Color picker

Short description: Graphical user interface element

A screenshot of the GTK+ 2 color picker. A screenshot of the Qt color picker. GIMP color picker.

A color picker (also color chooser or color tool) is a graphical user interface widget, usually found within graphics software or online, used to select colors and, in some cases, to create color schemes (the color picker might be more sophisticated than the palette included with the program).[1] Operating systems such as Microsoft Windows or macOS have a system color picker,[2] which can be used by third-party programs (e.g., Adobe Photoshop).[3][4]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Purpose
* 3 Interface
* 3.1 Eyedropper
* 4 Working
* 5 See also
* 6 Notes
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## History

The concept of color pickers dates back to the early days of computer graphics and digital design.[5] Early versions were rudimentary, often featuring basic color palettes and limited functionality. [6] One of the first drawing programs to include a color picker was SketchPad (also referred to as LisaSketch), designed by Bill Atkinson in 1983 to showcase LisaGraf's capabilities.[7] It used a black and white pattern system, using dithering to create the illusion of color depth.

With the increased popularity of personal computers with color graphics, there soon came software similar to SketchPad that supported more than two colors, like Broderbund's Dazzle Draw for the Apple II or Electronic Arts' Deluxe Paint. However, the color pickers present in those programs relied on indexed colors. Color pickers, resembling ones used in modern software with support for direct, 24-bit color, appeared soon after the release of the Macintosh II, with the release of programs like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter.

As the increase of color depth allowed the choice of significantly more colors, the shape and form of color pickers started to diverge. For example, Adobe Photoshop used a hue-saturation color wheel with a slider for brightness in version 0.63, later on switching to a rectangular design accompanied by a hue slider.[8] Corel Painter pioneered the triangular saturation and brightness picker with a hue ring around it, aiming to better represent the continuity of the hue spectrum and the relationship between saturation and brightness. [9][10]

## Purpose

A color picker is used to select and adjust color values. In graphic design and image editing, users typically choose colors via an interface with a visual representation of a color--organized with quasi-perceptually-relevant hue, saturation and lightness dimensions (HSL) – instead of keying in alphanumeric text values. Because color appearance depends on comparison of neighboring colors (see color vision), many interfaces attempt to clarify the relationships between colors.

## Interface

Template:RGB slider Color tools can vary in their interface. Some may use sliders, buttons, text boxes for color values, or direct manipulation. 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 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 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

* Color balance
* Color management
* Color space
* RGB color spaces

## Notes

1. ↑ Gumster, Jason van; Shimonski, Robert (2011-02-04) (in en). GIMP Bible. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-08113-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=XyipXlP-5fYC&dq=color+picker+from+image&pg=PA105.
2. ↑ Zobkiw, Joe (2003) (in en). Mac OS X: Advanced Development Techniques. Sams Publishing. ISBN 978-0-672-32526-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=J4e3MmEDPhUC&dq=color+picker+from+image&pg=PA202.
3. ↑ Feisner and Reed 2014, Chapter 5: "Digital Color Media and Technology", Glossary: "Color picker"
4. ↑ Bauer, Peter; Foster, Jeff (2002). Using Adobe Photoshop 7. Que Publishing. pp. 209. ISBN 9780789727602.
5. ↑ alvinashcraft (2024-07-12). "PowerToys Awake utility for Windows" (in en-us). https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/awake.
6. ↑ alvinashcraft (2024-07-12). "PowerToys Color Picker utility for Windows" (in en-us). https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/color-picker.
7. ↑ Starc, Janez (August 8, 2025). "From MacSketch to MacPaint". https://lowendmac.com/2025/from-macsketch-to-macpaint/.
8. ↑ "Photoshop Colour picker". July 4, 2005. https://guidebookgallery.org/apps/photoshop/colourpicker.
9. ↑ Hugo, Daniel (July 21, 2024). "Color picker as a trusty rebound hobby project". https://hugodaniel.com/posts/color-picker/.
10. ↑ John, Derry (December 11, 2018). "Color Wheel Keeps on Turnin'". https://www.pixlart.com/pixlart/2018/12/11/color-wheel-keeps-on-turnin.

