Understanding Color Wheel

While piping each flower with care is important, I believe that color is even more crucial in creating a high-quality cake. No matter how beautifully you pipe the flowers, if the colors aren’t harmonious or pleasing, the cake can end up looking outdated or unappealing.

That’s why having a solid understanding of color is an essential element in cake decorating.

The most basic step in color mixing is understanding the color wheel.

On the color wheel, red, yellow, and blue are known as Primary Colors. These colors cannot be created by mixing other colors, and they serve as the foundation from which we can create a wide range of other colors through mixing.

Primary Color

Red

Yellow

Blue

By mixing the primary colors, we can create secondary colors such as orange, green, and purple, as shown below.

Seonconday color

Red + Yellow = Orange

Yellow + Blue = Green

Blue + Red = Violet

Next, by combining the secondary colors, we can create a wider range of colors, as shown below.

Tertiary Color

yellow + orange = yellow-orange

orange + red = red-orange

red + violet = red-violet

violet + blue = blue-violet

blue + green = blue-green

green + yellow = yellow-green

The chart above shows how the basic colors can be altered by changing the Hue. As seen below, by gradually adding white to each color, we can create a lighter shade, called Tint. On the other hand, by mixing in black, we can darken the color, creating a Shade.

In fact, the colors created by this chart represent the most basic color theory. When it comes to flower cake decorating, the process of color mixing is much more intricate and complex, often requiring multiple experiments and adjustments to achieve the desired hue. However, just like with any skill, a solid understanding of the basics is essential before moving on to more advanced techniques. That’s why I believe understanding color combinations is a crucial foundation.

Surprisingly, many people working on flower cakes are not familiar with these basic color mixing principles. I hope this overview will help those who are less familiar with color theory and guide them in their flower cake journey.

Tint: Add White. Shade: Add Black