OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

A color wheel is a circle that shows how colors are related to each other. It has the primary colors — red, blue, and yellow — and the secondary colors — orange, green, and purple — all arranged in a circle.

Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel look nice together. Red and orange go well side by side. Blue and green do too. Colors that are across from each other, like red and green, are called complementary colors. They make each other look extra bright!

Artists use the color wheel to pick colors for their paintings. You can use it too! Next time you draw or paint, try picking colors that are next to each other on the wheel. Then try picking colors from opposite sides and see what looks different.

Did you know that white light is made of all the colors mixed together? When light passes through a glass prism, it fans out into a rainbow — showing every color in order, just like a color wheel! That is how scientists first discovered that light contains all the colors we can see.