Color Mixing

Color is commonly described in terms of hue and brightness. "Hue" is the term used to identify a color, such as: red, green, blue, or yellow. Hues are either primary colors (red, green, blue) or are formed by combinations of primary colors.

Two colors are complementary if “light” of these colors form white when mixed, or, if “pigments” of these colors form a neutral (gray) when mixed. In the figure below, where the circles of primary color (red, green, blue) cross forms yellow, cyan, and magenta. These are complementary colors, because they are already formed from a equal mixture of two primary colors and the addition of the "missing" primary will form "white."

The Mixing of Colored Lights Showing the Formation of White and Complementary Colors