Two Pigment Color Wheels Used in Art and Industry Because a mixture of red, blue and green light make white, they are called the additive primaries. When equal amounts of a red light, a blue light and a green light are mixed together they produce white. The Additive color wheel deals with the mixing When all three primary color pigments are mixed together, they make gray or black. Each time pigments are added to other pigments the color mix is less pure than the colors used to mix it making the color less intense or duller in intensity. When you mix colors using high intensity primary color pigments, you are using the subtractive color method. The subtractive color wheel deals with the mixing of pigments. Since the introduction of Newton’s color wheel based on systematic color in a closed ring of color hues in 1666, there have been a variety of color wheel experiments. His theory of color was the basis for future studies of colors in a wheel. He placed white in the center of the ring because he said all colors were to be found in a white light. He placed these colors into a circular ring which was divided into seven unequal parts. By dissecting light through a prism of glass, the colors of light fanned out in a band of light waves lengths named violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. It was Sir Isaac Newton who made the first color wheel designed after the natural spectrum of a prism or rainbow. The color wheel is a tool by which a practitioner can study color mixing, color properties and color harmony. Follow this link to visit Sheri’s website to view more of her work and to learn more about her.Ĭolor Studies – Color Applications and Definitions Part 2 – The Color Wheel (Click Images For Larger Views)Ī Color Wheel is merely an arrangement of hues in a circle that is illustrative of an organization of colors.

Color wheel primary colors