The Relationship Of Colors To Each Other - NAMCO Scooter Operation Manual

The Scooter
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CHAPTER 7: THE RELATIONSHIP OF
COLORS TO EACH OTHER
Everyone knows what "colors" are. But just what causes colors? Why does dyeing always
result in a darker color? Why do the same colors look different from day to day, and from place
to place, if they are taken from one place to another? This section is offered to answer these
questions and more, in language that is easy to understand.
Everyone has seen rainbows, and most people have seen a prism. These two items have
something in common: The division of "light" into colors. But where do the colors come from?
Most people do not normally think of light as red, green, yellow, or violet. But in fact the
everyday "light" we work with is all of these and more. It literally contains all the colors of the
rainbow. So why cannot we see these colors? We do! We see them constantly. We see the red
of apples, sunsets, and even blood. We see the yellow of the sun, of butter, and of honey. We
see the blue of ink, of the sky, and of the ocean. We see all of these colors and more in paint
and in dye. So why do we see them on "surfaces", but not in the light as it crosses the room?
What we see as a "color" is a result of all the other colors present in the light being absorbed,
while the color we see is reflected back to us. It is that simple.
Color is the result of light being absorbed and reflected selectively. All of the colors of light
added together in equal strength result in "white". But why cannot we mix the colors and get
"white" ourselves? We can, if we can mix the light, but what we are concerned with here is
"pigments" of one kind or another.
"Pigments" are selective light absorber/reflectors. If we put a pigment that reflects "blue" but
absorbs other colors onto a surface, we see "blue" If we put a pigment on the blue that absorbs
blue, less light is reflected and a dark color results. It may be "black", if we have the proportions
right. But it will look darker if more pigments are added.
But let's take the same blue from sunlight to the incandescent light given off by a light bulb. The blue
is not as bright as before. In fact, it may even appear sort of "greenish" by comparison to the way it
looked in sunlight. Why? Sunlight is a "whiter" light that contains a more equal balance of colors.
The light from the light bulb contains more yellow when compared to the sunlight. As a result, there
is more yellow present to be reflected. The pigment of the "blue" has not changed, so it absorbs the
same amount of yellow as before. But since more yellow is present in the light, more is reflected,
resulting in a "greener" blue, since blue and yellow, together, form green.
A very important lesson to be learned from this is that pigments look different in different kinds of
light. So keep this fact in mind, and always compare and examine colors in the "light environment"
that they will be placed within. This is especially true of residential dye jobs, since exact color can be
so critical where they are concerned.
So, in summary, colors are the result of pigments' influence on light. Pigments absorb light, and what
remains, or what we see as reflected light, we call "color".
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