Secondary colour

A secondary colour is made by mixing two primary colours in a specific colour space. The colour space can be from an additive colour model using different light wavelengths or a subtractive model using pigments or dyes.

  • Secondary colours in additive colour models differ from spectral colours in a rainbow.
  • The RGB colour model can create a vast range of colours.
  • Because the RGB colour model involves adding different wavelengths of light together (additive colour), the resulting colour often appears lighter to a viewer than its components.
  • When all three primary (or secondary) colours are mixed together in equal proportions, the result is white.
  • In subtractive colour models, like the CMYK model used for printing, the primary colours are cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) and black (K).