Itten's color wheel
Click on a color to learn more about how each color is classified
Primary Colors | Secondary Colors | Tertiary Colors |
---|---|---|
Primary Red | Orange | Yellow Orange & Red Orange |
Primary Yellow | Green | Yellow Green & Blue Green |
Primary Blue | Violet (purple) | Blueish Violet & Magenta |
Primary colors
The three primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. On the Itten's color wheel they are positioned in the center triangle as every other color on the color wheel is made from them.
Secondary colors
If the inner triangle holds the primary colors, then the three colors around it, forming the sides of the hexagon are called the secondary colors. They are called this because they are the colors that are made from mixing any two primaries together. Blue mixed with yellow makes green, red and blue make purple, and yellow and red make orange.
Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors are colors that are made by mixing a secondary color with a primary color. They are a total of six tertiary colors which are yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, and yellow-green.