What is a complementary color?
A. Complementary colors are located directly opposite one another on the color wheel. They have two effects on each other. When you place them side by side, they appear to vibrate. When you mix them, they neutralize each other. Exact complements will make neutral gray and black when mixed, but keep in mind that because paints are seldom precisely complementary, their mixtures will usually have a bit of color bias. Take for example, blue and orange complementaries. When mixed together you may get a more blue or orange gray or possibly even a brown. This would indicate that the colors you used are probably near-complements rather than true complements.
A. Complementary colors are opposites on the color wheel. They have two effects on each other. When you place them side by side, they appear to vibrate. When you mix them, they neutralize each other. Exact complements will make neutral gray and black when mixed. Because paints are seldom precisely complementary, their mixtures will usually have a bit of color bias, for example, if you mix blue and orange complementaries, you may get a blueish or orangeish gray or even brown. This means that the colors you used are probably near-complements instead of true complements. These mixtures are much more exciting to use than tube gray or black. Exploring Color p. 48-50.
