Yellow is a primary color that can be created by mixing other colors together. Specifically, yellow is formed when green and red light are combined. In the world of pigment and paint, yellow is created by mixing the primary colors blue and red. So yes, blue mixed with another color like red, orange, or green can make the secondary color yellow.
How Light and Pigments Create Color
To understand how different colors combine to make yellow, it’s important to know the difference between how color works with light versus pigments like paint or ink.
Light combines colors using an additive process. When different colored lights shine on the same spot, the light waves combine and our eyes see the blend of the colors. The primary colors of light are red, green, and blue. Mixing green and red light creates yellow light.
Paints, inks, and other pigments use a subtractive process for mixing colors. Each pigment absorbs or subtracts certain wavelengths of light and reflects others back to our eyes. The primary colors for pigments are cyan, magenta, and yellow. When two primary pigment colors are mixed, they absorb more wavelengths, creating a blend that reflects back a new color.
So for pigments, mixing the primary colors blue (which absorbs orange and reflects blue) and red (which absorbs green and reflects red) will absorb all wavelengths except yellow, creating the color yellow.
Mixing Blue and Red to Make Yellow
In paints, inks, or other pigments, combining blue and red makes yellow.
Blue pigment absorbs the orange wavelengths of light and reflects back blue. Red pigment absorbs green wavelengths and reflects back red. When blue and red pigments are mixed together, both the orange and green wavelengths are absorbed. The only wavelength left to reflect back to our eyes is yellow, so we see the color yellow.
Some examples of mixing blue and red pigments to make yellow:
– Mixing blue and red paint colors will result in yellow paint. Primary paint colors are cyan, magenta (a reddish purple), and yellow. So combining the blue cyan paint with the red magenta paint absorbs all other wavelengths and reflects back yellow.
– Combining blue ink and red ink, such as in watercolor paints or markers, will create yellow. The pigments in the inks absorb the orange and green and reflect the yellow wavelength.
– Dyeing fabric or yarn with both blue and red dyes will turn the fabric or yarn yellow. As the blue and red dye pigments are absorbed into the material, they filter out orange and green light, leaving only yellow to be reflected.
So any medium that uses pigments, such as paint, ink, dye, pastels, or color pencils, will create yellow when blue and red pigments are mixed. Blue and red light, however, will not make yellow light.
Other Colors Mixed with Blue to Make Yellow
While red is the most common and vivid option, other colors can be mixed with blue to make various hues of yellow too. Combining blue with complementary colors on the color wheel will create yellow shades.
Blue and Orange
Mixing blue pigment with orange, the color opposite blue on the color wheel, absorbs all other visible wavelengths except yellow. This creates a bright, pure yellow shade. Blue paint with orange paint make yellow when blended.
Blue and Green
Green is made from combining yellow and blue light. When green pigment is mixed with blue pigment, such as paints or dyes, the green absorbs the red wavelengths while the blue absorbs orange. This leaves only yellow wavelengths to be reflected, making yellow from blue and green.
Blue and Violet
Violet, a tertiary color between blue and red, combined with blue will also make yellow. Violet pigment absorbs the green wavelengths. When mixed with blue pigment that absorbs orange wavelengths, the green and orange light is filtered out, leaving yellow as the only visible color.
So essentially, any color that absorbs wavelengths other than yellow and orange can be mixed with blue to make a yellow shade. Red is the most vivid mixing option, followed by orange and green.
Why Blue and Yellow Don’t Make Green
Given that green and blue light make the color yellow, it would seem logical that mixing blue and yellow paint should make the color green. However, because paint pigments use a subtractive color model instead of an additive model, combining blue and yellow actually makes a brownish shade.
Yellow paint absorbs the blue wavelengths of light and reflects back yellow. When mixed with blue paint that absorbs orange wavelengths, the result is all wavelengths being absorbed except for a small amount of green and red. Our eyes see this combination as a muddy brown color rather than green.
To make green paint from primary colors requires mixing blue paint with yellow paint. Yellow reflects green and red while cyan paint reflects green and blue. Combining these absorbs all wavelengths except green, creating green paint.
So while we can mix blue and other colors to create yellow pigment, we cannot mix blue and yellow pigments to make green. The color mixing principles are different for pigments versus light.
Color Mixing Science
The science behind how colors mix and combine has to do with the properties of light and pigments. Here is a more in-depth look:
Properties of Light
| Wavelengths | Color |
| 700-635 nm | Red |
| 590-560 nm | Orange |
| 535-490 nm | Green |
| 450-400 nm | Blue |
– Visible light from the sun contains wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation ranging from 700 nanometers (red) to 400 nanometers (blue).
