RGB additive color system

Isaac Newton was the first to organize colors into what we now call an additive color wheel. It's called "additive" because when you combine the colors of light from the wheel, they create pure white light.

There are other color systems too, like the RYB system used by artists for painting and the CMYK system used in printing. In this lesson, we'll focus on the RGB color system, which is used for digital displays. This system is how cameras, TVs, and computer screens show colors. It's also how our eyes perceive color.

In the RGB system, screens use light to create colors by mixing red, green, and blue light at different levels, a process known as additive mixing. All colors start as black, meaning no light is shown. By adding red, green, and blue light, the screen creates various colors, adjusting the intensity of each color to produce different shades. When these three colors are combined at equal intensity, they create pure white light.