Primary and Secondary Colors

Primary colors are the three special colors you cannot make by mixing, and secondary colors are the three colors you get when you mix two primary colors together.

Reading is good — doing is better. Practice Primary and Secondary Colors as an interactive lesson.

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Definition

In art, primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. They are called primary because no other colors can be mixed together to make them — they are the starting colors. When you mix any two primary colors together, you get a secondary color. The three secondary colors are orange, green, and purple.

Remember the rule

Red + Yellow = Orange, Yellow + Blue = Green, Blue + Red = Purple — mix any TWO primaries and you get a secondary!

Key words

Primary color: One of the three starting colors — red, yellow, or blue — that cannot be made by mixing other colors.
Secondary color: A color you make by mixing exactly two primary colors together. The secondary colors are orange, green, and purple.
Mix: To stir or blend two colors together to make a new color.
Color wheel: A circle that shows all the primary and secondary colors in order and how they relate to each other.
Hue: Another word for color, like red or blue.

Worked examples

You have red paint and yellow paint. What color do you get when you mix them?

→ Orange · Red and yellow are both primary colors, and mixing them makes the secondary color orange.

You have yellow paint and blue paint. What color do you get when you mix them?

→ Green · Yellow plus blue makes green, a secondary color.

You have blue paint and red paint. What color do you get when you mix them?

→ Purple · Blue plus red makes purple, a secondary color.

Your teacher asks you to name all three primary colors. What do you say?

→ Red, yellow, and blue

Your teacher asks you to name all three secondary colors. What do you say?

→ Orange, green, and purple

Can you mix two colors together to make red?

→ No — red is a primary color, which means no other colors can be mixed to create it.

Common mistakes

Thinking purple is made from red and yellow — purple comes from blue and red, not red and yellow.
Forgetting that secondary colors always need EXACTLY two primary colors — mixing all three primaries together makes brown or gray, not a secondary color.
Calling green or orange a primary color — only red, yellow, and blue are primary colors.
Mixing too much of one color and getting confused — equal amounts of each primary color work best when first learning.
Thinking you can make yellow or blue by mixing — primary colors cannot be made by mixing any other colors.

FAQs

Why are red, yellow, and blue called PRIMARY colors?

They are called primary because they come first — they are the base colors. You cannot mix any other colors to make them. Every other color starts with these three.

What happens if I mix all three primary colors together?

You get a muddy brown or gray color, not a secondary color. Secondary colors only happen when you mix exactly two primary colors.

Is pink a primary or secondary color?

Pink is neither. Pink is made by mixing red with white. Primary and secondary colors do not include white or black.

Why do crayons have so many colors if there are only six primary and secondary colors?

All the other colors, like pink, brown, and teal, are made by mixing primary and secondary colors together in different amounts. The six basic colors are just the starting point.

Does it matter how much of each color I use?

Yes! If you use a lot more of one color, your new color will look different. For example, more red than yellow makes a reddish-orange, while equal parts makes a true orange.

Is the color wheel something I need to memorize?

It helps to remember the order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple going around the wheel. Each secondary color sits between the two primary colors used to make it.

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