For anyone interested in color mixing exploits like me, there’s an essential question to answer: What are secondary colors, and which primary colors make each? The answer is actually surprisingly complex.
As background, my name is Lillie, and I’m an artist and teacher who delights in experimenting with combining colors — exploring everything from what purple and green make, to the odd mix blue plus orange. In the process of hand-drawing these illustrations and researching each article, I realized: Despite my years of experience, there’s a TON about color theory that is shockingly unexpected!
In particular, it turns out that the primary colors we all learned about in elementary school for drawing — red, yellow, and blue — are NOT the only system of primary colors. By extension, orange, green, and purple (or violet) are not the only secondary colors! Huh? Let’s elaborate.
RYB vs. RGB vs. CMYK
The traditional paint and pigment model of color theory has that the primary colors are red, yellow, and blue, so the system is abbreviated as the RYB model. This model still works fine if you’re mixing inks as I am in these illustrations or cute drawings. Now ready for your mind to be blown?
Next comes the RGB model, which is an additive model used in light and with digital screens. With RGB, the primary colors are red, green, and blue, and all three combine to form white! In this system, the secondary colors are: yellow (red + green), cyan (a light blue formed by green + blue), and magenta (a pink-purple made by red + blue). Whoa!
Then we come to the CMYK model, used in printing. In CMYK, the primary colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow. With CMYK, the secondary colors are: red, green, and blue (the opposite of the RGB model). For example, in this model, the answer to “What colors make green?” is yellow and cyan. This is a subtractive model, meaning that the CMY primary colors come together to form a dark color close to black, but not quite black. Because printers need real black, they added blacK into the mix as the “K” in CMYK.
Phew! That’s a lot of wild new information for most of us, eh? Never fear — in the rest of this article, we will be sticking with the tried and true RYB system, as we unpack how to make each of the three secondary colors. I’ll also dive a bit into the color meanings of each, based on my work in aura and chakra colors as a Reiki practitioner. Enjoy!
Secondary Colors
What are the secondary colors, in the RYB model where red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors? See illustrations and explanations here, along with the meaning of each secondary color.
Orange (Red and Yellow)
In the RYB primary color model, red and yellow pigments combine to make the secondary color, orange. This warm color may make you hungry, as it has the same name and shade as a certain juicy citrus fruit! It is cheerful and bold, and perfect for accent "pops" in art, fashion, and decor.
Green (Blue and Yellow)
The primary colors yellow and blue combine to form the secondary color, green. This is a nature-connected, calming, cool color, as green is abundant in fields, forests, and plants. Greens provide the lush feeling of walking through healthy foliage.
Purple (Red and Blue)
The secondary color, purple, is formed by combining the primary colors, red and blue. This cool, mystical color evokes royalty and opulence, or flavorful berries. In some color wheels, this secondary color is labeled violet, not purple.
Intermediate Colors
What happens when you mix a secondary color with the primary color right next to it? You get a bright and bold intermediate color such as magenta, teal, or chartreuse! Intermediate colors are also sometimes called tertiary colors.
More Color Mixing Combinations
Want to see ALL the articles I've written about mixing colors -- including unexpected combinations like purple and orange together? Here they are!
Orange Meaning
What is the meaning of the secondary color, orange, in terms of chakras? As explained in this article, orange's meaning is associated with creativity and the senses, and the energy center connected with it is just below the navel, at the Second or Sacral Chakra.
Green Meaning
What is the meaning of the secondary color, green, in terms of chakra energy centers? In fact, green is associated with the Fourth or Heart Chakra, and is thus connected with compassionate love. Though green is sometimes linked with jealousy (the "green-eyed monster"), in the world of chakras, the color is all about kind and connected heart energy!
Purple Meaning
The secondary color, purple, has a special meaning in terms of chakras. It is associated with the 6th (Third Eye) or 7th (Crown) Chakra, depending which system you're using. The former, located between the eyes, is about intuition, while the latter, situated at the top of the head, is connected with universal life force energy. Both are very powerful! In energy work, purple is also connected with positive healing and energy flow.
Primary and Secondary Colors
I hope you now have a nice background in the primary and secondary colors in the RYB model, plus their meanings, with regards to the chakra and aura colors system. Which color (or colour, if you’re British) is YOUR favorite? I’m always partial to purple and green, myself.
If you’re ready to take your color exploits to the next level, click over to see what happens when you mix primary and secondary colors together to form intermediate colors! Mmm… so bright and pretty. If you want to get even more complex, learn about the two different definitions of tertiary colors. Happy color mixing!
Want more? Check out “Why Is Art Important?” and “Easy Drawing Ideas,” plus “8 Benefits of Drawing.”
The author and artist, Lillie Marshall, is a National Board Certified Teacher of English who has been a public school educator since 2003, and an experienced Reiki practitioner since 2018. All art on this site is original and hand-drawn by Lillie. She launched DrawingsOf.com Educational Cartoons in 2020, building upon the success of her other sites, AroundTheWorldL.com (established 2009), TeachingTraveling.com (founded 2010), and ReikiColors.com. Subscribe to Lillie’s monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media to stay connected!
