Primary and secondary colors: description, names and combinations

Using a diverse range of shades, people do not think about such a category as color. It is formed by refraction of the rays of ordinary light, which is electromagnetic waves of different lengths. Once in another environment, they are refracted at different angles, decomposing into seven spectral colors.

What is color?

For the first time such an experiment was done by Newton. The rainbow after the rain also represents the refraction of the sun's rays passing through the drops of water. Passing the spectrum through the collective lens, you can see how these seven colors are connected back to white.

Surprisingly, in nature there is no color - it is a visual sensation of a person under the influence of electromagnetic waves that fall on the retina of the eye. The color appears when the object is reflected by a certain wavelength characteristic of the incident ray. And although this perception is quite subjective, it is the same for all people. The person sees the leaf of the tree green, because the surface of the leaf, absorbing rays of light of different length, reflects the waves of that part of the spectrum that corresponds to the green color.

Significance in a person's life

Nevertheless, color is an important characteristic of an object, one of its physical properties and plays a huge role in human life. The color shade of the object is the defining one in many spheres of activity: painting, trade, design, architecture. Its meaning was understood back in ancient times. This is evidenced by the beautiful monuments of architecture of France and Italy, which preserved magnificent stained-glass windows and wall paintings that were distinguished by brightness and strength. In the 12th century, Chinese ceramics were famous for their unusually beautiful shades of moonlight and sea waves. The paintings of famous artists also amaze with an unusual color scheme. Each of them in its manner combined different colors, receiving unique tones that are difficult to reproduce today.

A person scoops up to 80% of information about an object using color, which is also a factor of profound physical and psychological impact on the body. Some tones help increase blood pressure and pulse rate, while others soothe the nervous system. In medicine, there is a section of color therapy, the essence of which is that colors work differently on the human body. According to the principles of oriental medicine, a certain tone is used to treat each disease.

Classification of colors

Since ancient times attempts have been made to classify flowers. The procedure was to reduce the variety of existing shades into a specific system. For the first time such an attempt was made by Leonardo da Vinci, highlighting the four main color groups. The scientific basis of the concept of color was laid by Newton in his experiments on the refraction of light rays. The great poet Goethe, working on the systematization of this concept, proposed a color circle in which the three tones (main) constitute an equilateral triangle - red, yellow and blue. If you mix them in equal proportion, you will get a black shade. They were called primary colors.

Of the three basic, the other colors are formed. But directly the main ones can not be obtained by mixing some other shades, so they are called pure. To understand which colors are secondary, you must mix the pairwise base in equal proportions. In this case, colors of the second order are obtained. They are located between the main ones. Orange, green and purple are secondary colors. In the color circle, they also form an equilateral triangle, just inverted in relation to the first.

Tertiary colors

There are third-order colors - they are formed by mixing three primary and secondary in equal proportions. Primary, secondary and tertiary colors together form a 12-color circle. This figure is called the 12-frequency circle of J. Itten - the Swiss art critic, who proposed this innovation. The rest a lot of colors are obtained by mixing these twelve in the right proportions.

Colors can be divided into warm and cold. If you draw a straight line in the middle of the color circle, then the half in which the shades from yellow to green will appear, including primary and secondary colors, will consist of warm tones, and the second half - from cold tones. This division is somewhat arbitrary, because in tertiary colors, where all the tones are combined, the one with yellow color will appear warmer.

Colouristics

In painting, design, architecture, hairdresser's art, it is important to find a color scheme that evokes a more positive perception of a person. The science of the nature of flowers, the art of their combination is called coloring. The ability to combine tones allows you to achieve color harmony. At the same time, such a concept for each individual is a subjective concept. Nevertheless, there are general rules for the harmonious combination of different shades, which must be mastered in some professions. For example, when decorating a production room, one should take into account that coloration offers: primary and secondary colors of warm tones accelerate metabolism, increase muscle activity. As for cold shades, they are oppressing these processes. Some of them, with prolonged exposure to a man, tire him, no matter what - secondary colors or primary ones. The most optimal in this respect are the green tones with the addition of yellow.

A color scheme

Guided by the color circle, you can correctly choose the right combination of different tones. Harmony will be composed of a combination consisting of shades of the same color, as it has a beneficial effect on the nervous system. A contrast composition is also possible. In this case, those tones that are placed on opposite sides of the circle are combined (by the way, these can be secondary colors). They are called complementary or complimentary. Such a system will be filled with energy. Harmoniously combined in a color circle of tone, which are relative to each other at an angle of 90 degrees.

It will be great to look together three colors, if you choose them correctly. The composition of three tones, located at equal distances from each other, will give a sense of harmony and a bright contrast. In such cases, you can use secondary colors. If you draw an isosceles or an equilateral triangle inside the color circle , then the tones located at the vertices of this figure are correctly combined. In coloring, there are clear rules for combining colors. Guided by them, you can independently create various combinations that differ in harmony and beauty.