Introduction to color mixing

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TWO KINDS OF COLOR MIXING

Two colors can mix to form a different color

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.

Color monitor stripes The other method of color mixing takes place when two or more colored light sources are combined. An example of this would be the type of mixing that produces color images on television and computer monitor screens.

Color can be mixed with stage lighting

Stage lighting can also make use of color mixing. This happens when various colored stage lights shine on 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.

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 of primary colors.

MIXING PAINTS, INKS AND DYES Many colors from just three

Cyan Yellow Magenta The three basic colors for mixing paint, ink and dyes have been shown to be cyan, magenta and yellow. Cyan is a bright blue hue. Magenta is a bright deep pink. The yellow is a bright yellow.

These are the three colors used for the inks and pigments used in both computer printers and for commercial printers. They are the three colors that are used for the dyes in color photo and movie film. The mixing of these three colors in this way is referred to as "subtractive" color mixing.

MIXING LIGHT Many colors from three colored lights

Red Green and Blue The three basic colors for mixing light are red, green and blue. The way light mixes to make other colors is different from what happens when paint or inks are mixed. The results of mixing colored light and mixing paint or dyes are also not the same. For example, red and green paint mix to form a dark brown color. However, red and green light mix to form yellow. The mixing of colored light is referred to as "additive" color mixing.

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

Subtractive		Additive

Paint, Ink, Dye		Light

These two sets of "primary" colors are linked to each other in an interesting way. See the topics listed on the left for more about how these six colors are related to each other.

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