Can you imagine a world in black and white? It's difficult, right? Everything that surrounds us has color, and when you go out for a walk on a mountain or on a beach, you realize the great variety of tones that there are, many of them Tertiary colors.
A painter, whenever he wants to make a work of art, must use a series of techniques that are represented by handling and combining colors. And by the way, identifying and recognizing colors is a very interesting branch. So is how tertiary colors are discovered.
What are tertiary colors?
These colors are the result of combining a primary and a secondary one. Mixes like this result in purplish red, orangey yellow, greenish blue, greenish yellow, orange red, purplish blue, among others.
To understand it better, let's see which are the primary colors and which are the secondary colors.
Colores primarios
Primary color is the one that cannot be produced from mixing other, and with which a greater range of tones can be mixed. They are unique and unrepeatable, and they are the key piece from which the color wheel is built - we will see what it is below - in which they are first placed in equidistant positions, then the secondary ones and finally the tertiary ones.
At the moment, it cannot be said that there is a universal theory that says that the primary colors are "this, this other and this". Yes there are four different theories, which are:
RGB model (from English RED, green y Blue): red, green and blue.
CMY model (from English cyan, magenta, and yellow): cyan, magenta, and yellow.
Model RYB (from the English RED, yellow y Blue): red, yellow and blue.
Psychological primary color: red, yellow and blue.
One of the most striking curiosities is that if the three colors are mixed in the same proportions, the color black is obtained.
Secondary colors are obtained from the mixture of two primary colors, and which in turn is a complementary color to a third primary color. To distinguish them from tertiary colors, in theory you should resort to mixing two primaries in the same proportions, but sometimes you can have serious problems getting a secondary color.
The secondary color, like the primary color, is placed within a circle in an equidistant position. When mixing with a primary one that is complemented, a new grayish or brownish color is obtained.
The secondary colors are, depending on the color model, the following:
RGB model: cyan, magenta, and yellow.
CMY model: orange, green and purple.
Tertiary colors, blends and how they are formed
Tertiary colors are, if I may say so, those that finish giving the last "brushstroke" to everything our eyes can see. The wide variety of colors is very interesting. But, What are and how are tertiary colors formed?
According to modern color theory, the main tertiary colors are as follows:
Yellow + green = pistachio green
Yellow + orange = egg yellow
Magenta + orange = red
Magenta + violet = purple
Cyan + violet = indigo
Cyan + green = turquoise blue
In general, tertiary colors are the most abundant in nature, which is why they are usually used in paintings. Tertiary colors they are practically infinite, although they are always based on primary and secondary basic colors.
Colors have a wide range of variations. These are usually produced by the amount of proportions of the colors that are mixed. Each of them has its own characteristics and their percentages and thus, can be used for different jobs or functions. Defining the exact number of colors, variations and shades is also invaluable.
What is the color wheel?
The color wheel or chromatic circle is a ordered and circular representation of colors according to your tone. Primary colors are represented in it, as well as secondary and tertiary colors. Every artist must know it well to be able to carry out their projects, since it is essential for the job to be well done.
Color circles are represented graduated or staggered. The latter can have dozens of colors, although generally they do not exceed 48. Currently, several types of color wheels are known:
Traditional color wheel: This model, also called RYG, was popularized in 1810 with Goethe's book, The Theory of Colors, which made a circle with six colors: yellow, orange, red, violet, blue and green.
Natural color wheel: it is the result of the distribution around a circle of the colors that make up the segment of natural light. The most common mix is represented in a circle with 12 opposite colors.
So if you like to paint or experiment at home with colors, nothing better than taking advantage of your free time to mix them. In this way, you can create authentic works of art. 🙂
If you have any questions about the tertiary and secondary colors, leave us a comment and we will help you as soon as possible.
