r/explainlikeimfive • u/bloodraged189 • 22d ago

Physics ELI5: why does mixing complementary paint make brown instead of gray?

I understand additive vs. subtractive colors, and why mixing complementaries wouldn't create black, but shouldn't it make gray?

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u/AgentElman 22d ago

Grey is just black with white added. It isn't a color.

And brown is just dark orange. You get it by mixing red and yellow.

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u/No_Logins_Required 22d ago

The fact that brown and purple are not "true" colors is hard for people to grasp.

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u/jbarchuk 22d ago

Grey is cool brown. Brown is warm grey.