Color pages [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Where is Yellow?
http:// www.agu.ac.jp / ~vicks62 / jeffreyb / yellow. html


Color Cube
Let's slice our Color Cube (photo on left) into sixteen layers (0 to 15=f) perpendicular to the blue axis. The top layer (bird's eye view below) has 256 colors. All of them composed of 15 units of light. Let's look at the arrangement. We have bright blue (hex code 0000-ff) in the lower left corner and cyan (00-ff-ff), magenta (ff-00-ff), and white (ffffff) in the others. As we move in a straight line from blue to each of the other corners, we are adding red (horizontally) and/or green (vertically) units of light. They interact with the blue light. Each unit of green combines with a unit of blue, converting it into a unit of cyan light (g+b=c). Likewise each unit of red converts a blue unit to magenta (r+b=m).

Reoriented
White (top)
Black
(bottom)
Combining an equal number of green and red units with blue converts that same number of blue units into white units (g+r+b=w). That's what happens when you move diagonally from the blue corner to the white one. This diagonal line divides our layer into two trianglular areas: a cyan area and a magenta one. As you move around inside each area, you flip some of the 15 units of light. Moving perpendicular to the blue-white line flips blue units to white as you move up and to the right. It flips white units to blue as you move in the opposite direction (down and to the left).

Inside the Cyan Triangle, moving horizontally (perpendicular to the cyan-white line) flips cyan to white if you go right, and white to cyan if you go left. Moving vertically flips cyan to blue (down) OR blue to cyan (up). Inside the Magenta Triangle on the other hand, moving vertically flips white and magenta, while moving horizontally flips blue and magenta. What do you suppose happens when you move diagonally from the cyan corner to the magenta one? As you move through the Cyan Triangle, you flip two units of cyan to one blue unit and one white. After you cross into the Magenta Triangle, you flip one blue unit and one white unit into two magenta ones.

r-g-b fefe-33 fc-e8-83 ef-cc-00 ff-d3-00 fe-df-00
yellow          
           
rr-gg-bb ffff-33 ff-ee-88 ee-cc-00 ff-cc-00 ff-dd-00
15 interval
analysis
m[ _] [ 3]w
r [ 0] [12]y
m{ _] [ 8]w
r [ 1] [ 6]y
m[ _] [ 0]w
r [ 2] [12]y
m[ _] [ 0]w
r [ 3] [ 12]y
m[ _] [ 0]w
r [ 2] [13]y

Above are some other versions of "yellow". Let's mark them (or their upper projection) with an "x" on the top layer of the Color Cube (below).

        
000
black 
ff0
yellow 
0f0
green 
f00
red 
fff
white 

This is the yellow "pallette". You can use
green OR red, but NOT together.

What about some other shades of blue? Where are they? What are their proportions?

   (P-1) Powder blue = ade c[ 3] [10]w
b[ 1] [ _]m
   (K-1) sKy blue = 8ce c[ 4] [ 8]w
b[ 2] [ _]m
   (C-1) Cornflower = 69e c[ 3] [ 6]w
b[ 5] [ _]m
   (D) Dodger blue = 28f c[ 6] [ 2]w
b[ 7] [ _]m
   (T-4) sTeel blue = 48b c[ 4] [ 4]w
b[ 3] [ _]m
   (R-2) Royal blue = 46d c[ 2] [ 4]w
b[ 7] [ _]m

[red] [yellow] [green] [cyan] [blue] [magenta]
Black = 0 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
r [15]
ff-0000
                              f w [15]
ffffff
 
ff-11-00
                            e    
ee-ff-ee
 
ff-22-00
                          d      
dd-ff-dd
 
ff-33-00
                        c        
cc-ff-cc
 
ff-44-00
                      b          
bb-ff-bb
 
ff-55-00
                    a            
aa-ff-aa
 
ff-66-00
                x 9              
99-ff-99
 
ff-77-00
                8                
88-ff-88
 
ff-88-00
              7                  
77-ff-77
 
ff-99-00
            6                    
66-ff-66
 
ff-aa-00
          5                      
55-ff-55
 
ff-bb-00
        4                        
44-ff-44
 
ff-cc-00
x x1   x                          
33-ff-33
 
ff-dd-00
x   2                            
22-ff-22
 
ff-ee-00
  1                              
11-ff-11
y [15]
ffff-00
0                               g [15]
00-ff-00

red [15] red [0]

   (ee) lavender = eef c[ _] [14]w
b[ 1] [ _]m
   (L-3) sLate blue = 65c c[ _] [ 5]w
b[ 6] [ 1]m
   (C1-7) Indigo = 408 c[ _] [ 0]w
b[ 4] [ 4]m
   (77-7) navy blue = 008 c[ _] [ 0]w
b[ 8] [ 0]m
   (aa-8) midnight blue = 227 c[ 0] [ 2]w
b[ 5] [ 0]m

Upper projections (on the right) of darker colors (less than 15 units of light) in the Blue Zone:

   blue = 27f +000=27f 
   turquoise blue = 6de +111=7ef 
   sky blue = 8ce +111=9df 
   sky blue = 7de +111=8ef 
   cornflower = 69e +111=7af 
   cornflower = 9ce +111=adf 
   acquamarine = 9de +111=aef 
   periwinkle = bce +111=cdf 
   royal blue = 46d +222=68f 
   steel blue = 48b +444=8cf 
   pine green = 077 +888=8ff 
   midnight blue = 036 +999=9cf 
 
   cadet blue = aab +444=eef 
   midnight blue = 227 +888=aaf 
 
   thistle = dbd +222=fdf 
   shocking pink = f7f +000=f7f 


Last updated March 2025
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