[G4] Color Systems (was monitor gone yellow}

[OBrien]

On Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:58:26 -0600, Doug McNutt wrote:
> Red plus green makes yellow in spite of what you might have learned 
> in school.

Color systems are really way more complicated, but here are the basics:

Red + Green = Yellow in the additive color system (RGB), for which the primary colors are Red, Green, and Blue. The additive system involves *transmitted* colors -- light.

R + G = Yellow
G + B = Cyan
B + R = Magenta

What most people learn in school (or, at least, remember -- maybe) is the primary colors of the *subtractive* color system. This involves colors resulting from light *reflected* by colored surfaces (pigments). The primary colors for this system are Red, Yellow, and Blue. In the subtractive system, Red + Green = Brown (usually). I say "usually" because, in theory, Red + Green (in equal parts) should equal Gray, but pigment colors are usually not pure, so....Brown.

R + Y = Orange
Y + B = Green
B + R = Violet (Purple)

The RYB subtractive system is the "old" subtractive system. The "new" system has as it's primarcolors Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow (CMY).

C + M = Violet
M + Y = Orange
Y + C = Green (Chartreuse)

The CMYK system is used in printing. "K" is Black.


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O'Brien