Art Masterpiece: 4th Grade, Lesson 1 (September)
Color Theory
Art Terms: Color: Primary, Secondary, Intermediate,
Complementary, Analogous, Warm, Cool
Activity: Creating a Color Wheel
Medium: Tempera Paints
Art Terms
Primary Colors
 Red, Blue, Yellow
 All other colors can be created by mixing the primary colors in various
combinations.
Secondary Colors
 Colors created by mixing two primary colors.
 What color is made by mixing red and blue?
(Secondary color of Violet)
 What color is made by mixing red and yellow?
(Secondary color of Orange)
 What color is made by mixing yellow and blue?
(Secondary color of Green)
Intermediate
 Colors created by mixing a primary color with a secondary color
(e.g. Blue-Green or Red-Orange).
Complementary
 Colors are opposites on the color wheel; placing them side-by-side makes
each color appear more vividly.
(e.g. Yellow and Violet or Orange and Blue)
Analogous
 Colors are “neighbors” on the color wheel.
(e.g. Yellow, Yellow Green and Green
Warm
 Colors include Red, Yellow, Orange.
Cool
 Colors include Blue, Green, Violet.
Questions about the Color Wheel
 What 3 colors are called primary colors? (Red, Blue, Yellow)
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What color is made by mixing Red and Yellow? (Secondary color of
Orange)
What color is made by mixing Yellow and Blue? (Secondary color of
Green)
What colors are warm colors? (Red, Yellow, Orange)
What colors are cool colors? (Blue, Green, Violet)
Activity
Creating a Color Wheel – Tempera Paints
Supplies
White drawing paper with color wheel outline - 9” x 12”
Color wheels (please wipe them clean if students get paint on them)
Tempera paints - Red, Yellow, Blue
Paint cups (small paper cups) - 3 per table
Paint trays
Plastic spoons
Toothpicks
Water cups or bowls
Paintbrushes - small
Pencils
Paper towels (located by the sink)
*Additional support material – photo printouts
**Art Guide Notes**
Each table will need 3 paper cups. One filled with red, one with yellow and one
with blue for the students to share. They will use plastic spoons to scoop the 3
colors into their own paint trays. All the colors needed for this project will be
created from these 3 colors (primary colors). The students will use paint trays to
mix the colors for their color wheel.
Inform the students that when they are mixing light and dark colors they should
use very little of the darker color. For example when mixing yellow + blue to
make green have them scoop some yellow (light color) out of the cup with a
spoon and put it in a well on their paint tray. They will then use a toothpick to get
a little blue (darker color) out of the cup and put it in the same well as the yellow.
By using toothpicks instead of a spoon to scoop out the blue (darker color) this
will help eliminate getting too much paint. Have them mix the two colors and if
they need more blue they can keep adding a little of the darker color at a time
until they get the correct color they are trying to create.
Directions
1. This project works best if you mix each color together as a class. This way
students know what colors they are to be mixing and what the mixed color
should look like.
2. Have students write their name and room # on the back of the paper.
3. Primary Colors: Have the students paint the three primary color sections
on their color wheel (show sample). They can just use the paint right out of
the cups to save mixing space on their paint trays.
4. Remind the students to rinse and blot the paintbrush before changing
colors.
5. Secondary Colors: Write the secondary color formulas on the board.
Yellow + Blue = Green
Red + Blue = Violet
Red + Yellow = Orange
6. Have students scoop out some Yellow and put it in one of the paint wells
on their tray, then scoop out some Blue and put it in the same well. Have
them mix the two colors to create Green. Now fill in the correct section on
the color wheel with the Green paint. Do the same for Violet and Orange.
7. The students should now have 3 colors in their trays: Green, Violet and
Orange.
8. They will use these 3 secondary colors plus the 3 primary colors in the
cups to create the next set of colors.
9. Intermediate Colors: Write the intermediate color formulas on the board.
Yellow + Green = Yellow-Green
Blue + Green = Blue-Green
Blue + Violet = Blue-Violet
Red + Violet = Red-Violet
Red + Orange = Red-Orange
Yellow + Orange = Yellow-Orange
10. Have students scoop out some Yellow and put it in one of the paint wells
on their tray, then take some of the Green they created and put it in the
same well. Have them mix the two colors to create Yellow-Green. Now fill
in the correct section on the color wheel with the Yellow-Green paint and
write the color name next to it. Do the same for the remaining colors.
*Additional Support Material
8 ½” x 11” printouts of these images will be available in the supply bin.