complementary colors
Wheel-opposite hue pairs
Complementary colors are pairs that sit opposite each other on the color wheel—red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple.
When placed side by side, they create maximum visual contrast; when mixed, they neutralize each other toward gray or brown.
Artists use complementary pairs to make colors pop or to create shadows without black: The orange sunset glowed against the complementary blue sky.
- hueColor's specific character
- secondary colorsHues from blending primaries
- afterimageLingering visual impression
- eye fatigueTired, overworked vision
- warm colorsSpectrum's fiery side
saturation · red-green · orange and blue · contrast · cool colors · spectral colors · cyan · magenta · brightness · chromaticity · pigment · vivid · clash · pop · intensity · balance · opposite · vibrant
- designdesign principles, functionality, emphasis, unity, graphic design
- Light & Colorhue, shade, tint, brightness, saturation
- color groupsprimary colors, secondary colors, warm colors, cool colors, neutrals
- color termsblack, white, red, blue, green
- coloringcoloring book, dye, colorize, coloring books, coloring page
- art elementsline, shape, value, space, form
color, complement, coloration, complementary, complemented, complementing, complementarity