Vähennysväriavaruuksilla

Vähennysväriavi or subtractive color mixing is a way of creating colors by absorbing or subtracting certain wavelengths of light from a white light source. This process is fundamentally different from additive color mixing, which combines light to create new colors. In subtractive mixing, pigments or dyes are used, and they absorb specific wavelengths of light.

The primary colors in subtractive mixing are typically considered to be cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY). When these primary colors are mixed, they absorb different parts of the light spectrum. For example, cyan absorbs red light, magenta absorbs green light, and yellow absorbs blue light. By combining these pigments in varying proportions, a wide range of secondary and tertiary colors can be produced.

When all three primary subtractive colors are mixed together in equal and full intensity, they theoretically absorb all wavelengths of visible light, resulting in black. In practice, however, mixing the CMY primaries often produces a muddy brown or dark gray due to impurities in the pigments. For this reason, black (K, for Key) is often included as a fourth primary color in printing processes, forming the CMYK model.

Subtractive color mixing is the principle behind how color is perceived in everyday objects. The color of an object is determined by the wavelengths of light it reflects. For instance, a red apple appears red because its surface absorbs most wavelengths of light except for red, which it reflects to our eyes. This method is fundamental to printing, painting, and dyeing.