Color Theory Reference

Kip Landergren

(Updated: )

My cheat sheet for color theory covering terminology and helpful resources.

Contents

Color Theory Terminology

CMY
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
CMYK
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (black)
HSL, HSB, HSV
Hue, Saturation, {Lightness, Brightness, Value}
alpha channel
range representing the opacity, typically from 0.0 (completely transparent) to 1.0 (completely opaque). comes from the use of mattes in photography and filmmaking applied to digital images. More info.
hue
the variation of a color independent of its brightness
sRGB
Standard RGB (Red, Green, Blue) Color Space
shade
the result of mixing a color with black
tint (color)
the result of mixing a color with white
tint slider (photography editing)
corrects colors along the green / magenta axis. See this explanation of tint slider usage.
tone
the result of mixing a color with gray

Resources

Tools:

Explanations: