David Zaharie
Primary Subtractive Colours
TL;DR:
If anyone asks you "What are the three primary colours" you say "CMY for paint and RGB for light." RYB is an outdated tradition but feel free to use it for paintings.
Red-yellow-blue (RYB) primaries:
The original primary colours that are commonly taught in school. Mixes are less vibrant than what the CMY model can produce and especially purple doesn't blend well. This model still is very popular amongst traditional artists who want natural-looking mixes. Despite popular belief, these are not "real" primary colours anymore. They are used "primarily" by painters but with technological advancements we now know about RGB wavelengths and CMY chemicals.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RYB_color_model
Split RYB primaries:
Using cold and warm versions of reds, yellows, and blues, one can achieve warmer oranges, colder greens and less muddy purples. This model is considered superior to the RYB model for a better painting colour palette which allows for better pigment mixes. Maybe even more useful than CMY if you want to make a small colour palette. Dr. Oto Kano explains this in her video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjGvtp0lOtw
Cyan-magenta-yellow (CMY) primaries:
These are the real primary subtractive colours. They are used to determine colours of physical things like paint, clothes, print (you might have heard of CMYK printers before). The primary additive colours are red, green, and blue (RGB). They are used to determine colours of emissive things. They make up the light you see in sunlight, lamps and screens. CMY and RGB are opposite to each other. You can try it out yourself here:
cmykcolor.info/print.php?cor=C0M0Y0K0
To get white you have to combine RGB light ("additive") or take away CMY pigments ("subtractive"). CMY allows for more vibrant and diverse mixes which is why they are used in printers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model
This post was a reaction to the amount of misinformation I keep seeing online and offline. You can use whichever model you want if they achieve prettier colours for your work, but CMY and RGB are scientifically accurate while RYB is traditional.
The "K" in CMYK is black or the value. Mixing all of RYB or CMY together will only end up with a dark, muddy brown colour, so printers use pure black ink to get crisp dark colours.
If you want to recreate this yourself, the graphic was made in Adobe Illustrator CC. I placed the left and middle wheels over each other and used the multiply blending mode to get the right wheel which simulates how real colour would blend. What you see on your screen does not look the same once printed.
Primary Subtractive Colours
TL;DR:
If anyone asks you "What are the three primary colours" you say "CMY for paint and RGB for light." RYB is an outdated tradition but feel free to use it for paintings.
Red-yellow-blue (RYB) primaries:
The original primary colours that are commonly taught in school. Mixes are less vibrant than what the CMY model can produce and especially purple doesn't blend well. This model still is very popular amongst traditional artists who want natural-looking mixes. Despite popular belief, these are not "real" primary colours anymore. They are used "primarily" by painters but with technological advancements we now know about RGB wavelengths and CMY chemicals.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RYB_color_model
Split RYB primaries:
Using cold and warm versions of reds, yellows, and blues, one can achieve warmer oranges, colder greens and less muddy purples. This model is considered superior to the RYB model for a better painting colour palette which allows for better pigment mixes. Maybe even more useful than CMY if you want to make a small colour palette. Dr. Oto Kano explains this in her video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjGvtp0lOtw
Cyan-magenta-yellow (CMY) primaries:
These are the real primary subtractive colours. They are used to determine colours of physical things like paint, clothes, print (you might have heard of CMYK printers before). The primary additive colours are red, green, and blue (RGB). They are used to determine colours of emissive things. They make up the light you see in sunlight, lamps and screens. CMY and RGB are opposite to each other. You can try it out yourself here:
cmykcolor.info/print.php?cor=C0M0Y0K0
To get white you have to combine RGB light ("additive") or take away CMY pigments ("subtractive"). CMY allows for more vibrant and diverse mixes which is why they are used in printers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model
This post was a reaction to the amount of misinformation I keep seeing online and offline. You can use whichever model you want if they achieve prettier colours for your work, but CMY and RGB are scientifically accurate while RYB is traditional.
The "K" in CMYK is black or the value. Mixing all of RYB or CMY together will only end up with a dark, muddy brown colour, so printers use pure black ink to get crisp dark colours.
If you want to recreate this yourself, the graphic was made in Adobe Illustrator CC. I placed the left and middle wheels over each other and used the multiply blending mode to get the right wheel which simulates how real colour would blend. What you see on your screen does not look the same once printed.