What colors mix to make red?
Red is a primary color that can be produced by mixing other colors together. When different colored pigments are combined, they subtract colors from each other to produce new colors. Mixing the primary colors yellow and blue makes red. Here’s a closer look at how to mix paint, light, ink, and more to create the color red.
Mixing Paint
When it comes to mixing paint, red is considered a primary color along with blue and yellow. This means it can’t be created by mixing other colors. However, red can be made by mixing the primary colors yellow and blue.
Specifically, mixing equal parts yellow and blue paint will make red. The yellow and blue combine to form a completely new color. Adding more yellow will make the red more orange, while adding more blue will make it closer to violet. Adjusting the ratio allows you to make different hues and shades of red.
This works because paint pigments use subtractive color mixing. The pigments absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others back. Yellow paint absorbs blue light and reflects back red and green. Blue paint absorbs red and reflects back green and blue. When these two paints are mixed, both red and blue light are absorbed, leaving just red to be reflected back to your eyes.
| Color 1 | Color 2 | Mixed Color |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Blue | Red |
So in summary, mixing blue and yellow paint pigments absorbs all light except red, creating the color red.
Mixing Light
When working with light instead of pigments, red can be made by mixing the primary light colors green and blue. This is because colored light combines additively rather than subtractively.
Red, green, and blue light are the primary colors of light. Combining green and blue light beams together produces red light. Specifically, combining light at wavelengths of about 530 nm (green) and 470 nm (blue) will produce light at around 650 nm, which is red.
| Color 1 | Color 2 | Mixed Color |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Blue | Red |
This additive mixing of light can be seen when combining green and blue lasers or colored stage lights. Computer and TV screens also rely on this by mixing tiny red, green, and blue light pixels together to display colors.
So in summary, overlapping green and blue beams of light combines wavelengths to produce red light.
Mixing Ink
When mixing colored inks, such as for printing, red can be made by overlapping yellow and magenta ink.
Cyan, magenta, and yellow are the primary colors of ink. These inks work by absorbing some light wavelengths and reflecting others back. Magenta ink absorbs green light. Yellow ink absorbs blue light. Overlapping these two inks results in only red light being reflected back to your eyes.
| Color 1 | Color 2 | Mixed Color |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Magenta | Red |
This is very similar to mixing paint pigments. But instead of blue paint, magenta ink is used as one of the primaries. This ink reflects back red and blue light, combining with the yellow ink (reflecting back red and green) to absorb all other colors except red.
So in summary, mixing yellow and magenta ink removes all other wavelengths, leaving just red light to be reflected back.
Mixing Colored Light
Red can also be made by mixing colored light rays rather than pure wavelengths. In this case, mixing magenta and yellow light will make red.
Magenta light is a mix of red and blue wavelengths. Yellow light contains red and green wavelengths. Overlapping these mixes together retains just the red wavelength while absorbing the blue and green.
| Color 1 | Color 2 | Mixed Color |
|---|---|---|
| Magenta | Yellow | Red |
This allows red light to be created by combining secondary colors rather than primaries. While magenta and yellow contain red wavelengths, it takes both mixes to isolate red on its own.
So in summary, where colored light is concerned, the combination of magenta and yellow removes all but the red wavelength.
Mixing Other Pigments
Mixing pigments isn’t limited to just paint. Other colored materials like pastels, inks, dyes, and more follow the same subtractive mixing principles. Here are some other examples of pigment combinations that can make red:
– Red pastel chalk can be made by mixing yellow and blue pastel chalks together.
– Orange and purple finger paint create red when swirled together.
– Overlaying yellow and cyan dyes or color filters produces a red color.
– Reddish browns result from mixing earth tones like ochre and umber.
– Mixing plant-based pigments like madder root (red) and saffron (yellow) make red dyes.
Essentially any pigments that reflect back red wavelengths when combined will produce some shade of red. The options are endless when it comes to mixing colors, both natural and synthetic, to create red.