Which statement is true about subtractive color mixing and its primaries?

• A. Subtractive color mixing is the same as additive mixing.
• B. Primaries red, blue, yellow; subtractive color mixing absorbs light.
• C. Subtractive color mixing yields only neutral gray when all primaries are mixed.
• D. Secondary colors are the primaries red, blue, yellow.

Answer: (B)

Subtractive color mixing hinges on pigments absorbing portions of light rather than emitting it. Each pigment filters out certain wavelengths, so when you combine pigments more of the spectrum is absorbed and the reflected light becomes darker. In traditional pigment theory, the primaries are red, blue, and yellow, and mixing pairs gives secondary colors like orange, green, and violet. This process is fundamentally about light being absorbed, which is different from additive mixing, where light itself is colored to create new hues. The idea that subtractive mixing uses the same as additive mixing isn’t correct, and the notion that the primaries aren’t red, blue, and yellow confuses the pigment system with light-emission colors. Also, while mixing all primaries tends toward a very dark color, it isn’t accurate to claim it yields only neutral gray in all cases.