Tell Me Why?

Primary colors are colors from which all other colors can be made. Primary colors may be mixed to produce most colors but cannot be made from mixing other colors. Primary colors are Red, Green, and Blue or Cyan (a special shade of blue), Magenta (a special shade of pink), and Yellow depending on the two different types of color mixing.
The mixing of colors using different colors of light is called additive color mixing.
Red light + Blue light = Magenta (Purple)
Blue light + Green light = Cyan
Green light + Red light = Yellow

The mixing of colors using different colors of paint (ink/dye) is called subtractive color mixing.
Magenta paint + Yellow paint = Red
Yellow paint + Cyan paint = Green
Cyan paint + Magenta paint = Blue

From the explanation and color chart given above, one can see that the primary colors of light are secondary colors for dye, paint and ink while conversely, the primary colors of dye, paint and ink are secondary colors in light.

Hence, in light, the three primary colors are Red, Green, and Blue while for painting, they are Cyan (a special shade of blue), Magenta (a special shade of pink), and Yellow.

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Labels: Colors