Skip to Content

Is paint color additive or subtractive?

Is paint color additive or subtractive?

The answer to whether paint color is additive or subtractive depends on the type of paint. Both additive and subtractive color mixing principles are used in different paint formulations.

Additive vs. subtractive color

Additive and subtractive are two different color models that describe how colors are created:

  • Additive color mixing starts with darkness and adds light wavelengths together to create color. Red, green, and blue light are combined in various proportions to create all the colors of the visible spectrum.
  • Subtractive color mixing starts with white light and subtracts wavelengths to create color. Pigments absorb certain wavelengths and reflect the remaining wavelengths, which our eyes perceive as color.

Additive color is used for light-emitting devices like TVs and computer monitors. Subtractive color is used for reflective surfaces like paints, dyes, and inks.

How paint color is created

Paint uses pigments to absorb some wavelengths of light and reflect others. This makes paint color subtractive:

  • White paint contains no pigments and reflects all visible wavelengths of light equally.
  • Colored paints contain pigments that absorb some wavelengths and reflect the remaining wavelengths.
  • Combining paint pigments creates a mixture that reflects a new set of wavelengths.

For example, red paint absorbs green and blue light and reflects red wavelengths. Yellow paint absorbs blue light and reflects red and green. Mixing red and yellow paint creates orange paint that reflects red and some green light.

Lightening and darkening paint colors

While paint pigments use subtractive color mixing, adding white or black pigment produces an additive effect:

  • Adding white pigment makes the paint lighter and more reflective.
  • Adding black pigment makes the paint darker and less reflective.

With white pigment added, more light is reflected from the surface. With black pigment, less light is reflected. So lightening and darkening of the paint color relies on additive light mixing principles.

Fluorescent and iridescent paints

Some specialty paint types like fluorescent and iridescent paints use additive color effects:

  • Fluorescent paints absorb UV light and re-emit it as visible light, causing the paint to appear brighter and glow.
  • Iridescent paints contain metallic flakes that reflect different wavelengths of light at different viewing angles, causing shifts in color.

While the base paint pigments use subtractive mixing, fluorescent and iridescent paint add their own light to create additional color effects.

Digital paint programs

In digital paint programs and image editing software, colors are created using additive RGB (red, green, blue) mixing. Even though the colors are applied digitally with virtual “paint”, the principles are different than real paint:

  • Digital “paint” starts with black (no light) and adds RGB light.
  • Combining RGB light channels adds more wavelengths together to form other colors.
  • Darkening and lightening color is achieved by decreasing or increasing RGB values.

Since the “paint” being applied is light, digital painting uses additive color mixing. Real paint uses pigments and subtractive mixing.

Conclusion

Most conventional paints rely on subtractive color mixing using pigments. But additive mixing principles are involved in lightening/darkening paint and special effect paints. Digital paint programs also use additive RGB color mixing since no physical pigments are involved. So both additive and subtractive color models play a role in paint color.