The first of these key concepts is the theory of primary colors. Primary colors are often defined as colors that cannot be mixed from any other colors. The reality is that there is no such thing as a pure primary but it is such a useful concept that it is usually taught at the beginning of most color classes.<\/p>\n
I will eventually smash all of this but its important to understand the basics. In the last 300 years or so scientists and artists have come up with dozens of color systems that specify which colors come first (primaries), which come second (secondaries) and which are in between (intermediaries).<\/p>\n
Some say there are only two primaries – yellow and blue or even black and white. Some say there are four primaries – red, yellow, green, and blue. But most often there are three primaries.<\/p>\n
Primary Systems<\/strong><\/p>\n There are two primary systems that you should be familiar with: RGB for light and CMY for pigment. The science behind these systems\u00a0is intimidating to me. The easiest way to think about it is that these two systems are considered reciprocal, or opposite, to each other.<\/p>\n Light\/Additive: Red, Green, Blue<\/strong> Notice that the secondaries are lighter<\/strong> than the primaries. That’s because when RBG primaries are combined they add light to the color- hence the additive system.<\/p>\n Theory says all three primaries together will make white light. The RGB system is used in computers, TV, photography, neon art, and theater lighting.<\/p>\n If you are not already familiar with the RGB system, it is easy to learn. You don’t need any fancy programs. Just draw a box in a Word document and fill it with a color using the custom color option. Type in the RGB numbers. Copy the box and change the fill color.<\/p>\n Note the new numbers. If you have never used RGB then the mixing will be counter-intuitive at first. Once you get the hang of it you can predict what the RGB numbers will be. Even more fun is guessing what blends will look like. There are lots of ways to play with color<\/a> this way on the web.<\/p>\n Pigment\/Subtractive: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow<\/strong><\/p>\n Notice that the secondaries are darker<\/strong> than the primaries.<\/p>\n That’s because when the primaries are combined they subtract light – hence the subtractive system. Theory says all three primaries will make black. The reality is they make mud.<\/p>\n![\"scan0005.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/maggiemaggio.com\/color\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/scan0005.jpg\" "\\"scan0005.jpg\\"")
\nThe three primaries in light – Red,Green,
\nBlue (RGB) combine to make the three light secondaries – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow.
\nRed (red-orange)+ Green = Yellow.
\nGreen + Blue (blue-violet) = Cyan.
\nBlue + Red = Magenta.<\/p>\nExercise #1<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"cmy.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/maggiemaggio.com\/color\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/cmy.jpg\" "\\"cmy.jpg\\"")
The three primaries in pigment – Cyan, Magenta,Yellow (CMY), combine to make the three pigment secondaries – Red, Green and Blue.
\nCyan + Magenta = Blue (blue-violet). Magenta + Yellow = Red (red-orange).
\nYellow + Cyan = Green.<\/p>\n