Primaries

Primary colors are the starting point for mixing all other colours but which primaries you use depends on the colour system. The traditional primaries (red, blue, and yellow) are common in painting and are great for mixing a wide range of hues. However, the CMY primaries (cyan, magenta, and yellow), used in printing and some modern painting approaches, offer a broader, more vibrant mixing range.

Choosing your primaries affects how easily you can achieve certain colours so understanding their strengths can help you mix more intuitively and effectively.