Adobe Photoshop CS3 - Manual (Page 114)

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Chapter 5: Color
Color can be described in several ways using a color model such as RGB or CMYK. As you work in your image, you
specify colors using one of the color models. In Photoshop you choose the approach to color that’s appropriate for
your image and how it’s being used.
About color
Understanding color
Knowing how colors are created and how they relate to each other lets you work more effectively in Photoshop.
Instead of achieving an effect by accident, you’ll produce consistent results thanks to an understanding of basic color
theory.
Primary colors
Additive primaries are the three colors of light (red, green, and blue) that produce all the colors in the visible
spectrum when added together in different combinations. Adding equal parts of red, blue, and green light produces
white. The complete absence of red, blue, and green light results in black. Computer monitors are devices that use
the additive primaries to create color.
Additive colors (RGB)
R. Red G. Green B. Blue
Subtractive primaries are pigments, which create a spectrum of colors in different combinations. Unlike monitors,
printers use subtractive primaries (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black pigments) to produce colors through subtractive
mixing. The term “subtractive” is used because the primary colors are pure until you begin mixing them together,
resulting in colors that are less pure versions of the primaries. For example, orange is created through the subtractive
mixing of magenta and yellow together.
R G B