Complementary color

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Complementary colors are pairs of colors that are in some way opposites of each other. These pairs are different between color science, and art and the printing process.

1 Color science
2 Afterimages
3 Art and design
4 References

[edit] Color science

On the HSV color wheel opposite colors are complementary colors, that when mixed produce a shade of gray.

In color science, two colors are called complementary if, when mixed they produce a shade of grey (including white, or even purple in a subtractive system). In most perceptual color models, white is towards the center of the color space, and complementary colors will lie roughly opposite each other. The clearest example is the HSV color space, in which complementary colors lie opposite each other on the wheel (or on any circular cross-section).

In most discussions of complementary color, only fully saturated, bright colors are considered. However, under the formal definition, brightness and saturation are also factors. Thus, in the formal CIE 1931 color space, any color of a particular dominant wavelength can be balanced to create white/grey by adding a particular amount (i.e. brightness) of the complementary wavelength, or a different amount of less saturated versions of the complementary wavelength.

Primary colors and secondary colors are typically paired in this way:

red and cyan ( red cyan ) (where cyan is the mixture of green and blue)
green and magenta ( green magenta ) (where magenta is the mixture of red and blue)
blue and yellow ( blue yellow ) (where yellow is the mixture of red and green)

[edit] Afterimages

When one stares at a single color, red for example, for a sustained period of time (thirty seconds to a minute should suffice), then looks at a white surface, an afterimage of the complementary color (in this case cyan) will appear. This is the result of eye fatigue^[1]. In the case above the photoreceptors for red light in the retina are fatigued, lessening their ability to send the information to the brain. When white light is viewed, the red portions of light incident upon the eye are not transmitted as efficiently as the other wavelengths (or colors), and the result is the illusion of viewing the complementary color. As the receptors are given time to rest, the illusion vanishes. In the case of looking at white light, red light is still incident upon the eye (as well as blue and green), however since the receptors for other light colors are also being fatigued, the eye will reach an equilibrium. This can be sped up simply by closing one's eyes, immediately giving them rest and restoring normal vision.

[edit] Art and design

a Blue-Yellow-Red color wheel. Opposite colors are called complementary.

Because of the limited range of colors that was available throughout most of the history of art, many artists still use a traditional set of complementary pairs, including:

The complement of each primary color (red, blue, or yellow) is roughly the color made by mixing the other two in a subtractive system (red + blue = purple; blue + yellow = green; red + yellow = orange). When two complements are mixed they produce a grey or brown.

The use of complementary colors is an important aspect of aesthetically pleasing art and graphic design. This also extends to other fields such as contrasting colors in logos and retail display. When placed next to each other, complements make each other appear brighter. On an artistic color wheel, complementary colors are placed opposite one another. Although these artistic complements may not be precise complements under the scientific definition, most artistic color wheels are laid out roughly like the HSV color wheel discussed above.