Nowadays, colours are present in almost all visual areas that influence our daily lives. Whether in advertising, cinema, video games or graphic design, the role of colours is essential to convey emotions, highlight elements or create a visual identity.
Colours are capable of evoking feelings, putting us in certain moods or even fostering a sense of belonging. Think, for example, of the colours of your favourite football team or the paint you choose to decorate your room. Colour theory has been analysed since the 18th century, when Isaac Newton carried out studies on light and colour. Later, other scientists, such as Charles Hayter, further developed this theory by suggesting that all colours could be obtained from just three primary colours.
What are the primary colors?
Primary colours are those that cannot be obtained by mixing other colours. All other colours can be created from these colours, both secondary and tertiary, and other chromatic variations. There are different models that determine which these primary colours are, depending on whether they are light, pigment or traditional models:
- Primary light colors (RGB): Red, green and blue. This model is mainly used in digital displays.
- Primary pigment colors (CMY): Cyan, magenta and yellow. It is mainly used in printing.
- Traditional primary colors (RYB): Red, yellow and blue. It is the best known model in fine arts.
Once we understand what these colors are, we can understand how secondary and tertiary colors are generated from them. Although we must remember that any combination of the actual primary colors can generate only a limited range of other colors.
Properties of color
In addition to knowing how colors are obtained from the primaries, it is essential to understand the properties of color, which influence how we perceive them and how we can use them in different contexts:
- Tone: It is the name we give to a specific color, such as sky blue or orange-red.
- Saturation: Indicates the purity of a color. The less gray a color has, the higher its saturation.
- Brilliance: It defines the amount of light that a surface reflects. A bright color reflects a lot of light, while a dark one reflects little.
- Brightness: Compared to a white surface, luminosity measures the amount of light a color reflects, which also makes it more or less intense.
Primary color mixing
Secondary colors are formed by mixing two primary colors. By mixing equal parts of two primary colors, we get a secondary color, and depending on the proportions of the mixture, we will also get different shades. A key aspect of color mixing is how the results vary depending on the color model we use:
- Secondary light colors (RGB): Cyan, magenta and yellow.
- Secondary colors pigment (CMY): Orange, green and purple.
The Orange
To obtain the color orange, the primary colors red and yellow are mixed together. From this mixture, a deeper orange can be obtained by adding more red, or a softer one by adding more yellow. Mixing these colors in the right proportion will allow you to obtain a bright and attractive orange.
The green
To make green, you mix the primary colors blue and yellow. Depending on how much blue or yellow you use, the shade of green can vary from a lighter, more vibrant green to a darker green, like emerald green.
Violet
Violet is obtained by mixing blue and red. As with the other colors, adjusting the proportions will allow you to obtain a cooler shade of violet if you add more blue, or a warmer shade if you add more red.
Primary color wheel
The color wheel, also called chromatic circle, is an orderly representation of the different colors and tones. This tool allows you to visualize the relationship between primary, secondary and tertiary colors, as well as discover what the complement of a color is or how they can be combined to obtain other shades.
The color wheel can be represented in many ways, from a simple scale of colors to more complex representations with colored stars such as the hexagram. In the traditional color wheel, blue is the complementary color to orange, red to green, and yellow to violet.
These types of tools are essential for painters, designers and anyone who works with colors, as they allow a better understanding of how to harmonize or contrast colors with each other.
How to make brown with primary colors
Brown is a tertiary color, and although it may seem complicated to obtain, it can actually be created by mixing the three primary colors: red, blue and yellow. There are several ways to get brown, but the two most common are:
- Mix a orange (red + yellow) with blue to get a dark brown.
- Mix a Verde (blue + yellow) with red to get a warmer brown.
The resulting brown can be adjusted in hue by varying the amount of each primary color. For a darker brown, add more blue; for a warmer brown, add more red.
Color perception
Color perception is a complex phenomenon that takes place in our brain thanks to the electrical impulses that come from the photoreceptor cells of the retina. These cells, known as cones y Canes, allow us to process light and differentiate between different colors. Cones, in particular, are responsible for identifying colors, while rods are more sensitive to light and allow us to see in low-light conditions.
It is important to note that color perception can vary from one person to another. Color blindness is an example of how the inability of some cones to detect certain colors leads to an altered perception of those colors.
This fascinating complexity in color perception has given rise to entire fields of study, and is part of what makes color such a powerful and versatile tool in art and design.
Understanding color theory provides us with valuable tools for creating striking color combinations, whether we want to evoke a specific feeling through color in a film, or we’re designing a new brand logo. Primary, secondary, and tertiary colors are essential for developing a balanced and effective color palette, no matter the context.