Subtractive color theory

Subtractive color theory explains how colors are created by removing (subtracting) specific wavelengths of light using pigments or filters. When combined, these pigments absorb certain colors and reflect others, resulting in a new color. For example, mixing cyan, magenta, and yellow pigments—the primary subtractive colors—can produce a wide range of colors, including blacks and browns when combined thoroughly. This principle is fundamental to printing and painting, where the colors we see are the result of light being absorbed and reflected by the pigments on a surface, rather than emitted like in digital screens.