Exploring Colour
Year 1 discover primary and secondary colours and begin mixing and naming colours.
# Exploring Colour
Colour is one of the first tools an artist learns to use. In Year 1 we begin to notice colour all around us and learn the words to describe it.
Primary Colours
There are three primary colours: red, blue and yellow. They are special because you cannot make them by mixing other colours together. Every other colour can be made from these three.
Mixing Secondary Colours
When you mix two primary colours you make a secondary colour. Red and yellow make orange. Blue and yellow make green. Red and blue make purple. Try painting two primary circles that overlap to see the new colour appear in the middle.
Light and Dark
You can make a colour lighter by adding white and darker by adding black. A light version of a colour is called a tint and a dark version is called a shade. Painting the same colour from light to dark helps you see how it changes.
Going Further
Look around your home and collect objects in primary and secondary colours. Sort them into groups and try to name every colour you can see.
Related Resources
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