Primary colors

A set of primary colors or primary colours (see spelling differences) consists of colorants or

colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the
essential method used to create the perception of a broad range of colors in, e.g., electronic
displays, color printing, and paintings. Perceptions associated with a given combination of primary
colors can be predicted by an appropriate mixing model (e.g., additive, subtractive) that reflects the
physics of how light interacts with physical media, and ultimately the retina.
Primary colors can also be conceptual (not necessarily real), either as additive mathematical
elements of a color space or as irreducible phenomenological categories in domains such as
psychology and philosophy. Color space primaries are precisely defined and empirically rooted
in psychophysical colorimetry experiments which are foundational for understanding color vision.
Primaries of some color spaces are complete (that is, all visible colors are described in terms of their
primaries weighted by nonnegative primary intensity coefficients) but necessarily imaginary[1] (that is,
there is no plausible way that those primary colors could be represented physically, or perceived).
Phenomenological accounts of primary colors, such as the psychological primaries, have been used
as the conceptual basis for practical color applications even though they are not a quantitative
description in and of themselves.
Sets of color space primaries are generally arbitrary, in the sense that there is no one set of
primaries that can be considered the canonical set. Primary pigments or light sources are selected
for a given application on the basis of subjective preferences as well as practical factors such as
cost, stability, availability etc.
The concept of primary colors has a long, complex history. The choice of primary colors has
changed over time in different domains that study color. Descriptions of primary colors come from
areas including philosophy, art history, color order systems, and scientific work involving the physics
of light and perception of color.
Art education materials commonly use red, yellow, and blue as primary colors, sometimes
suggesting that they can mix all colors. No set of real colorants or lights can mix all possible colors,
however. In physics, the three primary colors are typically red, green and blue, after the different
types of photoreceptor pigments in the cone cells.[2][3]

Additive mixing of light[edit]

See also: RGB color model

A photograph of the red, green, and blue elements (subpixels) of an LCD. Additive mixing explains how light
from these colored elements can be used for photorealistic color image reproduction.
The perception elicited by multiple light sources co-stimulating the same area of the retina
is additive, i.e., predicted via summing the spectral power distributions (the intensity of each
wavelength) of the individual light sources assuming a color matching context.[4]: 17–22  For example,
a purple spotlight on a dark background could be matched with coincident blue and red spotlights
that are both dimmer than the purple spotlight. If the intensity of the purple spotlight was doubled it
could be matched by doubling the intensities of both the red and blue spotlights that matched the
original purple. The principles of additive color mixing are embodied in Grassmann's laws.[5] Additive
mixing is sometimes described as "additive color matching"[6] to emphasize the fact the predictions
based on additivity only apply assuming the color matching context. Additivity relies on assumptions
of the color matching context such as the match being in the foveal field of view, under appropriate
luminance, etc.[7]
Additive mixing of coincident spot lights was applied in the experiments used to derive the CIE
1931 colorspace (see color space primaries section). The original monochromatic primaries of the
wavelengths of 435.8 nm (violet), 546.1 nm (green), and 700 nm (red) were used in this application
due to the convenience they afforded to the experimental work.[8]
Small red, green, and blue elements (with controllable brightness) in electronic displays mix
additively from an appropriate viewing distance to synthesize compelling colored images. This
specific type of additive mixing is described as partitive mixing.[4]: 21–22  Red, green, and blue light are
popular primaries for partitive mixing since primary lights with those hues provide a large triangular
chromaticity gamut.[9]
The exact colors chosen for additive primaries are a compromise between the available technology
(including considerations such as cost and power usage) and the need for large chromaticity gamut.
For example, in 1953 the NTSC specified primaries that were representative of
the phosphors available in that era for color CRTs. Over decades, market pressures for brighter
colors resulted in CRTs using primaries that deviated significantly from the original standard.
[10]
 Currently, ITU-R BT.709-5 primaries are typical for high-definition television.[11]

Subtractive mixing of ink layers[edit]

See also: CMYK color model

A magnified representation of small partially overlapping spots of cyan, magenta, yellow, and key
(black) halftones in CMYK process printing. Each row represents the pattern of partially overlapping ink
"rosettes" so that the patterns would be perceived as blue, green, and red when viewed on white paper from a
typical viewing distance. The overlapping ink layers mix subtractively while additive mixing predicts the color
appearance from the light reflected from the rosettes and white paper in between them.
The subtractive color mixing model predicts the resultant spectral power distribution of light filtered
through overlaid partially absorbing materials, usually in the context of an underlying reflective
surface such as white paper.[4]: 22–23 [12] Each layer partially absorbs some wavelengths of light from the
illumination while letting others pass through, resulting in a colored appearance. The resultant
spectral power distribution is predicted by the wavelength-by-wavelength product of the spectral
reflectance of the illumination and the product of the spectral reflectances of all of the layers.
[13]
 Overlapping layers of ink in printing mix subtractively over reflecting white paper, while the
reflected light mixes in a partitive way to generate color images.[4]: 30–33 [14] Importantly, unlike additive
mixture, the color of the mixture is not well predicted by the colors of the individual dyes or inks. The
typical number of inks in such a printing process is 3 (CMY) or 4 (CMYK), but can commonly range
to 6 (e.g., Pantone hexachrome). In general, using fewer inks as primaries results in more
economical printing but using more may result in better color reproduction.[15]
Cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) are good chromatic subtractive primaries in that filters with
those colors can be overlaid to yield a surprisingly large chromaticity gamut.[16] A black (K) ink (from
the older "key plate") is also used in CMYK systems to augment C, M and Y inks or dyes due to both
being more efficient in terms of time and expense and less likely to introduce visible defects.
[17]
 Before the color names cyan and magenta were in common use, these primaries were often
known as blue and red, respectively, and their exact color has changed over time with access to new
pigments and technologies.[18] Organizations such as Fogra,[19] European Color
Initiative and SWOP publish colorimetric CMYK standards for the printing industry.[20]

