Mixing Blue and Yellow for Green

Color Wheel Theory

The color wheel is a fundamental tool for understanding color relationships. It organizes colors based on their hues, from primary colors (red, blue, yellow) to secondary colors (green, orange, purple) to tertiary colors (combinations of primary and secondary colors).

Primary Colors

The primary colors are the building blocks of all other colors. They cannot be created by mixing other colors, but they can be combined to create all other colors on the wheel.

Secondary Colors

Secondary colors are created by mixing two primary colors. Green, for example, is created by mixing yellow and blue.

Mixing Blue and Yellow

When you mix blue and yellow, you create green. This is because blue and yellow are complementary colors, which means they cancel out each other's hues when mixed.

The exact shade of green you get will depend on the ratio of blue to yellow. Adding more blue will create a blue-green shade, while adding more yellow will create a yellow-green shade.

Light Mixing vs. Paint Mixing

Mixing colored light and mixing colored paint are not the same thing. When you mix colored light, the colors combine to create a new color. When you mix colored paint, the colors stay separate and form a new color by reflecting the combined wavelengths of light.

For example, when you mix blue and yellow light, you get green. When you mix blue and yellow paint, you get a dark, murky green because the paint absorbs some of the light and reflects only the green wavelengths.