Understanding the Color Editor

In this video we're going to take a look at the color editor in SketchBook Pro. And there's two ways we can open up the color editor. One is to use the tool bar option, which is this icon here. And one would be to go up to Windows and then Color Editor. And I'm going to slide my color puck right next to the editor, so we can see how the two interact. So on the inside wheel here, we have preset values of hue, and you will notice as I select these values. My preview window changes, and it does so on the color puck as well.

Now, we discussed earlier that 0% saturation is true gray, or a mid gray. We also looked at a 100% saturation is the pure color. 100% luminance is pure white. And 0% luminance, right down here, is true black. So let's go back to a true red like this. We can actually change these values here explicitly, so I can make that. Let's say, 100. And once I've got a value that I like, I can actually drag that and save that particular color. So what I want to do is, I can just populate this library very quickly with my favorite colors with colors I'm using for my particular project.

So once I've done that, I can minimize my color wheel, just to minimize the foot print that this color editor takes up on the canvas. And let's go ahead, 100% saturation. I'm just going to put some color in here very quickly, like so. And you'll notice that the word flow now is simply selecting my preset colors, and using them on the canvas. The other option I have now, is I can also use my eye dropper to select a particular color. So if I import an image and I want to grab that color or a specific color, just use the eyedropper, select, and you'll notice that my preview window changes.

You'll notice also if I open up my color register, my hue value, saturation, and luminance is also displayed. So simply, eyedropper, and then select. An alternative way of doing this is by using the Alt button. Now you'll notice when I press the Alt button, the eye dropper goes blue. I can hold my stylus down on the canvas and as I move it across those colors, you'll notice that those colors change. So it's purely a preference whether you want to use the color editor, or the color puck. I prefer the color editor just, just out of preference because I like to see the exact values I'm choosing on the screen.

And my hue and saturation and luminous values I can pick directly from a reference on the screen, rather than dragging it left to right. Having said that, in some cases, I use both of them in combination.