What Are Complementary Colors?

Complementary colors are two colors on opposite sides of the color wheel. It's important for artists to understand which colors complement one another in order to make effective color decisions. For instance, complementaries can make each other appear brighter, be mixed to create effective neutral hues, or be blended together to create shadows.

Let's explore how you can use complementary colors to your advantage.

The Basic Complementary Colors

At the heart of color theory, complementary colors are the opposite hues on the color wheel. In their most basic form, they are one primary color and the secondary color created by mixing the other two primaries. For instance, the complementary color to yellow is purple, a mix of blue and red. 

With that knowledge, it's relatively easy to remember the first set of complementary colors:

• yellow and purple
• blue and orange
• red and green

If you add the tertiary colors—those made up of one primary and one secondary color—and work your way around the color wheel, you'll find that these colors are also complementary:

• yellow-orange and blue-purple (indigo)
• orange-red and blue-green (aqua)
• red-purple (pink) and green-yellow

The color wheel can be divided infinitely many times to include all gradients between these basic hues. What's most important to understand is that no matter the shade or tone of the color, the opposite color is always complementary.

Complementary Colors Make Each Other Pop

Another thing you'll notice is that a pair of complementary colors consists of one cool color and one warm color. Orange, reds, and yellows are the warm colors, while blues, greens, and purples are the cool colors. Cool and warm complementarity helps create what's known as simultaneous contrast, the highest contrast available on the color wheel.

Simultaneous contrast occurs due to a natural illusion when you place two complementary colors next to one another. Both colors will appear brighter and grab a viewer's attention.

Artists use this to their advantage all the time. For example, sunsets with gradients from deep blues to bright oranges are more eye-catching because they rely on simultaneous contrast. Similarly, if your tube of red paint isn't bright enough, paint something green next to it.

Mixing Complementary Colors

When mixing paint, look at the hue's complementary first because it can make beautiful things happen. For example, choosing to blend the complementary color into the main color of a subject is one of the best ways to paint dynamic shadows. 

You can also use the complementary color to make a hue less vibrant. The more you add, the more neutral it becomes. For instance, adding green paint to a red one will create a burnt sienna; add a little more, and it becomes a darker sienna. Mixing the two paints in equal parts will give you a warm-toned dark brown. These neutrals can be manipulated further by mixing in white, grey, or black.

Play around with these concepts and do some test mixing and sample swatches to see how your complementary paints affect one another. If you're ever stuck on mixing or blending a particular paint, consider its complement. Quite often, the answer to your problem is right there on the color wheel.