3.1 Additive and subtractive colour

What is additive and subtractive colour?

Additive and subtractive colour systems are ways of describing colour primaries and how to mix colours.

A simple way to remember the difference between additive and subtractive colour is:

  • Additive colour is created by mixing light
  • Subtractive colour is created by mixing materials

 

additive and subtractive colour diagram
Figure 3.2. Additive and subtractive colour primaries. Image attribution:Additive and Subtractive colour primaries by Lisa Cianci, Creative Commons licenceAttribution-Non-commercial-ShareAlike-4.0

Read on to find out what additive and subtractive colour is, the primary colours for each system (Figure 3.2), and how these systems are used to mix colours with light and materials.

Topics covered:

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Colour Theory: Understanding and Working with Colour Copyright © 2023 by RMIT University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book