How to Make a Complementary Color Wheel

Complementary colors are ones that are directly opposite each other on a color wheel, which is basically a circle dissected into many multi-hued wedges. The colors are called complementary because when placed next to or on top of each other, they reflect well instead of causing a clashing visionary effect called vibration. A complementary color wheel may have an endless amount of wedges due to nature's incalculable number of hues, but a simple complementary color wheel may be made out of the six primary and secondary colors.

Things You'll Need

• White poster board
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Red, yellow, blue, green, orange and purple markers

Instructions

1. Draw a large circle in the middle of the poster board, and cut it out.

2. Use a ruler and pencil to divide the circle in half from top to bottom. Then use the ruler to make a sideways x over the dividing line, creating six equally sized wedges.

3. Look down at the circle as if it were a clock, and color in the top center wedge (at 12:00) with yellow.

4. Color in the other wedges in a clockwise fashion with orange (3:00), red (5:00), purple (6:00), blue (7:00) and green (10:00) markers. You should end up with purple opposite yellow, orange opposite blue and red opposite green.

References

• Color Matters: Color Theory
• WORQX: Color Wheel