Colors the basics explained

Have you ever thought the world would have been so dull and lifeless without beautiful colors? Color is the most beautiful creation of God. Color can influence our emotions, our actions and how we respond to various people, things and ideas. Every color has a meaning and it symbolizes different things, so less discuss the basics of colour.

Types of Color: Primary Color- A primary color is that which is used in a pure state. No colors can be combined to create a primary color. Three primary colors are:

This means red, yellow and blue cannot be made from any other combination of colors or pigments.

Secondary Color: A secondary color is that which can only be created by combining two of the primary colors. Like when you mix red and blue in equal parts, you get a deep violet or purple. In this red and blue is primary color and violet is secondary. Either you can mix two colors in equal amount or mix them unequally to get varying shades.

Complementary Color: If you see the color wheel the secondary colors are in between the primary colors - for example - between red and blue is purple. Colors opposite to each other on the color wheel usually work well together as a color scheme. These are known as Complementary Color. Mixing any of the complementary colors together will either gray the dominant color down making it appear darker, increasing its value, or produce varying forms of brown. Adding white to any of these mixtures will decrease its value. Complementary colors are contrasting and stand out against each other. Often it is a good idea to use a complementary color as the highlight color.

Mixing of colors: By mixing primary colors in equal and unequal proportion, you can get some wonderful colors. Color combination is really the most important part of color theory. Let's check out some common mixing of colors:

When two primary colors are mixed in equal amount you get the following secondary color.

You can also mix the primary colors unequally to get varying shades of blue-green, yellow-green, red-orange, yellow-orange, blue-violet and red-violet. If you mix three primary colors together, you get a tertiary color.          

Some tips to mix colors:

• Add dark color to lighter color
• Add a little of the opaque color to the transparent one. The opaque color has a far greater strength or influence than a transparent color.
• Check that the two colors you are mixing are each made from one pigment only.
• Mix ‘ideal' browns and grays that harmonize with a painting by creating them from complementary colors in the palette, rather than colors you haven't used.
• Don't over mix colors.

It's really difficult to say how many colors are there but with your imagination and creativity you can create lots of color shades by proper mixing of different colors. So enjoy different colors and make your life colorful.

(Sources: technologystudent.com/designpro/pricol1.htm, ezinearticles.com/?Mixing-Colors---Primary,-Secondary-and-Complementary&id=2378877, painting.about.com/od/colourtheory/a/Top_color_mix.htm, helium.com/items/975426-what-are-secondary-colors, crystal-cure.com/color-meanings.htm)