Warm and Cool Colors

Grade 2 · Art · Study Guide

Discover how colors are grouped into warm and cool families and how they make us feel.

Colors can be put into two groups: warm colors and cool colors. Warm colors remind us of fire, sunshine, and heat. Red, orange, and yellow are warm colors. When you look at warm colors, they can make you feel excited, happy, or cozy.

Cool colors remind us of water, ice, and the sky. Blue, green, and purple are cool colors. Cool colors can make you feel calm, peaceful, or relaxed. Think about how you feel when you look at a blue ocean or a green forest.

Artists choose warm or cool colors on purpose to give their paintings a certain feeling or mood. A painting with lots of reds and oranges might feel warm like a sunset. A painting with blues and greens might feel cool like a pond.

On the color wheel, warm colors are on one side and cool colors are on the other side. Knowing about warm and cool colors helps you understand and create your own artwork. You can even mix warm and cool colors together in the same painting to show contrast, like a warm orange sun over a cool blue sky.

Key terms

Warm colors
Colors that remind us of fire and sun: red, orange, and yellow
Cool colors
Colors that remind us of water and ice: blue, green, and purple
Color wheel
A circle that shows all the colors and how they are related
Mood
The feeling a piece of artwork gives the viewer
Contrast
Placing very different things next to each other to make them stand out

Flashcards

Warm colors
Red, orange, and yellow — colors that remind us of fire and sun
Cool colors
Blue, green, and purple — colors that remind us of water and ice
Red
A warm color that can feel exciting or energetic
Blue
A cool color that can feel calm and peaceful
Orange
A warm color made by mixing red and yellow
Green
A cool color made by mixing blue and yellow
Mood
The feeling or emotion an artwork gives you
Color wheel
A tool that organizes colors in a circle to show warm and cool groups

Questions

  1. Which of these is a warm color?

    1. Blue
    2. Green
    3. Orange
    4. Purple
    Show answer

    Answer: Orange

    Orange is a warm color, along with red and yellow, because it reminds us of fire and sunshine.

  2. Cool colors like blue and green can make us feel calm and peaceful.

    Show answer

    Answer: True

    Cool colors like blue and green remind us of water and nature, which creates a calm, peaceful feeling.

  3. Which group of colors reminds us of fire and sunshine?

    1. Cool colors
    2. Warm colors
    3. Dark colors
    4. Light colors
    Show answer

    Answer: Warm colors

    Warm colors (red, orange, yellow) remind us of fire, sunshine, and heat.

  4. Red, orange, and ______ are warm colors.

    Show answer

    Answer: yellow

    The three warm colors are red, orange, and yellow.

  5. Purple is a warm color.

    Show answer

    Answer: False

    Purple is a cool color, along with blue and green.

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