User:Neodymion/Sandbox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Subtractive color is a general term that covers the mixing of paints, dyes, inks
Subtractive color is a general term that covers the mixing of paints, dyes, inks, and natural colorants to create colors which absorb some wavelengths of light and reflect others. The color that an opaque object appears to have is based on what parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are reflected by it, or conversely by what parts of the spectrum are not absorbed.
Anything that is not additive color is subtractive color.
Color is not an absolute, but depends on the details of human color vision, which varies between individuals. Although color can be measured by instruments, such instruments are simply emulating a particular individual's vision.
Consider a "red" apple. When viewed under a white light, it appears red. But this doesn't mean that it emits red light, as would be the case in additive color. If it did, you would be able to see it in the dark. Rather, it absorbs some of the wavelengths that make up white light, reflecting only the wavelengths that humans see as red. Humans perceive the apple as red because of how their eye works, and how their brain interprets information from the eye.
It takes three things to see color: a light source, a sample, and a detector (which can be an eye).