Color Theory Terms & Images

• Color Wheel – A circle with different colored sectors used to show the relationship between hues.
• Hue – A pure color from the color wheel that has not been mixed with black or white.
• Saturation –  The intensity of a color, expressed as the degree to which it differs from white or black.
• Primary Colors – The three colors from which, theoretically, all other colors can be mixed:  red, yellow, and blue.
• Secondary Colors – The three colors which can be made by mixing two primaries in equal proportion: orange, green, and violet. 
• Tertiary Colors – Colors which can be made by mixing a primary color and a secondary color.
• Triadic Colors – Color relationships based on any three equidistant hues as shown on the color wheel.
• Complimentary Colors – Colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel that, when combined in the right proportions, neutralize each other.