Color theory balances art and science and talks about the visual effects of different color combinations. So why use a color wheel? What’s the purpose? A color wheel provides essential information based on color theory. The rules for color combinations apply all the same, no matter what color wheel you use. Today, there are many different kinds of color wheels out there, but don’t let this worry you. This color wheel is what we call the traditional color wheel. Historically, the color wheel was invented by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666. These colors, and everything in between, are represented in the color wheel. From there, if mixed again, you get tertiary colors which include colors such as blue-green, red-orange, yellow-green, etc. If you mix primary colors in different combinations, you get the secondary colors (orange, green, and purple). Essentially, a color wheel is a circular diagram in which the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) are spaced out evenly, and which show all colors in between.
A color wheel is a visual tool that helps artists, designers, and the like to choose color combinations that work together.
