine - tangerine

Yellow

• Golden
• Amber
• Sand
• Saffron - saffron
• Cream

Green

• Emerald
• Olive
• Lime
• Mint

Blue

• Navy blue
• Sapphire
• Ultramarine

Blue

• Turquoise - Turquoise
• Azure - Azure
• Aquamarine - Aqua

Purple

• Lilac
• Purple
• Lavender

White

• Ivory
• Eggshell
• Snowy

Gray

• Silver
• Ashen
• Platinum

Brown

• Beige
• Ecru - grayish beige
• Rust - rusty
• Maroon - red-brown
• Fawn - Tan
• Khaki - Khaki

Sometimes it is difficult to translate the names of flowers from Russian into English and vice versa. For example, in Russian “blue” and “blue” are two different colors, while English light blue and dark blue are shades of the same color.

And speaking of a person red (red) or ginger (ginger), the British want to say that he is red. The perception and description of colors is a delicate matter, and even a professional translator sometimes encounters difficulties.

Now you know all the main colors in English with translation, do not confuse purple and pink and easily remember what color oranges are.

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Describing the intensity of a color

Sometimes the name of a color in English does not quite convey the shade you want to describe. Adjectives come to the rescue, which will allow you to accurately determine the color - it is advisable to learn them too.

Here are the most basic words that are most often used with names of colors:

• Light - light [laɪt]
• Dark - dark [dɑ:k]
• Bright - bright [braɪt]
• Dull [dʌl]
• Mat [mæt]
• Pale - pale [peɪl]
• Deep [di:p]
• Natural [ˈnæʧr(ə)l]
• Pastel - pastel, gentle [pæsˈtel]
• Shiny - shining [ˈʃaɪnɪ]
• Vivid - bright [ˈvɪvɪd]
• Warm - warm [wɔ: m]

In addition, the suffix -ish is very often used with flowers: it is added when they want to say that the color is unexpressed, muted. Here is an example that will clearly show how this suffix changes the name of the shade:

• Green (green) - greenish (greenish)
• Gray (gray) - grayish (grayish)
• Red (red) - reddish (reddish).

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Conditional convent sentences in English

Color therapy. The influence of color on the well-being of the child.

Even in ancient times, people noticed that the color of clothing, household items, lighting, etc. able to influence the physical and psychological state of a person. On the basis of studies of their influence, color therapy was formed - a technique for improving human health with the help of color.

Goethe was the first to discover the positive and negative influence of color on the human psyche, thus laying the foundations of modern color therapy. “Colors act on the soul: they can evoke feelings, evoke emotions and thoughts that calm and excite us, give rise to sadness and joy.” V. Bekhterev argued: "A skillfully selected range of colors can have a beneficial effect on the nervous system better than some potions."

In psychodiagnostics, there are “color methods” that allow you to make a portrait of a person, determine his current psychophysiological state, etc. “Show me your favorite colors and I'll tell you who you are,” the outstanding Swiss doctor and psychologist Max Luscher said something like this.

Preschool children often call red, green, yellow their favorite colors - this indicates that the child is developing normally, she is interested in everything new, bright, unusual. If the child's favorite colors are black and white, this indicates his isolation.

According to E. Rabkin, all colors are divided into two groups - passive and active. The first group includes monochrome colors - white, gray, black. There are much more active colors, they differ in tone, saturation, shades, which are due to the length of light waves.

Red. From a physiological point of view, the red color primarily affects the heart, blood circulation, stimulates the immune system, activates the metabolism, so it is able to warm the body and enliven the human senses. In color therapy, this color is used when a person's vitality needs support or restoration, when it is necessary to fill the body with new forces.

Pink calms the nervous system, improves mood, promotes muscle relaxation and deep sleep. This color helps to recover even with serious illnesses.

Yellow color will help with a sad mood, constant passivity. It helps to learn to relate to events more easily, to get rid of useless worries. This color has a positive effect on the melancholy, prone to internal conflicts, having problems in communication.

Yellow is associated with the human solar plexus and the entire nervous system. It gently stimulates and strengthens the nervous system, activates logic, promotes the ability to clearly express thoughts.

Orange color. Since the color orange is created by mixing red and yellow, it has the properties of both of these colors, helping to increase activity. In physiological terms, the orange color contributes to the overall strengthening of the body, normalizes the activity of the endocrine system. This color gives a feeling of psychological freedom, reduces emotional instability.

Green. With a feeling of apathy and indifference to everything, if you want to be open and calm, green helps. Green contributes to the stable growth of mental performance, concentration. The influence of green creates a sense of peace and balance, peace and renewal.

Blue color. Psychologists recommend blue for people who need a sense of security. It creates a positive psychotherapeutic effect in melancholy, hysteria, epilepsy.

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