Color Mixer & Blender
Gradient Preview (Color 1 → Color 2)
Understanding Color Mixing
Digital color mixing works differently from mixing physical paints. This tool uses weighted additive mixing in the RGB colour space — blending the red, green, and blue channels proportionally based on the weight you assign each colour.
Subtractive vs Additive Mixing
- Additive (light/screen) – Mixing red + green light produces yellow. Used in screens, photography, and this tool. RGB is additive.
- Subtractive (pigment/print) – Mixing yellow + blue paint produces green. Used in painting, printing. CMYK is subtractive.
Colour Theory Basics
- Complementary colours – Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel (e.g., red + cyan, blue + orange). Maximum contrast.
- Analogous colours – Colours adjacent on the wheel. Harmonious and pleasing.
- Triadic – Three colours evenly spaced (120° apart). Vibrant and balanced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does mixing red and green give yellow in RGB?
In additive mixing, red (255,0,0) + green (0,255,0) = yellow (255,255,0). This is because yellow light is what the eye perceives when both red and green receptors are fully stimulated simultaneously.
Does mixing more colors always make the result darker?
In this tool, mixing many colours tends toward grey as their individual contributions average out — especially if the colours are spread across the spectrum. This reflects real-world additive mixing behaviour.
What is the use of gradient preview?
The gradient shows the smooth transition between your first two selected colours, useful for CSS linear-gradient declarations in web design or for evaluating how well two brand colours work together in a gradient background.