Tertiary colors are colors made by combining a primary color with a secondary color next to it on the color wheel. They sit between primary and secondary colors, which helps the color wheel look smoother, richer, and more complete. These colors also make it easier to understand how different colors connect and blend.
The six main tertiary colors are red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-purple, and red-purple. They are commonly used in art, painting, classroom lessons, digital design, branding, fashion, home decor, and everyday color learning because they add more variety than basic primary and secondary colors.
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What Are Tertiary Colors?
Tertiary colors are colors made by combining a primary color with a nearby secondary color on the color wheel. They appear between primary and secondary colors, which helps create smoother color transitions and a more complete color wheel.
For example, mixing red with orange creates red-orange, while mixing blue with green creates blue-green. These blended colors are called tertiary colors because they come after primary and secondary colors in color theory.
The six standard tertiary colors are:
- Red-orange
- Yellow-orange
- Yellow-green
- Blue-green
- Blue-purple
- Red-purple
Simple rule:
- Primary color + nearby secondary color = tertiary color
- Tertiary colors sit between other colors on the color wheel.
- They add more variety than primary and secondary colors alone.
- They help artists and designers create smoother color blends.
List of Tertiary Colors
There are six standard tertiary colors in the traditional red, yellow, and blue color wheel.
- Red-orange
- Yellow-orange
- Yellow-green
- Blue-green
- Blue-purple
- Red-purple
These are the most common tertiary color names taught in art classes, color theory lessons, and beginner painting guides.
Tertiary Colors Chart
This chart shows each tertiary color and the colors used to create it.
| Tertiary Color Name | Made By Combining |
|---|---|
| Red-Orange | Red + Orange |
| Yellow-Orange | Yellow + Orange |
| Yellow-Green | Yellow + Green |
| Blue-Green | Blue + Green |
| Blue-Purple | Blue + Purple |
| Red-Purple | Red + Purple |
How Tertiary Colors Are Made
Tertiary colors are created by blending a primary color with the secondary color beside it on the color wheel.
Examples:
- Red and orange create red-orange.
- Yellow and orange create yellow-orange.
- Yellow and green create yellow-green.
- Blue and green create blue-green.
- Blue and purple create blue-purple.
- Red and purple create red-purple.
The colors should be neighbors on the color wheel. If unrelated colors are mixed, the result may look dull, muddy, or brownish.
Tertiary Colors and the Color Wheel
The color wheel helps show where tertiary colors belong and how they connect to other colors.
Tertiary colors appear between primary and secondary colors. For example, red-orange sits between red and orange, while blue-green sits between blue and green.
A simple color wheel order is:
- Red
- Red-orange
- Orange
- Yellow-orange
- Yellow
- Yellow-green
- Green
- Blue-green
- Blue
- Blue-purple
- Purple
- Red-purple
This order makes it easier to understand how colors move smoothly from one shade to the next.
Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Colors Difference
| Color Type | Examples | How They Are Made |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Colors | Red, Yellow, Blue | Basic colors used to create other colors |
| Secondary Colors | Orange, Green, Purple | Made by mixing two primary colors |
| Tertiary Colors | Red-Orange, Yellow-Green, Blue-Purple | Made by mixing a primary color with a nearby secondary color |
Primary colors are the starting colors. Secondary colors are created from primary colors. Tertiary colors add more detail between them.
Tertiary Colors vs Intermediate Colors
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Tertiary Colors | Colors made from a primary color and a nearby secondary color | Red-orange |
| Intermediate Colors | Another name for colors between primary and secondary colors | Red-orange |
Warm and Cool Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors can feel warm or cool depending on their base colors.
Warm tertiary colors include:
- Red-orange
- Yellow-orange
- Red-purple
Cool tertiary colors include:
- Blue-green
- Blue-purple
- Yellow-green
Warm tertiary colors often feel bright, bold, and energetic. Cool tertiary colors usually feel calm, fresh, peaceful, or relaxing.
Tertiary Colors with Examples in Nature and Everyday Life
Tertiary colors are easy to find in nature, food, clothing, home decor, and design. Real-life examples help kids, students, and beginners remember tertiary color names more easily.
- Red-orange can be seen in sunset skies, autumn leaves, fire, clay pots, and some flowers.
- Yellow-orange is common in mangoes, marigold flowers, pumpkins, golden lights, and warm wall colors.
- Yellow-green appears in limes, fresh grass, young leaves, green apples, and spring plants.
- Blue-green is found in ocean water, turquoise stones, peacock feathers, tropical designs, and some glass decor.
- Blue-purple can appear in lavender flowers, twilight skies, violets, gemstones, and soft evening shadows.
