Is there an algorithm for color mixing that works like mixing real colors?

by

The correct answer is NO, because there is no correct working model of how “color mixing in the real world” really works. It is FAR too complex and conditional and not really at all like the simple Red-Blue-Yellow stuff that we learned in school (it in fact requires all of Chemistry and a lot of Physics and Biology to resolve).

However, the simplistic answer is: YES, use subtractive mixing rather than Additive mixing.

The color-mixing that we learned in grade school is based on pigment combinations which are a form of subtractive color mixing (very simplistically). That is the more colors that we add together, the darker it becomes because each pigment subtracts a little bit more light.

On the other hand, almost all computer color-schemes are additive in that they are based on combining light waves (very simplistically), so they get brighter, because each color adds a little bit more light.

The RGB+ scheme is somewhat, the additive complement to the subtractive scheme that we learned in most US elementary schools (which is RBY-). However, they do not match up exactly and it can be difficult to convert between them (researching now …)

OK, if you just want to switch from additive combinations in RGB to subtractive ones, you can use the following reverse-bayesan type formula to combine two colors:

NewColor.R = (Color1.R * Color2.R)/255
NewColor.G = (Color1.G * Color2.G)/255
NewColor.B = (Color1.B * Color2.B)/255

Adjusting for the difference in the chromatic poles (G to Y, then back to G) is a lot harder …

It has been pointed out that this produces Black for the example problem, and technically this is correct for a true subtractive system, however, if you want more diluting/subtractive system, you could try this instead:

NewColor.R = 255 - SQRT(((255-Color1.R)^2 + (255-Color2.R)^2)/2)
NewColor.G = 255 - SQRT(((255-Color1.G)^2 + (255-Color2.G)^2)/2)
NewColor.B = 255 - SQRT(((255-Color1.B)^2 + (255-Color2.B)^2)/2)

This produces a dark grey instead of Black. But to get Yellow or anything close, you still have to fix the color-scheme’s pole-alignment problem.

More Related Contents:

  1. Function for creating color wheels [closed]
  2. Determine font color based on background color
  3. “Rounding” colour values to the nearest of a small set of colours
  4. Best algorithm for matching colours.
  5. Unique (non-repeating) random numbers in O(1)?
  6. What is tail call optimization?
  7. Algorithm for Additive Color Mixing for RGB Values
  8. How do I check if a number is a palindrome?
  9. Is there an O(n) integer sorting algorithm?
  10. Data structures for loaded dice?
  11. Nearest neighbors in high-dimensional data?
  12. Algorithm to generate anagrams
  13. Algorithm to check similarity of colors
  14. design a stack such that getMinimum( ) should be O(1)
  15. How to check if line segment intersects a rectangle?
  16. How to read values from numbers written as words?
  17. How does one convert 16-bit RGB565 to 24-bit RGB888?
  18. Calculate largest inscribed rectangle in a rotated rectangle
  19. Find the first un-repeated character in a string
  20. How to partition an array of integers in a way that minimizes the maximum of the sum of each partition?
  21. What is a bubble sort good for? [closed]
  22. Iterating over a Binary Tree with O(1) Auxiliary Space
  23. How do I find a factorial? [closed]
  24. Best way of calculating n choose k?
  25. Peak detection of measured signal
  26. Color gradient algorithm
  27. Algorithm for permutations of operators and operands
  28. Tournament bracket placement algorithm
  29. What is the best algorithm for finding the closest color in an array to another color? [closed]
  30. How to convert decimal fractions to hexadecimal fractions?

Leave a Comment