Now the fun part: mixing! Put two primary colors together and you get a new color, called a secondary color.
Key idea
Red + yellow = orange. Yellow + blue = green. Red + blue = purple.
Why it works
Each secondary color sits between the two colors that make it. Orange is a little like red and a little like yellow.
Worked example: Let's look
Ruby wants to paint a green frog but has no green paint. What can she do?
- Green is made from two primaries.
- Yellow and blue make green.
- She mixes yellow and blue.
Answer: Mix yellow and blue.
Common mistake
If you stir every color together, you get a muddy brown. Mix only two colors at a time, and rinse your brush before you change colors.
For the grown-up. With three small cups of paint (red, yellow, blue) and a paper plate, your child can make all three secondary colors. A drop of yellow first, then a little blue, is easier to control than the other way around, because blue is strong.