Subtractive Primary colours are associated with reflected light. In this case, the subtractive colours are Blue, Red, and Yellow — the primary colours we are most familiar with from school.
When equal amounts of Red, Blue, and Yellow pigment (such as paint) are combined, black is produced. By adding the colours together to produce black, we call these subtractive colours.
We use subtractive primary colours when mixing paints or inks. In printing, the colours used are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK for short).
Understanding Subtractive Colours
A simple way to understand subtractive colours is to create your own by mixing pigments in the form of paint. Most of us have probably done this at some point, but just to recap...
You will need:
- Three colours of paint — ideally Blue, Red, and Yellow. These can be watercolour, oil, or emulsion paints.
- Plain white paper to mix the paints on.
- A brush to apply and mix the paint.
Then...
Mix the different colours of paint!
The following colours can be created:
- Violet/Purple: Blue and Red mixed
- Orange: Red and Yellow mixed
- Green: Blue and Yellow mixed
- Black: Blue, Red, and Yellow mixed
These colours created by mixing the primary colours are called secondary colours.