Red and green make what color? It creates a brown tint. But are there other shades you get? Let’s find out in this article.
Have you ever wondered, “red and green make what color when mixed?”
When it comes to mixing colors, it may not be as easy as what you see on the color wheel. Using different methods of mixing colors, such as layering colored lights versus combining pigments, the resulting colors are extremely different.
One of the most popular colors is red, followed by green. This is because they are lively and energetic, and many people associate them with Christmas. However, you might be surprised at what color red and green produce when combined. After all, the result depends on the medium used and the types of green and red used.
If you’ve ever wondered red and green make what color if mixed, we’ll explore the answer in the two different color matching methods.
Red And Green Make What Color?
If you mix red and green, you usually get an unattractive brown hue. Since green is a combination of yellow and blue, combining it with red is equivalent to combining all three main colors, which also results in brown.
Red and green, as many of you may know, are complementary colors, meaning they are opposite each other on the color wheel. In general, complementary colors work well together in designs but clash when combined. So if you’re not looking for a particular kind of brown, you should probably avoid mixing red and green.
Essentially, there are two methods of mixing colors: additive and subtractive. Depending on the method you use, you may end up with a different color than you originally expected.
Additives Mix
Additive mixing is not the traditional method we think of when mixing colors. However, in today’s technology-driven society, it is quite a common method that we see almost daily without realizing it.
Also, the additive mixing involves using different combinations of spectral light to mix colors. This method is often used in media. Most commonly in the way projected colors are produced on television screens and computer monitors.
There are two ways in which colors can be combined using additive mixing:
Using two colors, the electron guns in television and computer monitors quickly fire two different colors. This will cause our eyes to see them as they turn into a completely different color together.
Two or more solid spectral-colored lights are combined by placing them together, causing our eyes to optically mix the two in a different color.
RGB: which colors are red and green?
When it comes to mixing light or screen colors, this method uses the RGB color wheel. So red, blue, and green are the primary light colors used on the wheel. Also, Secondary colors are formed by mixing two primary colors, resulting in cyan, magenta, and yellow.
Looking at their placement on the RGB color wheel, when red and green are mixed they make the color yellow.
The RGB color wheel for producing colors using light spectra is almost the opposite of the CMYK color wheel traditionally used for mixing colors in art and printing, a method called subtractive mixing.
Subtractive mix
The subtractive mixing is a more intuitive method of mixing colors, one we often associate with the traditional sense of color mixing. In addition, Subtractive colors are seen when pigments in an object or liquid absorb white light while reflecting the rest of the pigments that make up the color.
For example, the color red reflects all wavelengths of white light except red pigments, which is how our mind perceives color.
This is the most common method of color mixing as we see it everywhere on ordinary objects. It is also used in the print production process.
Unlike additive mixing, the subtractive mixing method uses the CMYK color wheel mainly used in art and print processing.
CMYK:
Unlike the RGB wheel used to combine colors across the light spectrum. Meanwhile, The primary colors on the CMYK color wheel are made up of cyan, magenta, and yellow. In artistic production, these colors are often correlated with the traditional primary colors of the art color wheel (blue, red, and yellow).
However, the secondary colors are the same as the primary colors on the RGB wheel (red, blue, and green).
In print processing, color mixes are produced by overlaying the primary CMY colors with different percentages of transparency. Once the colors overlap, the light is passed through the ink and reflected off the underlying surface, called the substrate.
CMY inks are applied as halftone dots and subtract the inverse percentages of RBG from the reflected light so that our eyes perceive the desired color.
Complementary colors
Complementary colors refer to two colors that are opposite each other on your possible color wheels. The two opposite colors often turn gray when mixed.
In the CMYK model, red and green are presented as complementary colors. However, when you combine red and green, they can vary in shades from brown to gray depending on the specific shades you use.
For example, blue-green and red can combine pigments that appear as a gray color because cool tones are usually used. Do mix a saccharine green and a red to create a browner color, as the yellow pigments in the green contribute to the warmer tones in the blend of coordinated colors.
As you can see, there are several different answers to your question, “What do red and green do when they’re mixed?” Depending on the method you use to mix the colors, you may see a nice yellow glow on the screen or a brown or gray cast in the print.
When deciding which colors to use, knowing the media or method to mix them will help you make the best choice for the desired result.
Play with different colored lights and paint by mixing red and green to see the result for yourself. Now that you know what colors make red and green, you can start making things and share them with your friends.
Final Thoughts – Red And Green Make What Color?
Red and green make what color? If you combine red and green, you get a brown shade. This is because green and red contain all the main colors and when all three main colors are mixed, the resulting mixture is brown.
