What are the complementary colors to blue?
In color theory, the complementary colors to blue include the direct complementary color of blue, as well as its split complementary and double complementary colors.
The complementary color to blue (its direct opposite on the wheel) is:
- Orange (using a traditional artist/RYB wheel)
- Yellow (using a RGB/screen-based wheel such as QuillBot’s free online color wheel tool)
The split complementary colors to blue (two neighbors of the complement) are:
- Yellow-orange and red-orange if the complement is orange on your wheel
- Yellow-green and yellow-orange if the complement is yellow on your wheel
You get the double complementary (tetradic) colors to blue by:
- Picking a second hue next to blue on the wheel (like blue-green or blue-violet)
- Then finding the complements of both (e.g., the complements of blue and blue-green are orange and red-orange—or the equivalents on your wheel)
Related article: How to Find Complementary Colors on a Color Wheel
Technically speaking, complementary colors aren’t colors that necessarily look good together; they’re colors that are opposite each other on a color wheel. They contrast strongly and “neutralize” each other if mixed, shifting toward dull grays or browns if you’re using paints or toward colorless grays or white if the colors are produced with light (e.g., […]
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