A color picker (also color chooser or color tool) is a
graphical user interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inst ...
widget, usually found within
graphics software
In computer graphics, graphics software refers to a program or collection of programs that enable a person to manipulate images or models visually on a computer.
Computer graphics can be classified into two distinct categories: raster graphics a ...
or online, used to select colors and, in some cases, to create
color scheme
In color theory, a color scheme is the choice of colors used in various artistic and design contexts. For example, the "Achromatic" use of a white background with black text is an example of a basic and commonly default color scheme in web de ...
s (the color picker might be more sophisticated than the palette included with the program). Operating systems such as
Microsoft Windows or
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
have a system color picker, which can be used by third-party programs (e.g., Adobe Photoshop).
History
Purpose
A color picker is used to select and adjust color values. In
graphic design and
image editing
Image editing encompasses the processes of altering images, whether they are digital photographs, traditional photo-chemical photographs, or illustrations. Traditional analog image editing is known as photo retouching, using tools such as a ...
, users typically choose colors via an interface with a visual representation of a color—organized with quasi-perceptually-relevant
hue
In color theory, hue is one of the main properties (called color appearance parameters) of a color, defined technically in the CIECAM02 model as "the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that ...
,
saturation
Saturation, saturated, unsaturation or unsaturated may refer to:
Chemistry
* Saturation, a property of organic compounds referring to carbon-carbon bonds
**Saturated and unsaturated compounds
** Degree of unsaturation
**Saturated fat or fatty aci ...
and
lightness dimensions (
HSL) – instead of keying in
alphanumeric
Alphanumericals or alphanumeric characters are a combination of alphabetical and numerical characters. More specifically, they are the collection of Latin letters and Arabic digits. An alphanumeric code is an identifier made of alphanumeric c ...
text values. Because color appearance depends on comparison of neighboring colors (see
color vision), many interfaces attempt to clarify the relationships between colors.
Even more experienced
graphic design, though, normally make mistakes when it comes to picking the correct colors for a design of any type.
One of the most important factors you must consider is the usage of colors to ensure that the picture or design is eye catching. Your choice of color combinations may make the difference between a perfectly content and one that is merely good.
Even after viewing several videos and reading a large number of articles, selecting the perfect color combination might be difficult. As a result, you may choose colors from any image and then utilise them in your design usin
image color pickerfro
if image editingtools.
Interface
Color tools can vary in their interface. Some may use sliders, buttons, text boxes for color values, or
direct manipulation
In computer science, human–computer interaction, and interaction design, direct manipulation is an approach to interfaces which involves continuous representation of objects of interest together with rapid, reversible, and incremental action ...
. Often a two-dimensional square is used to create a range of color values (such as lightness and saturation) that can be clicked on or selected in some other manner. Drag and drop, color droppers, and various other forms of interfaces are commonly used as well.
Usually, color values are also displayed numerically, so they can be precisely remembered and keyed-in later, such as three values of 0-255 representing red, green, and blue, respectively.
Eyedropper
The eyedropper is a tool present in most color pickers and
graphics software
In computer graphics, graphics software refers to a program or collection of programs that enable a person to manipulate images or models visually on a computer.
Computer graphics can be classified into two distinct categories: raster graphics a ...
that allows a user to read a color at a specific point in an image, or position on a display. This enables the color to be transferred to other applications particularly quickly.
Working
A color picker has two main parts, first a color slider and second a color canvas. The color slider has a linear or radial
gradient
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gr ...
of the seven
rainbow colors i.e. Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. It allows you to choose any of the seven primary colors.
The color value chosen from the color slider instantly reflects in the color canvas. The color
canvas is a mixture of two linear color gradients. First a linear gradient of the current chosen color and second a linear gradient of the black color. This mixture of color gradients lets you choose a lighter and darker version of the current chosen color from the color slider.
See also
*
Alexis Spectral Data Alexis Spectral Data is a software developed for colour matching processes that calculates from available spectral data the colour numbers used by computers to display colours on screen. It displays the colour for each spectral reflectance curve and ...
*
Color balance
In photography and image processing, color balance is the global adjustment of the intensities of the colors (typically red, green, and blue primary colors). An important goal of this adjustment is to render specific colors – particularly ne ...
*
Color management
In digital imaging systems, color management (or colour management) is the controlled conversion between the color representations of various devices, such as image scanners, digital cameras, monitors, TV screens, film printers, computer printer ...
*
Color space
A color space is a specific organization of colors. In combination with color profiling supported by various physical devices, it supports reproducible representations of colorwhether such representation entails an analog or a digital represen ...
*
RGB color spaces
An RGB color space is any additive color space based on the RGB color model. An RGB color space is defined by chromaticity coordinates of the red, green, and blue additive primaries, the white point which is usually a standard illuminant, and ...
Notes
References
*
External Links
Various color formats
{{GUI widgets
Color
Color schemes
Graphics software