Compare pigment-based color mixing with light-based color mixing.

• A. Pigments use subtractive mixing (colors absorb light); light uses additive mixing (colors add to white).
• B. Pigments use additive mixing; light uses subtractive mixing
• C. Both rely on additive mixing
• D. Both rely on subtractive mixing

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that color mixing depends on whether you’re dealing with pigments or with light. Pigments work by subtracting reflected wavelengths: each pigment absorbs certain colors and reflects others, so when you mix pigments you subtract more of the spectrum and the result tends to be darker and duller. That’s why mixing several paints often yields brown or blackish tones as more light is absorbed. Light, on the other hand, combines wavelengths directly in a additive fashion: each added color light contributes its wavelengths, increasing brightness and moving toward white as more colors are combined. For example, red plus green light makes yellow, and combining red, green, and blue light yields white. So the statement that pigments use subtractive mixing while light uses additive mixing captures the essential difference.