The Color Wheel
Color Vocabulary
1. Spectral colors—the arrangement of colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.
2. Hue—the name of a spectral color (can be interchanged with the word color).
3. Primary hues—colors that can’t be made by mixing. Red, blue and yellow are primary.
4. Secondary hues—colors that are made by mixing two primaries together. Red and yellow make orange. Blue and yellow make green. Red and blue make violet.
5. Intermediate hues—colors that are made by mixing a primary color and its adjacent secondary color. Red and orange make red-orange. Yellow and orange make yellow-orange. Yellow and green make yellow-green. Blue and green make blue-green. Blue and violet make blue-violet. Red and violet make red-violet.
6. Color wheel—a tool for organizing color, or a spectrum bent into a circle.
7. Color scheme—a plan for organizing color.
8. Value—refers to the lightness or darkness of a color.
9. Tint—refers to a light value of a color, or a color plus white.
10. Shade—refers to a dark value of a color, or a color plus black.
11. Monochromatic colors—one color and the tints and shades of that color, or a color plus white and black.
12. Complementary colors—colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel. Red and green, blue and orange, or yellow and violet are complements.
13. Intensity—the brightness or dullness of a color. You can change a color’s intensity by adding its complement to dull it.
14. Analogous colors—colors that sit side by side on the color wheel. For example, blue, blue-green, green and yellow-green are analogous.
15. Warm colors—colors that are associated with heat, warmth, the sun, etc. Red, orange and yellow are warm colors.
16. Cool colors—colors that are associated with cold, snow, grass, etc. Blue, green and violet are cool colors.
17. Neutral colors—a color not associated with a hue, such as black, white, gray and brown.
1. Spectral colors—the arrangement of colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.
2. Hue—the name of a spectral color (can be interchanged with the word color).
3. Primary hues—colors that can’t be made by mixing. Red, blue and yellow are primary.
4. Secondary hues—colors that are made by mixing two primaries together. Red and yellow make orange. Blue and yellow make green. Red and blue make violet.
5. Intermediate hues—colors that are made by mixing a primary color and its adjacent secondary color. Red and orange make red-orange. Yellow and orange make yellow-orange. Yellow and green make yellow-green. Blue and green make blue-green. Blue and violet make blue-violet. Red and violet make red-violet.
6. Color wheel—a tool for organizing color, or a spectrum bent into a circle.
7. Color scheme—a plan for organizing color.
8. Value—refers to the lightness or darkness of a color.
9. Tint—refers to a light value of a color, or a color plus white.
10. Shade—refers to a dark value of a color, or a color plus black.
11. Monochromatic colors—one color and the tints and shades of that color, or a color plus white and black.
12. Complementary colors—colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel. Red and green, blue and orange, or yellow and violet are complements.
13. Intensity—the brightness or dullness of a color. You can change a color’s intensity by adding its complement to dull it.
14. Analogous colors—colors that sit side by side on the color wheel. For example, blue, blue-green, green and yellow-green are analogous.
15. Warm colors—colors that are associated with heat, warmth, the sun, etc. Red, orange and yellow are warm colors.
16. Cool colors—colors that are associated with cold, snow, grass, etc. Blue, green and violet are cool colors.
17. Neutral colors—a color not associated with a hue, such as black, white, gray and brown.