You will need to decide which colors combine well, whether they are toning, harmonious or complementary. By getting to grips with the rules of color, you can give your work a professional look.

Primary Colors
Primary colors are three key colors - Red, Blue and Yellow. They cannot be made from any other color.

Secondary Colors
If you mix equal amounts of the primary colors, you get the Secondary colors - Purple, Green and Orange.
Red + Yellow = Orange
Red + Blue = Purple
Blue + Yellow = Green

Tertiary Colors
If you mix a primary with a secondary color, in a ratio of 2:1, you get a Tertiary color. Red-Orange, Blue-Green etc.

Cool versus Hot
Look at the color wheel and you will see the left hand side of the colors are 'warm' or 'hot' and the ones on the right are 'cool' or 'cold'.  This is useful when you want to create a mood in a particular room or need to make your space cosier or lighter.

Neutrals
Neutrals are one of the easiest groups of colors, or non-colors to work with. They don't appear on the color wheel and include Black, Grey, White and sometimes Brown and Beige. They all go together and can be layered and mixed and matched. No neutral color will try to dominate over another.

Accent Colors
An accent color is a color used in quite small quantities to lift or to add punch to a color scheme. An accent color should be in a complementary color. It works best if it's a bright, vibrant color. Accent colors are perfect if you're scared of using strong color - simply add a splash of an accent color. Keep most of your piece in shades and variations of one single harmonious color. Then pick out just a few objects in an accent color.

Clashing Colors
To use clashing colors is thought to be a no-no in formal settings. But in more informal or vibrant settings they can look fantastic, if they are used carefully. If they are of equal tonal strength, you can mix them together. Don't stop at two, you could try three or four. But if one is paler or weaker than the rest it will get lost in the overall scheme.

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