Traditional red, yellow, and blue primary colors[edit]

Color Mixing Guide, John L. King 1925, cover and plates describing yellow, red, and blue color mixing.

A representation of Johannes Itten's color wheel showing his red, yellow, and blue as primary colors within the
central equilateral triangle.[21]

Color theorists since the seventeenth century, and many artists and designers since that time, have
taken red, yellow, and blue to be the primary colors (see history below). This RYB system, in
"traditional color theory", is often used to order and compare colors, and sometimes proposed as a
system of mixing pigments to get a wide range of, or "all", colors.[22] O'Connor describes the role of
RYB primaries in traditional color theory:[23]
A cornerstone component of traditional color theory, the RYB conceptual color model underpins the
notion that the creation of an exhaustive gamut of color nuances occurs via intermixture of red,
yellow, and blue pigments, especially when applied in conjunction with white and black pigment
color. In the literature relating to traditional color theory and RYB color, red, yellow, and blue are
often referred to as primary colors and represent exemplar hues rather than specific hues that are
more pure, unique, or proprietary variants of these hues.
Traditional color theory is based on experience with pigments, more than on the science of light. In
1920, Snow and Froehlich explained: "It does not matter to the makers of dyes if, as the physicist
says, red light and green light in mixture make yellow light, when they find by experiment that red
pigment and green pigment in mixture produce gray. No matter what the spectroscope may
demonstrate regarding the combination of yellow rays of light and blue rays of light, the fact remains
that yellow pigment mixed with the blue pigment produces green pigment."[24]
The widespread adoption of teaching of RYB as primary colors in post-secondary art schools in the
twentieth century has been attributed to the influence of the Bauhaus, where Johannes
Itten developed his ideas on color during his time there in the 1920s, and of his book on color[25]
[26]
 published in 1961.[21]
In discussing color design for the web, Jason Beaird writes: "The reason many digital artists still
keep a red, yellow, and blue color wheel handy is because the color schemes and concepts of
traditional color theory are based on that model. ... Even though I design mostly for the Web—a
medium that's displayed in RGB—I still use red, yellow, and blue as the basis for my color selection.
I believe that color combinations created using the red, yellow, and blue color wheel are more
aesthetically pleasing, and that good design is about aesthetics."[27]
Of course, the notion that all colors can be mixed from RYB primaries is not true, just as it is not true
in any system of real primaries.[28] For example, if the blue pigment is a deep Prussian blue, then a
muddy desaturated green may be the best that can be had by mixing with yellow.[29] To achieve a
larger gamut of colors via mixing, the blue and red pigments used in illustrative materials such as
the Color Mixing Guide in the image are often closer to peacock blue (a blue-green or cyan)
and carmine (or crimson or magenta) respectively.[29][30][31] Printers traditionally used inks of such
colors, known as "process blue" and "process red", before modern color science and the printing
industry converged on the process colors (and names) cyan and magenta[29][31] (this is not to say that
RYB is the same as CMY, or that it is exactly subtractive, but that there is a range of ways to
conceptualize traditional RYB as a subtractive system in the framework of modern color science).

Mixing pigments in limited palettes[edit]

Main article: Paint mixing
An 1896 self-portrait by Anders Zorn clearly showing a four-pigment palette of what are thought to be
white, yellow ochre, vermillion, and black pigments.[32]