– When all wavelengths of visible light shine on an object, the object appears white or colored depending on pigments.
– Our eyes have receptors called cones that detect specific wavelengths, allowing us to see color.
Additive Color Mixing
– With light sources like TV screens, combining color wavelengths creates an additive process.
– Red, green, and blue light are the primary additive colors. Combining all three makes white light.
– Mixing green and red light stimulates the cones in our eyes to see the color yellow.
Subtractive Color Mixing
– Pigments like paint and ink use a subtractive process, absorbing some wavelengths and reflecting others.
– Cyan, magenta, and yellow are the primary subtractive colors. Combining all three absorbs all visible light and reflects back black.
– Yellow pigment absorbs blue light and reflects red and green.
– Blue pigment absorbs orange light and reflects blue.
– When yellow and blue pigments mix, the orange and blue light is absorbed, leaving only yellow to reflect back.
Examples of Yellow Made from Blue and Other Colors
Here are some real-world examples of mixing blue with complementary colors to create different yellow hues:
Art and Design
– Painters mixing blue and red oil paints to make yellow details in a painting
– Graphic designers using blue and orange on a webpage layout, which appears as yellow where they overlay
– Theater set painters mixing blue and green colored paints to paint yellow stage backdrops
Textiles and Fashion
– Tie-dying a white shirt with blue and red dyes to create a yellow pattern
– Weaving a tapestry with blue, red, and yellow yarn, combining the blue and red threads to form yellow regions
– Color printing a yellow pattern onto fabric by layering blue and red pigmented inks which blend into yellow
Crafts
– Children mixing red and blue colored water in art class to make yellow colored water
– Soap makers swirling red and blue pigments into soap batter to create swirls of yellow in final soap bars
– Ceramic artists brushing blue glaze over orange painted clay, blending into yellow glazed areas after firing
Printing and Digital Media
– Designers layering a blue shape and red shape in Adobe Illustrator, creating a yellow overlap
– Kids making yellow marks by coloring over blue crayon with a red crayon
– Commercial printers layering blue and red inks to print yellow product packaging
Color Theory Concepts Related to Blue, Red, and Yellow
Here are some color theory concepts that help explain how mixing blue and another color can create yellow:
Primary and Secondary Colors
– Red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors in painting because they cannot be mixed from other colors.
– Mixing two primary colors creates the secondary colors orange, green, and violet.
– Yellow is a secondary color formed from mixing the primary colors blue and red.
Color Wheel
| Red | Orange | Yellow |
| Violet | Blue | Green |
– Colors opposite each other on the color wheel are complementary colors.
– Blue’s complement is orange. Mixing blue and orange makes yellow.
– Red’s complement is green. Combining red and green also makes yellow.
Color Temperature
– Yellow is a warm color, associated with sunlight, fire, and heat.
– Blue is a cool color, associated with water, ice, and shadows.
– Warm and cool colors contrast strongly, creating vibrant color combinations.
– Mixing the warm color red with the cool color blue results in the warm yellow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions about mixing colors to create yellow:
Can you make yellow by mixing blue and yellow?
No, mixing blue and yellow paint or pigments actually makes a greenish-brown color. Yellow and blue are both primary paint colors, so they do not combine to make a secondary color.
What two food colors make yellow?
Red and blue food coloring can be mixed together to make yellow food coloring. Food colors use FD&C dyes as pigments just like paint, so combining the blue and red dyes makes a yellow hue.
What color results from mixing equal parts blue and red paint?
Mixing equal amounts of blue and red paint will make purple. Adding more red makes the mix shift towards red-violet. Adding more blue makes it lean towards blue-violet. Mixing blue and red equally produces a vivid violet purple.
Can you mix paint to make neon yellow?
It’s not possible to mix paint to create a neon or fluorescent yellow like a highlighter. Pure neon colors require specialized pigments that absorb UV light and emit it as visible light. Mixing blue and red paint will not make a glowing neon yellow.
What 2 colors of play-doh make yellow?
Kneading together blue and red Play-Doh will create yellow Play-Doh. Like other pigments, the dyes in the modeling clay mix to absorb all light except yellow when combined, resulting in yellow Play-Doh.
Conclusion
In summary, mixing the color blue with complementary colors like red, orange, or green will create different hues of the secondary color yellow. This is because paints and other pigments use a subtractive color model, absorbing some wavelengths of light and reflecting others back. The combination of blue pigment absorbing orange wavelengths and other pigments absorbing green or blue wavelengths results in only yellow being reflected back to our eyes. So when it comes to paint and other pigments, but not light, blue plus red or orange or green mixes to make yellow. Understanding these color relationships allows artists, designers, and more to purposefully create the yellow hues they desire.