Getting Started > The Desktop > Colour Picker >
Picking Colours by Setting Colour Model Channel Values

You can pick colours by adjusting colour model channel sliders. You can also enter channel values directly into the fields below each slider.

The Mode box, Colour Model box, and Bit Depth box settings, and channel value units (percentages or bit-values) are saved on a per-user basis, at the end of each session.

To pick colours by setting colour model channel values:

1. Click a colour pot to open the colour picker.

   The Current Colour pot and Reference Colour pot both display the incoming colour.

2. (Optional) To pick a colour at a bit depth different from the one of the displayed image or clip, select a an option from the Bit Depth box.

   (a) Mode box(b) Colour Model box(c) Bit Depth box

   NoteThe option selected in the Bit Depth box only affects the representation of colours in the picker: it does not affect the bit depth of the displayed image or clip.
3. From the the Mode box, select how the numeric values represent each channel.

   Select: | To:
   --- | ---
   Colour | Use a range based on bit depth (0-255 for 8-bit, 0-1023 for 10-bit, 0-4095 for 12-bit). Only available with Bit Depth set at 8-bit, 10-bit, or 12-bit.
   Colour % | Use a percentage value, relative to the entire range of the selected bit depth, ranging from 0-100%. Only available with Bit Depth set at 8-bit, 10-bit, or 12-bit.
   Range | Use the full range of colours in a 16-bit floating point colourspace, entered as a floating-point number. The brackets enclose the 0-1 range. Only available with Bit Depth set at 16fp.
   [0-1] | Display the 0-1 range inside the full 16-bit floating point range, where 0 and 1 are enclosed by brackets. You can still use values outside the 0-1 range. Only available with Bit Depth set at 16fp.

4. From the Colour Model box, select the colour model you want to work with.

   Select: | To set colours using the:
   --- | ---
   RGB | Red, green, and blue channels.
   HLS | Hue, luma, and saturation channels.
   YUV | Luma (Y) and chroma (U, V) channels.

5. Adjust the sliders, drag the numeric fields, or enter the values in the fields for each slider.

   As you adjust the sliders, the colour in the Current Colour pot changes to reflect the current colour. You can compare the current colour to the incoming colour in the Reference Colour pot.

6. To apply the selected colour, click the Current Colour pot.