## References

* Feisner, Edith Anderson; Reed, Ronald (2014), Color Studies, New York: Fairchild Books, ISBN 9781609015312, https://books.google.com/books?id=3TIeAwAAQBAJ

## External links

* Various color formats

* v
* t
* e

Color topics

* Red
* Orange
* Yellow
* Green
* Cyan
* Blue
* Indigo
* Violet
* Purple
* Magenta
* Pink
* Brown
* White
* Gray
* Black

Color science|

| Color physics|

* Electromagnetic spectrum
* Light
* Rainbow
* Visible
* Spectral colors
* Chromophore
* Structural coloration
* Animal coloration
* On Vision and Colors
* Metamerism
* Spectral power distribution

|

Color perception|

* Color vision
* Color blindness
* Achromatopsia
* test
* Tetrachromacy
* Color constancy
* Color term
* Color depth
* Color photography
* Spot color
* Color printing
* Web colors
* Color mapping
* Color code
* Color management
* Chrominance
* False color
* Chroma key
* Color balance
* Color cast
* Color temperature
* Eigengrau
* The dress

Color psychology|

* Color symbolism
* Color preferences
* Lüscher color test
* Kruithof curve
* Political color
* National colors
* Chromophobia
* Chromotherapy

Color
philosophy|

| Color space|

* Color model
* additive
* subtractive
* Color mixing
* Primary color
* Secondary color
* Tertiary color (intermediate)
* Quaternary color
* Quinary color
* Aggressive color (warm)
* Receding color (cool)
* Pastel colors
* Color gradient

|

Color scheme|

* Color tool
* Monochromatic colors
* Complementary colors
* Analogous colors
* Achromatic colors (Neutral)
* Polychromatic colors
* Impossible colors
* Light-on-dark
* Tinctures in heraldry

Color theory|

* Chromaticity diagram
* Color solid
* Color wheel
* Color triangle
* Color analysis (art)
* Color realism (art style)

Color terms|

| Basic terms|

* Blue
* Green
* Red
* Yellow
* Pink
* Purple
* Orange
* Black
* Gray
* White
* Brown

|

Cultural differences|

* Linguistic relativity and the color naming debate
* Blue–green distinction in language
* Color history
* Color in Chinese culture
* Traditional colors of Japan
* Human skin color

Color dimensions|

* Hue
* Dichromatism
* Colorfulness (chroma and saturation)
* Tints and shades
* Lightness (tone and value)
* Grayscale

Color
organizations|

* Pantone
* Color Marketing Group
* The Color Association of the United States
* International Colour Authority
* International Commission on Illumination (CIE)
* International Color Consortium
* International Colour Association

Lists|

* A–F
* G–M
* N–Z
* List of colors (compact)
* List of colors by shade
* List of color palettes
* List of color spaces
* List of Crayola crayon colors
* history
* Color chart
* List of fictional colors
* List of RAL colors
* List of web colors

Related|

* Vision
* Image processing
* Multi-primary color display
* Quattron
* Qualia
* Lighting
* Local color (visual art)

* Category
* Index of color-related articles

* v
* t
* e

Widgets (List of …)

Command input|

* Adjustment handle
* Button
* Context menu
* Drop-down list
* Hamburger button
* Menu
* Pie menu

Data input-output|

* Checkbox
* Color picker
* Combo box
* Cycle button
* Date picker
* Grid view
* Light switch
* List box
* List builder
* Radio button
* Scrollbar
* Search box
* Slider
* Spinner
* Text box

Informational|

* Balloon help
* Head-up display in computing
* Head-up display in video games
* Icon
* Infobar
* Label
* Loading screen
* Progress indicator
* Progress bar
* Splash screen
* Throbber
* Sidebar
* Status bar
* Toast
* Tooltip

Containers|

* Accordion
* Tree view
* Client-Side Decoration
* Disclosure widget
* Frame/Fieldset
* Menu bar
* Panel
* Popover
* Ribbon
* Tab
* Toolbar
* Window
* Window decoration
* Workspace

Navigational|

* Address bar
* Breadcrumb
* Hyperlink
* Navigation bar
* Virtual desktop

Special windows|

* Alert dialog box
* Dialog box
* File dialog
* Inspector window
* Modal window
* Palette window

Related concepts|

* File viewer
* List of graphical user interface elements
* Layout manager
* Look and feel
* Mouseover
* Widget toolkit
* WIMP

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