Choosing colors

You can choose background, foreground, and fill colors by selecting a color from the color control area, color palettes, color viewers, color harmonies, or color blends and by sampling colors from an image.

For information about applying the colors you choose, see Applying uniform fills, Drawing and painting, and Working with objects.

Color control area

In the color control area, you can view the selected foreground, background, and fill colors, and you can choose new colors. The foreground color applies to all the paint tools, and to the color of text when it is first typed. The background color applies to the background of the image window, and the fill color swatch indicates the selected fill type and color.

Default color palette

A color palette is a collection of color swatches. In some programs, color palettes are known as "swatch palettes."

In Corel PHOTO-PAINT, the default color palette is based on the color mode of the image. For example, if you open a CMYK image, a CMYK palette appears in the image window, if you open a paletted image, an RGB palette appears in the image window.

You can choose foreground, background, and fill colors by using the default color palette, which contains colors from the RGB color model.

Image palette

When you create a new image, the application automatically generates an empty palette, called the Image palette. It helps you keep track of the colors that you use by storing them for future use. For more information, see Using the Image palette.

Palette libraries and custom color palettes

The color palettes that are found in the Palette libraries cannot be edited directly. Some of them are provided by third-party manufacturers, for example PANTONE, HKS Colors, and TRUMATCH. It may be useful to have on hand a manufacturer’s swatch book, which is a collection of color samples that shows exactly what each color looks like when printed.

Some palettes found in the Palette libraries — PANTONE, HKS Colors, TOYO, DIC, Focoltone, and SpectraMaster — are collections of spot colors. If you create color separations when you print, each spot color requires a separate printing plate, which can significantly affect the cost of the printing job. If you want to use color separations but would like to avoid using spot colors, you can convert the spot colors to process colors when printing. For more information, see Printing color separations.

Custom color palettes can include colors from any color model, including palettes found in the Palette libraries, such as a spot color palette. You can save a custom color palette for future use. For more information about working with custom color palettes, see Creating and editing custom color palettes.

Sampling colors

When you want to use a color that already exists in an object or image, you can sample the color to achieve an exact match. By default, you sample a single pixel from the image window.

When you sample a color from a photo, what looks to be a solid-colored area may actually be subtly shaded or dithered. In this case, it is useful to average the colors of pixels in a larger sample area. You can set the sample area to 3 × 3 pixels, or to 5 × 5 pixels for high-resolution images. You can also sample pixels in a selected area.

If you want to sample and use numerous colors from the image window, you can store them on a custom color palette. For more information on custom color palettes, see Creating and editing custom color palettes.

Color viewers

Color viewers provide a representation of a range of colors by using either one-dimensional or three-dimensional shapes. The default color viewer is based on the HSB color model, but you can use this viewer to choose CMYK, CMY, or RGB colors. For information about color models, see Understanding color models.

An example of a color viewer

Color blends

When you choose a color by using color blends, you combine base colors to produce the color you want. The color blender displays a grid of colors that it creates from the four base colors you choose.

An example of color blends

Choosing web colors

You can use web colors when you design documents that will be published to the web. With Corel PHOTO-PAINT, you can define web colors by using RGB hexadecimal values (for example, #aa003f).

To choose a color by using the color control area

•

Foreground color swatch

•

Background color swatch

You can also
Choose a fill color	Double-click the Fill color swatch in the color control area, click the Uniform fill swatch, and click Edit.
Return color swatches to their default colors	Click the Reset color icon . The foreground and fill colors return to black, and the background color returns to white.
Switch the foreground and background colors	Click the arrow in the upper-right corner of the color control area.

You can also choose foreground, background, and fill colors by using the Color docker. To open the Color docker, click Window Dockers Color.

To choose a color by using the default color palette

You can display color names by pointing to a swatch.

You can also choose foreground, background, and fill colors by using the Color docker. To open the Color docker, click Window Dockers Color.

An example of a pop-up color palette

To choose a color by using a color palette

•

Foreground color swatch

•

Background color swatch

2 .	Click the Palettes tab .

You can also
Choose a fill color	Double-click the Fill color swatch in the color control area, click the Uniform fill button in the Select fill dialog box, and click Edit.
Swap colors	Click Options Swap colors. This swaps the Old color (the current foreground or background color) and the New color (which has been chosen in the color selection area).

Each spot color swatch on a color palette is marked with a small white square.

You should use the same color model for all colors in an image; the colors will be consistent, and you will be able to predict the colors of the final output more accurately. For more information about reproducing colors accurately, see Using color management.

You can also access color palettes in the Color docker by clicking the Show color palettes button, and choosing a palette from the list box. If the Color docker is not open, click Window Dockers Color.

To sample a color

1 .	Click the Eyedropper tool .

You can also
Increase the sample size	Click the 3 × 3 button on the property bar.
Increase the sample size for a high-resolution image	Click the 5 × 5 button on the property bar.
Sample a color from a selected area	Click the Select sample button on the property bar and drag in the image window to select an area.
Choose a background color	Press Control, and click the image.
Choose a fill color	Right-click the image.

In the image window, a preview swatch is attached to the Eyedropper tool, along with an information box listing the color model component values. When you sample an RGB color, the information box also includes the hexadecimal color value.

You can also activate the Eyedropper tool by pressing the E key. Click the Spacebar to return to the previously selected tool.

You can also use the Image info docker to view the color model component values for an image pixel, such as the red, green, and blue components of a pixel in an RGB image or its hexadecimal color value. If the Image info docker is not open, click Window Dockers Info.

To choose a color by using a color viewer

•

Foreground color swatch

•

Background color swatch

2 .	Click the Models tab .

You can also
Sample a color from the image	Click the Eyedropper tool , and click the image or desktop.
Choose a fill color	Double-click the Fill color swatch in the color control area, click the Uniform fill button in the Select fill dialog box, and click Edit.
Swap colors	Click Options, and choose Swap colors. This swaps the Old color (the current foreground or background color) and the New color (which has been chosen in the color selection area).

If you choose a color that is outside of the printer gamut, Corel PHOTO-PAINT allows you to replace it with a similar color that is in the printer’s gamut. To replace the color, click the Bring color into gamut button, which appears to the left of the New color swatch. For information about color correction, see Using color management.

You should use the same color model for all colors in an image; the colors will be consistent and you will be able to predict the colors of the final output more accurately.It is preferable to use the same color model in your drawing that you will be using for the final output.

When you choose a color that is out of the printer’s gamut, the Bring color into gamut button appears below the Eyedropper button.

You can choose a fill color by double-clicking the Fill color swatch in the color control area. Click the Uniform fill button in the Select fill dialog box, and click Edit.

You can swap the Old color (the current foreground or background color) and the New color (which has been chosen in the color selection area) by clicking Options Swap colors.

You can also access color models in the Color docker by clicking the Show color viewers button and choosing a color model from the list box. If the Color docker is not open, click Window Dockers Color.

To choose a color by using color blends

•

Foreground color swatch

•

Background color swatch

You can also
Sample a color from the image	Click the Eyedropper tool , and click the image or desktop.

Only colors that are on the default color palette can be blended. To blend other colors, you must change the default color palette.

To choose a web color

1 .	Click Window Dockers Color.

You can specify hexadecimal color values only when working with RGB colors.

If you type an invalid hexadecimal value, the color does not change.

You can view hexadecimal color values on the status bar.

You can also choose web colors from the Foreground color, Background color, or Uniform fill dialog boxes. These dialog boxes also let you view and copy the hexadecimal equivalents of non-RGB colors.

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