Subtractive color
Color made by inks or paints absorbing light. Cyan, magenta and yellow combine toward black; print works this way.
Also called subtractive color mixing, subtractive colour
Subtractive color starts from white paper and takes light away. Each ink absorbs (subtracts) part of the light that would otherwise bounce back to your eye.
Cyan, magenta and yellow are the subtractive primaries. Overlap all three and you get a muddy dark brown, which is why printers add a fourth ink, black (the K in CMYK).
Guides that cover Subtractive color
- Mixing Additive vs Subtractive Color Additive vs subtractive color explained: how RGB light adds up to white, how CMYK ink subtracts toward black, and why screens and print differ. Read on.
- Color Wheel Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Colors Explained Primary, secondary and tertiary colors explained across RYB, RGB and CMYK, with how each one is mixed on the color wheel. Learn the basics in 5 minutes.
- CMYK What are CMYK colors? What is CMYK? Learn how the CMYK color model works, how it differs from RGB, and why print looks duller than your screen, plus how to convert. Read on.