Which set of colors are the subtractive primaries?

• A. Red, Green, Blue
• B. Red, Yellow, Blue
• C. Blue, Yellow
• D. White

Answer: (B)

In pigment mixing, the colors that act as primaries are those used to create other colors by subtracting reflected light. The traditional set for painting is red, yellow, and blue. They are considered the subtractive primaries because mixing them together removes (subtracts) light to produce darker hues, giving artists a broad range of colors from a limited palette.

This is the best choice because it reflects the classic pigment primaries used in art classes and traditional color mixing. The other options don’t fit: red, green, and blue are additive primaries used with light (mixing them makes white light), blue and yellow alone isn’t a complete primary set, and white isn’t a primary color in subtractive mixing.