After replying to some messages from folks wondering why we are choosing to focus on cyan, magenta and yellow, we decided to start writing more so everyone can learn about how wonderful these colours are for creating art.
Many people are taught about the idea of primary colours. It is like a magic spell that unlocks a treasure chest containing all of the colours to be experienced. I bet you were taught the three magic colours needed to find all the other colours are red, yellow and blue. These colours are sprinkled around classrooms and often featured on items for children. Do these colours really mix to create all other colours? Um…no. Definitely not. The fact that red, yellow and blue are not primary colours for mixing materials has been known for a very long time but it hasn’t been widely communicated and accepted. There are many reasons for this but a movement is happening. Every day more and more people learn the truth about primary colours.
As you can see in the image below, we lose a lot of colours to play with when we don’t include cyan and magenta. There are a lot more sections for orange in the RYB colour wheel and the purples and greens won’t be as vivid because blue and red are secondary colours for mixing materials.
When you want to mix coloured lights, the colours that are best to work with are red, green and blue lights. When you want to mix coloured materials, the best colours to work with are cyan, magenta and yellow. Why do you think printers will often include cyan, magenta and yellow ink? We want to be part of this movement to help people understand what materials are most useful and put cyan, magenta and pink on the map as the helpful and important colours they are.
Our products employ the reference framework of a CMY spectrum. Why not use the visible light spectrum? Huge trusted companies use the rainbow as the main reference for their products. The visible light spectrum, or rainbow, does not include magenta, pink and purple. We love those colours just like millions of others. We want to highlight them alongside all the other wonderful colours that work together to create fun and magic.
Join us on this colour mixing journey and enjoy the magic of colour!