Comments on: Colour wheel - build it yourself! http://l3go.bugge.com/index.php/2008/07/12/colour-wheel-build-it-yourself/ Spaceships and Lego Sun, 20 May 2012 14:23:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: SirBugge http://l3go.bugge.com/index.php/2008/07/12/colour-wheel-build-it-yourself/#comment-5 SirBugge Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:22:06 +0000 http://l3go.bugge.com/index.php/?p=16#comment-5 While you're perfectly right that CMYK-colours are the best choice if you want to mix colours, which isn't the case when it comes to lego (unless you grind some of you bricks to powder in order to tone other parts). The available colour-palette in Lego is excactly the subject for the following blogpost (which would have fitted in really well before this one): Most of us have red, blue and yellow in over-abundance - while Cyan and Magenta are extremely rare. I naturally hope to use the knowledge I gain from this investigation outside Lego (webdesign, choosing clothes, and interiour design), the main reason for taking up the subject on this lego page is the hope that we can all learn to utilize our collections better, and create more interesting spaceships. That said I really find the coloured glass-discs on the wikipedia article you linked to interesting - it does look like cyan and magenta would complement Lego Green and Blue better... so perhaps the scarce colours can play a minor role yet. While you’re perfectly right that CMYK-colours are the best choice if you want to mix colours, which isn’t the case when it comes to lego (unless you grind some of you bricks to powder in order to tone other parts).
The available colour-palette in Lego is excactly the subject for the following blogpost (which would have fitted in really well before this one): Most of us have red, blue and yellow in over-abundance - while Cyan and Magenta are extremely rare.
I naturally hope to use the knowledge I gain from this investigation outside Lego (webdesign, choosing clothes, and interiour design), the main reason for taking up the subject on this lego page is the hope that we can all learn to utilize our collections better, and create more interesting spaceships.
That said I really find the coloured glass-discs on the wikipedia article you linked to interesting - it does look like cyan and magenta would complement Lego Green and Blue better… so perhaps the scarce colours can play a minor role yet.

]]> By: Bram Lambrecht http://l3go.bugge.com/index.php/2008/07/12/colour-wheel-build-it-yourself/#comment-4 Bram Lambrecht Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:19:50 +0000 http://l3go.bugge.com/index.php/?p=16#comment-4 If you take a more scientific rather than artistic approach to color theory, you'll note that red, yellow, and blue aren't a very good choice of primary colors. Color exists as light of a specific wavelength. Spectral colors are just one wavelength, while most colors we see are a combination of wavelengths in different intensities. Fortunately, there are many different combinations that yield the same signal when processed by the sensors in our eyes. This lets us trick our eyes into reproducing colors by just mixing three or so different colors in different quantities. We call these primary colors. Blue, red, and yellow, blue sort of work, but like you said, they get kind of muddy brown when mixed. We can do a little bit better by using cyan, magenta, and yellow like your printer. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtractive_color) If we're adding light together, then red, green, blue does pretty well. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Additive_color) The specific choice of wavelength for red, green, and blue determines the color range (gamut) you can display, which is why the same image displayed on different monitors look slightly different. None of these can replicate true spectral colors, they're just approximations. For more, you might want to explore the color theory articles on Wikipedia or pick up a computer graphics textbook. If you take a more scientific rather than artistic approach to color theory,
you’ll note that red, yellow, and blue aren’t a very good choice of primary
colors. Color exists as light of a specific wavelength. Spectral colors are
just one wavelength, while most colors we see are a combination of wavelengths
in different intensities. Fortunately, there are many different combinations
that yield the same signal when processed by the sensors in our eyes. This lets
us trick our eyes into reproducing colors by just mixing three or so different
colors in different quantities. We call these primary colors.

Blue, red, and yellow, blue sort of work, but like you said, they get kind of muddy
brown when mixed. We can do a little bit better by using cyan, magenta, and
yellow like your printer. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtractive_color)
If we’re adding light together, then red, green, blue does pretty well. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Additive_color) The specific choice of wavelength
for red, green, and blue determines the color range (gamut) you can display,
which is why the same image displayed on different monitors look slightly
different.

None of these can replicate true spectral colors, they’re just approximations.
For more, you might want to explore the color theory articles on Wikipedia or
pick up a computer graphics textbook.

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