Tertiary Color

Tertiary color
Page from A New Practical Treatise on the Three

Primitive Colours Assumed as a Perfect System of
Rudimentary Information by Charles Hayter
A tertiary color is a color made by mixing
full saturation of one primary color with
half saturation of another primary color
and none of a third primary color, in a
given color space such as RGB,[1] CMYK
(more modern) or RYB[2] (traditional).
Tertiary colors have general names, one

set of names for the RGB color wheel and
a different set for the RYB color wheel.
These names are shown below.
Another definition of tertiary color is

provided by color theorists such as Moses
Harris[3]and Josef Albers[4], who suggest
that tertiary colors are created by
intermixing pairs of secondary colors:
orange-green, green-purple, purple-orange;
or by intermixing complementary colors.
This approach to tertiary color relates
specifically to color in the form of paints,
pigments and dyes.
RGB or CMY primary,

secondary, and tertiary colors
Primary, secondary, and tertiary colors of the RGB

color wheel
color wheel
The primary colors in an RGB color wheel

are red, green, and blue, because these are
the three additive colors—the primary
colors of light. The secondary colors in an
RGB color wheel are cyan, magenta, and
yellow because these are the three
subtractive colors—the primary colors of
pigment.
The tertiary color names used in the

descriptions of RGB (or equivalently
CMYK) systems are shown below.
cyan (●) + blue (●) = azure (●)
blue (●) + magenta (●) = violet (●)
magenta (●) + red (●) = rose (●)
red (●) + yellow (●) = orange (●)
yellow (●) + green (●) = chartreuse (●)
spring
green (●) + cyan (●) = (●)
green
Traditional painting (RYB)

A traditional RYB color wheel.
The primary colors in an RYB color wheel

are red, yellow, and blue. The secondary
colors — orange, green, and purple — are
made by combining the primary colors.
In the red–yellow–blue system as used in

traditional painting and interior design,
tertiary colors are typically named by
combining the names of the adjacent
primary and secondary.[5][6]
vermilion (red-
red (●) + orange (●) = (●)
orange)
amber (yellow-
orange (●) + yellow (●) = (●)
orange)[7]
chartreuse
yellow (●) + green (●) = (●)
(yellow-green)
teal (blue-
green (●) + blue (●) = (●)
green)[7]
violet (blue-
blue (●) + purple (●) = (●)
purple)
magenta (red-
purple (●) + red (●) = (●)
purple)
Tertiary- and quaternary-color

terms
The terms for the RYB tertiary colors are
not set. For the six RYB hues intermediate
between the RYB primary and secondary
colors, the names amber/marigold
(yellow–orange), vermilion/cinnabar (red–
orange), magenta (red–purple),
violet/indigo (blue–purple), teal/aqua
(blue-green), and chartreuse/lime green
(yellow–green) are commonly found. The
names for the twelve quaternary colors
are more variable, if they exist at all,
though indigo and scarlet are standard for
blue–violet and red–vermilion.
In another sense, a tertiary color is

obtained by mixing secondary-colored
pigments. These three colors are russet
(orange–purple), slate (purple–green), and
citron (green–orange), with the
corresponding three quaternary colors
plum (russet–slate), sage (slate–citron),
buff (citron–russet) (with olive sometimes
used for either slate or citron).[8][9] Beyond
that are shades of grey (blue grey and
brown greys), which approach but never
quite reach black.
The RYB color terminology outlined above

and in the color samples shown below is
ultimately derived from an 1835 book
called "Chromatography", an analysis of
the RYB color wheel by George Field, a
chemist who specialized in pigments and
dyes.[10]
RYB colors produced by mixing equal
amounts of secondary and subsequent
colors[11]
Secondary Tertiary Quaternary Quinary

yellow russet plum
orange orange plum blue
red slate grey
purple russet sage sage
blue citron khaki
green purple buff buff
yellow slate russet grey
brown
green plum

citron

orange
RYB and CMY colors produced by mixing
proportional amounts of primary colors
Tertiary RYB[11] Quaternary RYB[11] Tertiary

yellow yellow
amber golden yellow
orange amber
vermilion orange peel
red orange
magenta persimmon magen
purple vermilion
violet scarlet
blue red
teal crimson
green magenta
chartreuse aubergine green
yellow purple
amethyst
violet chartre
indigo
blue
turquoise
teal
viridian
green
apple green
chartreuse
lime green
yellow
Comparison of RGB and RYB
color wheels
Unlike the RGB (CMY) color wheel, the RYB
color wheel has no scientific basis. The
RYB color wheel was invented centuries
before the 1890s, when it was found by
experiment that magenta, yellow, and cyan
are the primary colors of pigment, not red,
yellow, and blue.
The RGB (CMY) color wheel has largely

replaced the traditional RYB color wheel
because it is possible to display much
brighter and more saturated colors using
the primary and secondary colors of the
RGB (CMY) color wheel. In the terminology
of color theory, RGB color space (CMY
color space) has a much larger color
gamut than RYB color space.
See also
Color wheel
Color theory
References
1. Marcus Weise and Diana Weynand
(2007). How Video Works . Focal Press.
ISBN 0-240-80933-5.
2. Stan Place and Bobbi Ray Madry (1990).
The Art and Science of Professional
Makeup . Thomson Delmar Learning.
ISBN 0-87350-361-9.
3. Moses Harris (1766). The Natural
System of Colours . Laidler.
4. Josef Albers (1963). Interaction of
Color . Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-
01846-0.
5. Adrienne L. Zihlman (2001). The Human
Evolution Coloring Book. HarperCollins.
ISBN 0-06-273717-1.
6. Kathleen Lochen Staiger (2006). The Oil
Painting Course You've Always Wanted:
Guided Lessons for Beginners and
Experienced Artists . Watson-Guptill.
ISBN 0-8230-3259-0.
7. Susan Crabtree and Peter Beudert
(1998). Scenic Art for the Theatre: History,
Tools, and Techniques . Focal Press.
ISBN 0-240-80187-3.
8. William J. Miskella, 1928, Practical
Color Simplified: A Handbook on
Lacquering, Enameling, Coloring And
Painting, pp
9. John Lemos, 1920, "Color Charts for the
School Room", in School Arts, vol. 19, pp
580–584
10. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color
New York:1930 Page 154
11. RGB approximations of RYB tertiary
colors, using cubic interpolation.[1] The
colors are paler than a simple mixture of
paints would produce. For the darker, true
secondary colors, see secondary color.
Pure tertiary colors would be darker still.
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Page from A New Practical Treatise on the Three

Tertiary colors have general names, one

Another deﬁnition of tertiary color is

RGB or CMY primary,

Primary, secondary, and tertiary colors of the RGB

The primary colors in an RGB color wheel

The tertiary color names used in the

Traditional painting (RYB)

The primary colors in an RYB color wheel

In the red–yellow–blue system as used in

Tertiary- and quaternary-color

In another sense, a tertiary color is

The RYB color terminology outlined above

Secondary Tertiary Quaternary Quinary

Tertiary RYB[11] Quaternary RYB[11] Tertiary

The RGB (CMY) color wheel has largely

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless

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