Combining Colors

When we start to 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. To get the complementary color for red, we use full green and blue. This creates cyan.

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


Likewise, to get the complementary 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 complements magenta.
Magenta complements green.


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


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