Complementary Colors (of Paint)

Most recent answer: 10/22/2007

Q:
What are the complementary colors. Not for light but for paint.
- T
Holy Rosary, Ontario
A:
T -

For paint, the primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. (Primary colors are colors that you can mix together to make any other colors.) For this kind of colors, the complementary color is what you get when you mix the other two together. (For example, the complementary color of red paint is what you get when you mix blue paint with yellow paint - green paint.)

Also, complementary colors are the pairs of colors that look the most noticeable. (This isn’t a very scientific definition, but it works.) For example, blue and orange are complementary colors, and they stand out against each other much more than say, blue and green do.

Complementary colors are discussed in more detail in our "Complementary Colors" answer. You can get to that one by going to the Light and Sound: Properties of Light section of our answer list.

-Tamara

(published on 10/22/2007)