Combining Colors

When we mix the ratios of red, green, and blue, we come up with the rest of the colors of the spectrum. Some of the first colors we should consider are the complementary colors of red, green, and blue. We use full green and blue to get the complementary color for red. This creates cyan.

  • Name: cyan;
  • RGB: rgb(0, 255, 255);
  • Hex: #00ffff;
Red compliments cyan.
Cyan compliments red.


Likewise, to get the complimentary colors for green and blue, which are magenta and yellow, respectively, we boost the values of the two other colors.

  • Name: magenta;
  • RGB: rgb(255, 0, 255);
  • Hex: #ff00ff;
Green compliments magenta.
Magenta compliments green.


  • Name: yellow;
  • RGB: rgb(255, 255, 00);
  • Hex: #ffff00;
Blue compliments yellow.
Yellow complements blue.


Other colors are some combination of these values. The exact ratios depend on the red, green, and blue amounts in every value.