Color Conversion - How To Capture
Snazzy Colors From The Web

Contributed by Sheri Graves

Anyone who works in graphic design or who simply enjoys making their own greeting cards or other creative paper products knows that sometimes the standard color palette just isn’t enough.

Using colors creatively is easier if you’re already familiar with programs that focus primarily on graphics and design. There are a wide range of such programs, virtually all of which come with their own tutorials. However, often it is a tutorial developed by an outside source that provides the most helpful hints on software usage.

It’s a good idea to take advantage of any free computer software training, including opportunities to learn Photoshop® CS or learn Microsoft® PowerPoint®.

Once you are proficient with such programs, then you can start figuring out how to enlarge the color palette available for your projects.

What about all those snazzy hues that pop up on the Internet? Where do they come from? More importantly, how is it possible to capture those colors and import them into the project you’re working on at home?

It’s all a matter of Hex/RGB converting.

Hex, as you know, stands for Hexadecimals, and RGB stands for the Red, Green, and Blue values that every color contains. In this procedure, you are converting hexadecimals to RGB values.

There are maybe half a dozen color picker programs available that will do the math and conversions for you. But, in the absence of such helpful software, here’s how you can do the Hex/RGB converting for yourself.

To begin, you will need Microsoft Calculator, a software program that most likely is already loaded onto your computer, (If it isn’t, install it over Control Panel/Software/Windows Setup.)

Got it? Good. Now, go to View and click on Scientific. The calculator must be in Scientific mode because that’s the only way you’ll find a key for hexadecimals. Now, check Hex on the calculator.

There is a format for colors used on the Web. You’ll recognize it immediately because it always looks something like this: FF000A.

You’ll need to break down the color format into three parts: FF, 00, and 0A. Then, follow these directions:

• Type FF into the calculator and click Dec, which stands for decimal. If you’ve completed this task correctly, you’ll see 255 appear on the calculator.



• Forget about the double zeros, the second set of digits. Why? Well, think about it a moment. Zero is zero is zero. Whether you have one zero or a whole row of them, the value still is zero.



• Move on to the third set of digits – the 0A– and keep in mind that zero is always zero. We don’t write 01, 02, 03. We drop the zero and write 1, 2, 3. So, drop the zero and type A into the calculator, then click Dec. If you’ve done this part of the task correctly, you’ll see a 10 appear in the calculator.

So there you have it. In this example, where the format is FF000A in decimals (and RGB values), the result is 225, 0, and 10.

You’ll find a list of color names and specific RGB values by accessing this link: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/types.html#h-6.5. Scroll down to 6.5 Colors and you’ll see each color, its name, and its format. For example, you’ll see the color green, the word Green, and the format: 008000. Under that, you’ll see another shade of green, the words Lime Green, and the format: 00FF00. This list doesn’t include ALL colors, of course.

There is a more extensive list of colors, with their RGB values, at: http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG/types.html#ColorKeywords. Scroll down to 4.2 Recognized Color Keyword Names. Here, you’ll find such colors as aliceblue, antiquewhite, burlywood, gainsboro, linen, and mistyrose.

Color has a way of making an otherwise dull page suddenly pop to life. That’s why the use of color isn’t limited to graphics projects. Think about using color to jazz up letters, reports, or other documents. Titles, subtitles, and quotes will seem more vibrant – and more important – if they are in color.

Too much color, however, can be annoying, especially if everything is in a different color. You don’t want red titles, green subtitles, and purple quotes. What you want is a splash of color here and there for accent purposes.

In selecting the colors to use, you might want to think about those colors that can’t be seen by folks with color blindness. The human eye has three types of color receptors: red, green, and blue. Color blindness results from a lack of one or more of those receptors. Most color perception defects are for red or green or both. Yellow-blue is the second most common form, but it is rare.

Photoshop is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc., registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. Microsoft and PowerPoint are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, registered in the U.S. and/or other countries.

About the Author:
Sheri Graves is an award-winning writer who freelances from her home in Santa Rosa, California.

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