1530 RGB Colours – Grid

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This diagram shows all 1530 fully saturated colours in the RGB colour model


The diagram splits the total of 1530 into blocks of 256 colours with each block starting with a primary and finishing with a secondary colour or visa-vera. The six segments are:

  • Red (primary colour) to yellow (secondary colour)
  • Yellow (secondary) to green (primary)
  • Green (primary) to cyan (secondary)
  • Cyan (secondary) to blue (primary)
  • Blue (primary) to magenta (secondary)
  • Magenta (secondary) to red (primary)

Description

1530 RGB Colours - Grid

TRY SOME QUICK QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO GET STARTED
Red, green and blue are the three additive primary colours used in the RGB colour model.
The RGB colour model uses colour values that identify how much red, green and blue light is present in a colour. The HSB colour model uses colour values to identify the hue and the level of saturation and brightness.
When red (660 nm), green (525 nm) and blue (460 nm) colours of light are projected at the same intensity onto a neutral-coloured surface they produce white.
Blue and red are the two primary RGB colours that together make magenta!

About the diagram

This diagram shows all 1530 fully saturated colours in the RGB colour model.

The diagram splits the total of 1530 into blocks of 256 colours with each block starting with a primary and finishing with a secondary colour or visa-versa. The six segments are:

  • Red (primary colour) to yellow (secondary colour)
  • Yellow (secondary) to green (primary)
  • Green (primary) to cyan (secondary)
  • Cyan (secondary) to blue (primary)
  • Blue (primary) to magenta (secondary)
  • Magenta (secondary) to red (primary)

Understanding the diagram

  • All the colours in this diagram have been produced by mixing pairs of primary colours. The third primary colour in any swatch is set to zero – off.
  • The diagram is made up of six blocks each made up of 16 rows and 16 columns.
  • The first block starts with red and ends with yellow. The second starts with yellow and ends with green.
  • So yellow appears twice, once at the end and then again at the beginning of the next block.
  • This arrangement repeats through the diagram so there are a total of 1536 swatches but a total of 1530 different colours.
  • To make sense of the overall relationship of colours, it helps to understand how RGB colour notation works:
  • When mixing any RGB colour, three numbers (separated by commas) show how much red, green and blue light is to be used.
  • The minimum value for each light source is 0. In this case the light is fully off.
  • The maximum value for each light source is 255. In this case the light source is fully on.
  • As each number increases so does the intensity of the corresponding light but the wavelength, and so the colour we see, stays the same.
RGB colour values
Light source Red Green Blue
Maximum value for each light source (fully on) 255 , 255 , 255
Values between 0 and 255 1 to 254 1 to 254 1 to 254
Minimum value for each light source (fully off) 0 , 0 , 0

RGB colour values

Now let’s look at RGB colour values in detail

RGB colour values are represented by decimal triplets (base 10) or hexadecimal triplets (base 16). These triplets are used in software and apps to select a colour.

  • In decimal notation, an RGB triplet is used to represent the values of red, then green, then blue.
  • Decimal numbers between 0 and 255 are selected for each value:
  • Red = 255, 00, 00
  • Yellow = 255, 255, 00
  • Green = 00, 255, 00
  • Cyan = 00, 255, 255
  • Blue = 00, 00, 255
  • Magenta = 255, 00, 255
  • In hexadecimal notation, an RGB triplet is used to represent the value of red, then green, then blue.
  • Hexadecimal numbers between 00 and FF are selected for each value.
  • The hash symbol (#) is used to indicate hex notation:
  • Red = #FF0000
  • Yellow = #FFFF00
  • Green = #00FF00
  • Cyan = 00FFFF
  • Blue = #0000FF
  • Magenta = #FF00FF
  • The sequence of hexadecimal values between 1 and 16 are: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E and F.
  • The sequence of hexadecimal values between 17 and 32 are: 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,1A,1B,1C,1D,1E and 1F.

Some key terms

RGB colour is an additive colour model in which red, green and blue light is combined to reproduce a wide range of other colours.

  • The primary colours in the RGB colour model are red, green and blue.
  • In the RGB model, different combinations and intensities of red, green, and blue light are mixed to create various colours. When these three colours are combined at full intensity, they produce white light.
  • Additive colour models are concerned with mixing light, not dyes, inks or pigments (these rely on subtractive colour models such as the RYB colour model and the CMY colour model).
  • The RGB colour model works in practice by asking three questions of any colour: how red is it (R), how green is it (G), and how blue is it (B).
  • The RGB model is popular because it can easily produce a comprehensive palette of 1530 vivid hues simply by adjusting the combination and amount of each of the three primaries it contains.

A secondary colour is created by mixing two primary colours in equal parts. The primary colours may belong to either an additive colour model, which combines wavelengths of light, or a subtractive colour model, which mixes pigments or dyes.

  • In additive colour models such as the RGB colour model, which deals with the effects of mixing coloured light, a secondary colour results from overlapping the primary colours: red, green, and blue. The secondary colours produced by combining pairs of primary colours in the RGB model are cyan, magenta, and yellow.
  • In subtractive colour models such as the CMY colour model, which is concerned with mixing dyes and inks, a secondary colour results from overlapping the primary colours: cyan, magenta, and yellow. The secondary colours produced by combining pairs of primary colours in the CMY model are red, green, and blue.

A colour model is a system or framework used to understand, organise, and manipulate colour. It ranges from basic concepts, such as the sequence of colours in a rainbow, to more advanced models like RGB, CMYK, and CIE, which are essential for accurate colour reproduction in various fields, including digital media, printing, and manufacturing.

  • A colour model, underpinned by colour theory, provides a precise and replicable approach to understanding:
    • How the human eye perceives light and interprets colour.
    • Different types of colour, including those produced by mixing lights, pigments, or inks.
    • How to manage the diverse ways colour is processed by devices such as cameras, digital screens, and printers.
  • Colour models enable us to:
    • Make sense of colour in relation to human vision and the world around us.
    • Use colours in logical, predictable, and replicable ways.
    • Understand how to mix specific colours, whether using lights, pigments, inks, or dyes.
    • Specify colours using names, codes, notations, or equations.
    • Organise and apply colour for different purposes, from fabrics and interiors to vehicles.

An additive colour model explains how different coloured lights (such as LEDs or beams of light) are mixed to produce other colours.

  • Additive colour refers to the methods used and effects produced by combining or mixing different wavelengths of light.
  • The RGB colour model and HSB colour model are examples of additive colour models.
  • Additive colour models such as the RGB colour model and HSB colour model can produce vast ranges of colours by combining red, green, and blue lights in varying proportions.
  • An additive approach to colour is used to achieve precise control over the appearance of colours on digital screens of TVs, computers, and phones.

Primary colours are a set of colours from which others can be produced by mixing (pigments, dyes etc.) or overlapping (coloured lights).

  • The human eye, and so human perception, is tuned to the visible spectrum and so to spectral colours between red and violet. It is the sensitivity of the eye to the electromagnetic spectrum that results in the perception of colour.
  • A set of primary colours is a set of pigmented media or coloured lights that can be combined in varying amounts to produce a wide range of colours.
  • This process of combining colours to produce other colours is used in applications intended to cause a human observer to experience a particular range of colours when represented by electronic displays and colour printing.
  • Additive and subtractive models have been developed that predict how wavelengths of visible light, pigments and media interact.
  • RGB colour is a technology used to reproduce colour in ways that match human perception.
  • The primary colours used in a colour space such as CIELAB, NCS, Adobe RGB (1998) and sRGB are the result of an extensive investigation of the relationship between visible light and human colour vision.

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