Tertiary colors are formed from the combining a primary color with a secondary color.
According to the Theory of Colors and the RYB system (red, yellow and blue), the main tertiary colors are:
- purplish red (red + purple)
- greenish yellow (yellow + green)
- orange-yellow (yellow + orange)
- orange-red (red + orange)
- blue-green (blue + green)
- purplish blue (blue + purple)
Find out more about the meaning of Color Theory.
The order of the tertiary colors can change, according to the adopted color system, such as the RGB or the CMYK, for example.
Learn more about the meaning of Secondary colors.
Tertiary and complementary colors
At complementary colors are the ones that contrast, as they do not have traces of pigments in common between them.
To identify a complementary color, just look at the chromatic circle – where the primary, secondary and tertiary colors are arranged – and find the colors that are on opposite sides of the circle.
Mixing complementary colors can generate neutral colors, ranging from shades of gray, brown and beige, for example.
To learn more about the colors meaning, Click here.