Tertiary colors are...

• A. A color produced by mixing two primary colors
• B. A color produced by mixing black and white
• C. A color produced by mixing a secondary color with its neighboring primary color in equal amounts
• D. A color produced by mixing three primaries

Answer: (C)

Tertiary colors come from mixing a primary color with the adjacent secondary color in equal parts on the color wheel. The primaries are red, yellow, and blue; the secondaries are orange, green, and purple. By blending a primary with its neighboring secondary in a 1:1 ratio, you get colors like red-orange, yellow-orange, blue-green, yellow-green, blue-violet, and red-violet. This specific pairing defines tertiary colors, setting them apart from mixing two primaries (which gives a secondary), mixing black and white (which gives grayscale), or mixing all three primaries (which tends toward a neutral muddy color).