COLOR MIXING An Introduction

TWO KINDS OF COLOR MIXING

GREEN

Color mixing takes place when two or more colors come together to form a different color. There are two basic systems of mixing colors. One system of color mixing takes place when mixing colorants such as paint, ink and dyes.

The other method of color mixing takes place when two or more colored light sources are combined.  An example of this  type of mixing takes place when our eyes blend together the tiny dots or stripes that make up the color images on television and computer monitor screens.
	The tiny dots or stripes on a video screen may be seen with a magnifying lens.
	Another example of mixing illumination is when various colored stage lights overlap over the same area.

Any two or more colors can be mixed to form different colors. However, only three basic colors are needed to create just about all other colors. For this reason, these are referred to as "primary" colors.
It is important to note that the three primary colors for mixing paint, ink and dyes are not the same three primary colors that are used when mixing light. So there are two groups or sets of primary colors.
	The three basic colors used for mixing paint, dyes and inks are cyan, yellow and magenta. They are called the "subtractive" primary colors.
	The three basic colors used for mixing light or illumination are red, green and blue. They are called the "additive" primary colors.
These two sets of primary colors are connected in an important way. This diagram shows that where any two subtractive primary colors are mixed together using paint, dyes or inks, they form one of the additive primary colors of red, green and blue.

MIXING PAINTS, INKS AND DYES USING CYAN, MAGENTA AND YELLOW

MAGENTA ADDITIVE   SUBTRACTIVE  (RED) ADDITIVE (BLUE)  YELLOW SUBTRACTIVE   CYAN ADDITIVE   SUBTRACTIVE (GREEN)

The fact that any two colors of cyan, yellow and magenta colorants mix to form the red, green and blue primary colors of light underscores the link between these two sets of colors.
	The primary color cyan is a bright blue hue. The primary color magenta is a bright deep pink. The primary color yellow is a bright yellow.

Cyan, yellow and magenta are the three basic colors used for the inks and pigments used in most computer printers and for the commercial printing of books and magazines. They are the three colors that are used for the dyes in color photo and movie film. When colors are mixed in this way, they are relying on the "subtractive" color mixing process.

MIXING ILLUMINATION

The three basic colors for mixing illumination are red, green and blue. The way color illumination mixes to make other colors is different from what happens when paint or inks are mixed.
Where any two colors of red, blue or green illumination overlap, they form one of the cyan, yellow or magenta colors used for mixing paint, dyes, filters or inks. Once again, we see a connection between the two sets of primary colors.

There is another interesting difference between the mixing of paint and the mixing of illumination. The final colors that we see as a result of mixing colored illumination as compared to mixing paint or dyes are not the same. For example, when mixing paint, red and green paint mix to form a dark brown color. However, when mixing the same colors using illumination, red and green mix to form yellow.
SAME COLORS - DIFFERENT RESULTS
SUBTRACTIVE MIXING   ADDITIVE MIXING PAINTS - INKS - DYES   ILLUMINATION     Red and green paint mix to make brown, a darker color.   Red and green light mix to make yellow, a lighter color.   A mixture of blue and yellow paint produces a greenish color.   A mixture of blue and yellow illumination appears white. PAINT - INKS - DYES   ILLUMINATION   CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW   RED GREEN BLUE

All three subtractive colors mix to form black. All three additive colors mix to form white.

Subtractive		Additive
Paint, Ink, Dye		Light

See the topics, "Mixing dyes, paints and inks," and "Photography," listed on the left for more about how these six colors are related to each other. 

WHICH KIND OF COLOR MIXING IS USED WHEN?

The additive process of color mixing is used . . .
			. . . when colored light bulbs or spotlights shine on the same area during a stage performance.
			. . . when our eyes blend tiny colored dots or stripes on a monitor or video screen.
			. . . when some digital video projectors project discrete red, green and blue images that are superimposed in register on a projection screen.
The subtractive process of color mixing is used . . .
			. . . when we mix color paint together.
			. . . when transparent colored liquids are combined.
			. . . when we place one colored glass or filter in front of another.
			. . . when a printer combines several different colored inks on top of each other on paper.
			. . . when transparent photographic layers are sandwiched together to produce color images.
			. . . when various colors of modeling clay are kneaded together.

Note: Even though there are two ways to mix color, all color mixing depends on light. Without light, we would see nothing at all. When we are dealing with paint colors, we are seeing these colors as a result of mixtures of reflected light. For more about this, click on, "Mixing - Dyes - Paints - Inks" in the list of topics at the top left of this page.

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