- Red-purple is often seen in berries, orchids, plum shades, makeup colors, and rich fabric designs.
Tertiary Color Combinations and Palettes
Tertiary colors work well in palettes because they feel more natural and less basic than pure primary colors.
Useful tertiary color combinations include:
- Red-orange + yellow-orange for a warm sunset palette
- Yellow-green + blue-green for a fresh nature palette
- Blue-green + blue-purple for a calm ocean palette
- Red-purple + blue-purple for a soft floral palette
- Red-orange + yellow-orange + yellow-green for an autumn palette
These palettes can be used in:
- art projects
- websites
- posters
- room decor
- clothing
- branding
- digital illustrations
- classroom color activities
Tertiary colors are helpful when a design needs color, but not the strong basic look of primary colors.
Tertiary Colors in Art, Painting, and Digital Design
Artists use tertiary colors to make artwork look richer and more natural. These colors help with shading, blending, backgrounds, landscapes, flowers, skies, and smooth transitions.
In painting, tertiary colors are useful for:
- soft gradients
- realistic shadows
- natural landscapes
- flower petals
- sunset scenes
- ocean scenes
- background tones
Designers use tertiary colors in websites, logos, posters, apps, packaging, and social media graphics.
For example:
- Blue-green can make a design feel fresh, clean, and modern.
- Red-orange can create energy, warmth, and attention.
- Yellow-green can feel natural, playful, or eco-friendly.
- Blue-purple can feel creative, calm, or dreamy.
- Red-purple can feel rich, stylish, or elegant.
Traditional paint mixing and digital color systems are not always the same. In painting, tertiary colors are usually taught with the red, yellow, and blue color wheel. In digital design, colors are often created with RGB values on screens, so the exact shade may change.
Tertiary Colors Hex Codes for Design
Hex codes help designers use exact colors in websites, apps, graphics, and branding projects.
| Tertiary Color | Example Hex Code |
|---|---|
| Red-Orange | #FF5349 |
| Yellow-Orange | #FFAE42 |
| Yellow-Green | #9ACD32 |
| Blue-Green | #0D98BA |
| Blue-Purple | #8A2BE2 |
| Red-Purple | #C71585 |
These hex codes are sample shades. Different design tools may show slightly different versions of the same tertiary color name.
Use hex codes when you need:
- exact website colors
- consistent branding
- digital illustrations
- UI design elements
- color palette creation
Common Mistakes About Tertiary Colors
Many beginners confuse tertiary colors with secondary colors.
A secondary color comes from two primary colors. A tertiary color comes from one primary color and one nearby secondary color.
Common mistakes include:
- thinking tertiary colors and secondary colors are the same
- calling brown one of the six standard tertiary colors
- mixing colors that are not next to each other on the color wheel
- forgetting that tertiary colors sit between primary and secondary colors
- confusing traditional paint color wheels with digital RGB color systems
Brown can be made by mixing different colors, but it is not usually listed as one of the six standard tertiary colors.
Tertiary Colors for Kids and Classroom Activities
Tertiary colors are fun for kids because they can learn them through painting, coloring, and matching games.
A simple explanation for kids:
Tertiary colors are made when a main color mixes with the color beside it on the color wheel.
Easy classroom activities:
- Paint a color wheel and label each tertiary color.
- Mix red and orange to make red-orange.
- Mix yellow and green to make yellow-green.
- Match tertiary color cards with real-life objects.
- Find tertiary colors in fruits, flowers, toys, and clothes.
- Color a worksheet with the six tertiary colors.
- Make a sunset drawing using red-orange and yellow-orange.
- Create an ocean picture using blue-green and blue-purple.
These activities help children learn color names, color mixing, color recognition, and color wheel order in a simple way.
FAQs
The six tertiary colors are red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-purple, and red-purple. They are created by combining a primary color with a nearby secondary color on the color wheel.
Tertiary colors are made by mixing one primary color with one secondary color beside it. For example, blue and green create blue-green, while red and orange create red-orange.
Yes, tertiary colors are also called intermediate colors. They get this name because they sit between primary and secondary colors on the color wheel.
Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors. Tertiary colors are made by mixing one primary color with a nearby secondary color. Orange is a secondary color, while red-orange is a tertiary color.
Brown is not one of the six standard tertiary colors. It can be created by mixing several colors, but it is not usually shown as a basic tertiary color on the traditional color wheel.
Summary
Tertiary colors are made by mixing a primary color with a nearby secondary color. The six main tertiary colors are red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-purple, and red-purple.
These colors complete the color wheel and make color mixing easier to understand. They are useful in art, painting, classroom learning, digital design, branding, fashion, and home decor.
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