What Color Does Red and Blue Make?

Mixing red and blue is a fundamental concept in color theory. However, the answer depends entirely on whether you are mixing paint (pigments) or mixing light.

Question (Click to Flip)

What happens if you mix Red, Blue, and Yellow paint?

Answer

If you mix the three primary pigment colours (Red, Blue, and Yellow) together, you will generally get a dark, muddy Brown or Black.

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Key Facts

Computer and mobile phone screens use tiny Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) pixels. To show you the colour Magenta, the screen turns the red and blue pixels on to 100% brightness, and turns the green pixels off completely.

1. Mixing Paint (Pigments)

When you mix red and blue paint (or ink/crayons), you get Purple.

Red and Blue are considered primary colours in traditional art.
Purple is a secondary colour.
By adding more red, you get a warm, reddish-purple (like maroon or burgundy). By adding more blue, you get a cool, dark purple (like indigo/violet).

2. Mixing Light (Physics)

When you mix Red and Blue light (like on a TV screen or stage lights), you get Magenta.

In physics, the primary colours of light are Red, Green, and Blue (RGB).
Mixing coloured light is an additive process. When red and blue light overlap, our brain perceives the resulting bright pinkish-purple hue as Magenta.

Summary Table

Mixing Medium	Type of Mixing	Resulting Colour
Paint / Ink / Dyes	Subtractive	Purple (or Violet)
Light (Screens, Lasers)	Additive	Magenta

Questions and Answers

What happens if you mix Red, Blue, and Yellow paint?+

If you mix the three primary pigment colours (Red, Blue, and Yellow) together, you will generally get a dark, muddy **Brown or Black**.

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