How Does RGB Make Yellow?
RGB, or Red Green Blue, is an additive color model used in electronic displays like computer screens and televisions. Unlike subtractive color mixing (like with paints), where mixing colors results in darker shades, in the additive model, mixing colors results in lighter shades. Therefore, yellow is created not by mixing different pigments, but by combining light.
Yellow is produced in the RGB system by combining red and green light at equal intensity. This is because red and green are primary colors in the additive model; when combined, they create the perception of yellow. The intensity of the red and green components determines the brightness and saturation of the resulting yellow. A brighter yellow is produced with higher intensity values for both red and green.
Here's a breakdown:
- Red (R): Provides the warm tones to the yellow.
- Green (G): Contributes to the overall brightness and vibrancy.
- Blue (B): Is absent in the creation of yellow. Adding blue would shift the color towards other hues.
Examples:
- Equal parts Red and Green: This generates a pure, vibrant yellow.
- More Red than Green: The resulting yellow would appear slightly more orange.
- More Green than Red: The yellow leans more towards a greenish-yellow.
This contrasts with subtractive color mixing (used in paint, ink, etc.), where mixing red and green results in a muddy brown. The difference lies in how light interacts with pigments versus how light is emitted from a screen.
In the RGB color model, represented as hexadecimal codes, #FFFF00 represents pure yellow. Here, FF represents the maximum value (255) for both red and green, while 00 represents zero for blue.
Sources consistently confirm that equal intensity red and green lights produce yellow on screens and electronic displays using the additive RGB system. This is different from subtractive color mixing used in paints or inks. Therefore, this combination is how displays show the color yellow.
