Color mixing is all about creating new hues by combining different colors. Additive mixing uses light, like in digital screens, while subtractive mixing uses pigments, like in painting. Understanding both methods is key to mastering color theory.

The primary colors for additive mixing are red, green, and blue (RGB). For subtractive mixing, they're cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY). Knowing how these colors interact helps artists and designers create a wide range of colors in various mediums.

Additive Color Mixing

RGB Color Model and Primary Colors

• Additive color mixing combines different colored lights to create new colors
  • Commonly used in digital displays (computer monitors, televisions, mobile devices)
• RGB color model is the basis for additive color mixing
  • R stands for red, G for green, and B for blue
• Primary colors in additive mixing are red, green, and blue
  • Cannot be created by mixing other colors
  • Combining primary colors in equal amounts produces white light

Light vs. Pigment in Additive Mixing

• Additive color mixing works with light, not pigments
  • Light is emitted from a source (screen, projector)
• Mixing light is different from mixing pigments
  • Pigments absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others
  • Light directly emits colored wavelengths

Color Synthesis and Optical Mixing

• Color synthesis creates a wide range of colors by combining primary colored lights in varying intensities
  • Mixing red and green light produces yellow
  • Mixing red and blue light creates magenta
  • Combining green and blue light results in cyan
• Optical mixing occurs when small dots of primary colors are placed close together
  • Eyes blend the colors to perceive a new color
  • Used in pointillism painting technique and digital displays (pixels)

Subtractive Color Mixing

CMYK Color Model and Primary Colors

• Subtractive color mixing involves the absorption and reflection of light by pigments or dyes
  • Commonly used in printing and painting
• CMYK color model is the basis for subtractive color mixing
  • C stands for cyan, M for magenta, Y for yellow, and K for key (black)
• Primary colors in subtractive mixing are cyan, magenta, and yellow
  • Cannot be created by mixing other colors
  • Theoretically, combining primary colors in equal amounts should produce black, but in practice, it results in a muddy brown

Secondary and Tertiary Colors

• Secondary colors are obtained by mixing two primary colors in equal proportions
  • Mixing cyan and yellow produces green
  • Combining magenta and yellow results in red
  • Mixing cyan and magenta creates blue
• Tertiary colors are created by mixing a primary color with an adjacent secondary color
  • Examples include red-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, red-violet, and yellow-orange

Light vs. Pigment in Subtractive Mixing

• Subtractive color mixing works with pigments or dyes, not light
  • Pigments absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others
• White light contains all wavelengths of visible light
  • Pigments selectively absorb wavelengths, subtracting them from the reflected light
  • The reflected wavelengths determine the perceived color
• In subtractive mixing, the more colors mixed together, the darker the resulting color
  • Opposite of additive mixing, where combining colors results in a lighter color