Primary and secondary colors: description, names and combinations

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Using a diverse range of shades, people do not think about such a category as color. It is formed by the refraction of rays of ordinary light, which is electromagnetic waves of various lengths. Once in another medium, they refract at different angles, decomposing into seven spectral colors.

What is color?

The first such experiment was done by Newton. A rainbow after rain also represents the refraction of the sun's rays passing through water drops. Passing the spectrum through a converging lens, you can see how these seven colors combine back to white.

Surprisingly, color does not exist in nature - it is a visual sensation of a person under the influence of electromagnetic waves falling on the retina of the eye. Color appears when an object reflects a certain wavelength characteristic of the incident beam. And although this perception is quite subjective, it is the same for all people. A person sees a leaf of a tree as green, because the surface of the leaf, absorbing light rays of various lengths, reflects the waves of exactly that area.spectrum that corresponds to green.

Meaning in a person's life

Nevertheless, color is an important characteristic of an object, one of its physical properties and plays a huge role in human life. The color shade of an object is decisive in many areas of activity: painting, trade, design, architecture. Its meaning has been understood since ancient times. This is evidenced by the beautiful architectural monuments of France and Italy, which have preserved magnificent stained-glass windows and wall paintings, which were distinguished by their brightness and durability. Already in the 12th century, Chinese ceramics were famous for their unusually beautiful shades of moonlight and sea waves. The canvases of famous artists also amaze with unusual colors. Each of them combined different colors in their own way, obtaining unique tones that are difficult to reproduce today.

A person draws up to 80% of information about an object with the help of color, which is also a factor of deep physical and psychological impact on the body. Some tones increase blood pressure and pulse rate, while others calm the nervous system. In medicine, there is a section of color therapy, the essence of which is that colors affect the human body in different ways. According to the principles of Oriental medicine, a certain tone is used to treat each disease.

Color classification

From ancient times, attempts have been made to classify colors. The procedure consisted in reducing the variety of existing shades intoa certain system. For the first time such an attempt was made by Leonardo da Vinci, identifying four main color groups. The scientific basis for the concept of color was laid by Newton with his experiments on the refraction of light rays. The great poet Goethe, working on the systematization of this concept, proposed a color circle in which three tones (main) make up an equilateral triangle - red, yellow and blue. If you mix them in equal proportions, you get a black tint. They were called primary colors.

The rest of the colors are formed from the three basic ones. But directly the main ones cannot be obtained by mixing some other shades, therefore they are called pure. To understand which colors are secondary, you need to mix the base colors in pairs in equal proportions. This results in colors of the second order. They are located between the main ones. Orange, green and purple are secondary colors. In the color wheel, they form an equilateral triangle in the same way, only reversed with respect to the first one.

Tertiary Colors

There are colors of the third order - they are formed by mixing three primary with secondary in equal proportions. Primary, secondary and tertiary colors together form a 12-color circle. This figure is called the 12-frequency circle of J. Itten, a Swiss art historian, who proposed this innovation. The rest of the many colors are obtained by mixing these twelve in the right proportions.

Colors can be divided into warm and cold. If adraw a straight line in the middle of the color wheel, then the half, in which the shades from yellow to green, including primary and secondary colors, will consist of warm tones, and the second half of cold tones. This division is somewhat arbitrary, since in tertiary colors, where all the tones are combined, the one in which there is more yellow will seem warmer.

Colors

In painting, design, architecture, hairdressing, it is important to find a color scheme that causes a more positive perception by a person. The science of the nature of colors, the art of their combination is called coloristics. The ability to combine tones allows you to achieve color harmony. At the same time, such a concept for each person individually is a subjective concept. Nevertheless, there are general rules for the harmonious combination of various shades that must be mastered in some professions. For example, when designing a production facility, one should take into account what color schemes offer: primary and secondary colors of warm tones speed up metabolism, increase muscle activity. As for cold shades, they depress these processes. Some of them, when exposed to a person for a long time, tire him, and it doesn’t matter which ones are secondary colors or primary ones. The most optimal in this respect are green tones with the addition of yellow.

Color combination

Guided by the color wheel, you can choose the right combination of different tones. A combination consisting of shades of the same color will be harmoniously composed, since itbeneficial effect on the nervous system. A contrast composition is also possible. In this case, those tones that are placed on opposite sides of the circle are combined (by the way, these can also be secondary colors). They are called complementary or complementary. Such a system will be filled with energy. Harmoniously combined in the color wheel tones that are relative to each other at an angle of 90 degrees.

Three colors will look great together if they are matched correctly. A composition of three tones located at equal distances from each other will give a sense of harmony and bright contrast. In such cases, secondary colors can be used. If you draw an isosceles or equilateral triangle inside the color wheel, then the tones located at the vertices of this figure are correctly combined. In coloring, there are clear rules for combining colors. Guided by them, you can independently create various combinations that are distinguished by harmony and beauty.