The first known use of red, yellow, and blue as "simple" or "primary" colors, by Chalcidius, ca. AD
300, was possibly based on the art of paint mixing.[33]
Mixing pigments for the purpose of creating realistic paintings with diverse color gamuts is known to
have been practiced at least since Ancient Greece (see history section). The identity of a/the set of
minimal pigments to mix diverse gamuts has long been the subject of speculation by theorists whose
claims have changed over time, for example, Pliny's white, black, one or another red, and "sil", which
might have been yellow or blue; Robert Boyle's white, black, red, yellow, and blue; and variations
with more or fewer "primary" color or pigments. Some writers and artists have found these schemes
difficult to reconcile with the actual practice of painting.[34]: 29–38  Nonetheless, it has long been known
that limited palettes consisting of a small set of pigments are sufficient to mix a diverse gamut of
colors.[35][36][37][38][39]
The set of pigments available to mix diverse gamuts of color (in various media such
as oil, watercolor, acrylic, gouache, and pastel) is large and has changed throughout history.[40]
[41]
 There is no consensus on a specific set of pigments that are considered primary colors – the
choice of pigments depends entirely on the artist's subjective preference of subject and style of art,
as well as material considerations like lightfastness and mixing behavior.[42] A variety of limited
palettes have been employed by artists for their work.[43][44]
The color of light (i.e., the spectral power distribution) reflected from illuminated surfaces coated in
paint mixes is not well approximated by a subtractive or additive mixing model.[45] Color predictions
that incorporate light scattering effects of pigment particles and paint layer thickness require
approaches based on the Kubelka–Munk equations,[46] but even such approaches are not expected
to predict the color of paint mixtures precisely due to inherent limitations.[47] Artists typically rely on
mixing experience and "recipes"[48][49] to mix desired colors from a small initial set of primaries and do
not use mathematical modeling.
MacEvoy explains why artists often chose a palette closer to RYB than to CMY: "Because the
'optimal' pigments in practice produce unsatisfactory mixtures; because the alternative selections are
less granulating, more transparent, and mix darker values; and because visual preferences have
demanded relatively saturated yellow to red mixtures, obtained at the expense of relatively dull
green and purple mixtures. Artists jettisoned 'theory' to obtain the best color mixtures in practice."[50]

Color space primaries[edit]

A conceptual visualization of a color matching experiment. A circular foveal bipartite field (about the size one's
thumbnail an arm's length away[51]) is presented to the observer in a dark surround. One part of the field is
illuminated by a monochromatic test stimulus. The participant adjusts the intensities of the three coincident
monochromatic primary lights (which are usually red, green and blue hues) on either field until both the test
stimulus and match stimulus appear as the exact same color. In this case the participant has added red to the
480 nm test stimulus and has almost matched the match stimulus made of only the green and blue lights of
comparable intensities. The specific monochromatic primaries shown here are from the Stiles-Burch 1955
experiment.[52]

The CIE RGB,[53][54] CIE XYZ[55] color matching functions and LMS cone fundamentals.[56][57] The curves are all for
2° fields.

Color space primaries are derived from canonical colorimetric experiments that represent a
standardized model of an observer (i.e., a set of color matching functions) adopted by Commission
Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) standards. The abbreviated account of color space primaries in
this section is based on descriptions in Colorimetry - Understanding The CIE System.[58]
The CIE 1931 standard observer is derived experiments in which participants observing a foveal 2°
bipartite field with a dark surround. Half of the field is illuminated with a monochromatic test
stimulus (ranging from 380 nm to 780 nm) and the other half is the matching stimulus illuminated
with three coincident monochromatic primary lights: 700 nm for red (R), 546.1 nm for green (G), and
435.8 nm for blue (B).[58]: 29  These primaries correspond to CIE RGB color space. The intensities of
the primary lights could be adjusted by the participant observer until the matching stimulus matched
the test stimulus, as predicted by Grassman's laws of additive mixing. Different standard observers
from other color matching experiments have been derived since 1931. The variations in experiments
include choices of primary lights, field of view, number of participants etc.[59] but the presentation
below is representative of those results.
Matching was performed across many participants in incremental steps along the range of test
stimulus wavelengths (380 nm to 780 nm) to ultimately yield the color matching functions: ,  and  that
represent the relative intensities of red, green, and blue light to match each wavelength (). These
functions imply that  units of the test stimulus with any spectral power distribution, , can be matched
by [R], [G], and [B] units of each primary where:[58]: 28 
 
 

   
(Eq. 1)
Each integral term in the above equation is known as a tristimulus value and measures amounts
in the adopted units. No set of real primary lights can match another monochromatic light under
additive mixing so at least one of the color matching functions is negative for each wavelength.
A negative tristimulus value corresponds to that primary being added to the test stimulus instead
of the matching stimulus to achieve a match.
The negative tristimulus values made certain types of calculations difficult, so the CIE put forth
new color matching functions , , and  defined by the following linear transformation:[58]: 30 
 
 

   
(Eq. 2)
These new color matching functions correspond to imaginary primary lights X, Y, and Z (CIE
XYZ color space). All colors can be matched by finding the amounts [X], [Y],
and [Z] analogously to [R], [G], and [B] as defined in Eq. 1. The functions , , and  based
on the specifications that they should be nonnegative for all wavelengths,  be equal
to photometric luminance, and that  for an equienergy (i.e., a uniform spectral power
distribution) test stimulus.[58]: 30 
Derivations use the color matching functions, along with data from other experiments, to
ultimately yield the cone fundamentals: ,  and . These functions correspond to the response
curves for the three types of color photoreceptors found in the human retina: long-
wavelength (L), medium-wavelength (M), and short-wavelength (S) cones. The three cone
fundamentals are related to the original color matching functions by the following linear
transformation (specific to a 10° field