Software Manual for ColorBasics

Overview of ColorBasics

ColorBasics is a free program that introduces the ideas behind the composition of color in digital images and is designed for educational use on either PCs or Macs. The latest version of the software may be downloaded here. The software provides a variety of interactive tools to investigate colors composed in various color spaces.

Overview of Tab Panels

Eight tab panels provide access to a variety of color investigation tools in this program: Intro (Introduction), Compare Colors, Make Colors, Play with Colors, Test Yourself, Color Spaces, Check Display's Color, and About. The Introduction panel provides a brief explanation of how colors are composed. Compare Colors allows you to compare the result of mixing two different colors as both pigments and as light. The input values for three different color spaces can be adjusted in Make Colors to see how colors are composed in each space. Play with Colors contains a color guessing game, playable with either another player or with a computer randomly selecting a color. Test Yourself allows users to check their accuracy at determining colors by eye. The three most commonly used color spaces are explained in detail in Color Spaces. Check Display's Color provides a visual test of the computer/projector display, and About provides information for about the collaborating seven institutions involved in the Measuring Vegetation Health (aka Digital Earth Watch) project.

Details of Tab Panels

Intro Tab Panel

The Intro tab panel points out the difference between composing colors as pigment and as light, and indicates which tab panels to explore in order to learn more about colors. A button links directly to the Color Spaces tab for more information about the various spaces used to represent color.


RGB (red-green-blue) and CMY (cyan-magenta-yellow) color spaces, respectively

Compare Colors Tab Panel

Combinations of two basic, pre-determined colors can be made in the Compare Colors tab panel to see how the result differs between pigment (such as with paint) and light (such as with TV and computer screens). Red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and magenta may be selected two at a time, with the pigment and light results displayed next to each other simultaneously.


Red and green mixed as pigments


Red and green mixed as light

Make Colors Tab Panel


The Make Colors tab panel allows a user to select one of three different color spaces in which to create a color. Once this is selected, the intensities of the color components may be freely adjusted, with the result being displayed in real-time. These colors can be saved in a column along the side to allow for easier comparison of different colors in the same color space. The saved colors can be cleared if there is no more room or if a new set of saved colors is desired.


Color intensities are recorded along with the saved color

Play with Colors Tab Panel

Two users may play a game together in the Play with Colors tab panel. One user selects a color, and the other must attempt to come as close to it as possible. The level of difficulty indicates the acceptable margin of error, as it is very diffictult to determine exactly the values of any one particular color. The game is also playable against the computer, in which case the computer selects a random color for the user to guess.


Color selection dialog in two-player mode

Test Yourself Tab Panel


Enter your name to test yourself

The Test Yourself panel can be used to start a test to visually estimate the composition of a color, using a series of randomly generated colors. After adjusting the color intensities and making a guess, the program indicates whether any intensities must be adjusted up or down (intensities within 15% of the target are considered accurate). When ten colors have been correctly determined, a report is displayed evaluating the performance.

The test may be conducted using the RGB, CMY, or HSV color spaces.

Color Spaces

The RGB, CMY, and HSV color spaces can be viewed here, represented graphically as cubes. Each color space graph is accompanied by a detailed description of its real-world applications and how the colors are combined.


RGB

CMY

HSV