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About color

  1. Illustrator User Guide
  2. Get to know Illustrator
    1. Introduction to Illustrator
      1. What's new in Illustrator
      2. Common questions
      3. Illustrator system requirements
      4. Illustrator for Apple silicon
    2. Workspace
      1. Workspace basics
      2. Learn faster with the Illustrator Discover panel
      3. Create documents
      4. Toolbar
      5. Default keyboard shortcuts
      6. Customize keyboard shortcuts
      7. Introduction to artboards
      8. Manage artboards
      9. Customize the workspace
      10. Properties panel
      11. Set preferences
      12. Touch Workspace
      13. Microsoft Surface Dial support in Illustrator
      14. Undo edits and manage design history
      15. Rotate view
      16. Rulers, grids, and guides
      17. Accessibility in Illustrator
      18. Safe Mode
      19. View artwork
      20. Use the Touch Bar with Illustrator
      21. Files and templates
    3. Tools in Illustrator
      1. Tools at a glance
      2. Select tools
        1. Selection
        2. Direct Selection
        3. Group Selection
        4. Magic Wand
        5. Lasso
        6. Artboard
      3. Navigate tools
        1. Hand
        2. Rotate View
        3. Zoom
      4. Paint tools
        1. Gradient
        2. Mesh
        3. Shape Builder
      5. Text tools
        1. Type
        2. Type on a Path
        3. Vertical Type
      6. Draw tools
        1. Pen
        2. Add Anchor Point
        3. Delete Anchor Point
        4. Anchor Point
        5. Curvature
        6. Line Segment
        7. Rectangle
        8. Rounded Rectangle
        9. Ellipse
        10. Polygon
        11. Star
        12. Paintbrush
        13. Blob Brush
        14. Pencil
        15. Shaper
        16. Slice
      7. Modify tools
        1. Rotate
        2. Reflect
        3. Scale
        4. Shear
        5. Width
        6. Free Transform
        7. Eyedropper
        8. Blend
        9. Eraser
        10. Scissors
        11. Dimension
    4. Generative AI (not available in mainland China)
      1. Generate scenes, subjects, and icons using text prompts
      2. Generate vector patterns using text prompts
      3. Generate vector shape fills using text prompts
      4. Recolor your artwork using text prompts
    5. Quick actions
      1. Retro text
      2. Neon glow text
      3. Old school text
      4. Recolor
      5. Convert sketch to vector
  3. Illustrator on the web (beta)
    1. Illustrator on the web (beta) overview
    2. Illustrator on the web (beta) FAQ
    3. Troubleshooting issues FAQ
    4. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the web (beta)
    5. Create and combine shapes on the web
    6. Add and edit text on the web
    7. Apply colors and gradients on the web
    8. Draw and edit paths on the web
    9. Work with cloud documents on the web
    10. Invite collaborators to edit on the web
  4. Illustrator on the iPad
    1. Introduction to Illustrator on the iPad
      1. Illustrator on the iPad overview
      2. Illustrator on the iPad FAQs
      3. System requirements | Illustrator on the iPad
      4. What you can or cannot do on Illustrator on the iPad
    2. Workspace
      1. Illustrator on the iPad workspace
      2. Touch shortcuts and gestures
      3. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the iPad
      4. Manage your app settings
    3. Documents
      1. Work with documents in Illustrator on the iPad
      2. Import Photoshop and Fresco documents
    4. Select and arrange objects
      1. Create repeat objects
      2. Blend objects
    5. Drawing
      1. Draw and edit paths
      2. Draw and edit shapes
    6. Type
      1. Work with type and fonts
      2. Create text designs along a path
      3. Add your own fonts
    7. Work with images
      1. Vectorize raster images
    8. Color
      1. Apply colors and gradients
  5. Cloud documents
    1. Basics
      1. Work with Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Share and collaborate on Illustrator cloud documents
      3. Share documents for review
      4. Upgrade cloud storage for Adobe Illustrator
      5. Illustrator cloud documents | Common questions
    2. Troubleshooting
      1. Troubleshoot create or save issues for Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Troubleshoot Illustrator cloud documents issues
  6. Add and edit content
    1. Drawing and dimensioning
      1. Drawing basics
      2. Edit paths
      3. Draw pixel-perfect art
      4. Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil tool
      5. Draw simple lines and shapes
      6. Draw rectangular and polar grids
      7. Draw and edit flares
      8. Image Trace
      9. Simplify a path
      10. Symbolism tools and symbol sets
      11. Adjust path segments
      12. Design a flower in 5 easy steps
      13. Create and edit a perspective grid
      14. Draw and modify objects on a perspective grid
      15. Use objects as symbols for repeat use
      16. Draw pixel-aligned paths for web workflows
      17. Measure and plot dimensions
    2. 3D objects and materials
      1. About 3D effects in Illustrator
      2. Create 3D graphics
      3. Map artwork over 3D objects
      4. Create 3D Text
      5. Create 3D objects
    3. Color
      1. About color
      2. Select colors
      3. Use and create swatches
      4. Adjust colors
      5. Use the Adobe Color Themes panel
      6. Color groups (harmonies)
      7. Color Themes panel
      8. Recolor your artwork
    4. Painting
      1. About painting
      2. Paint with fills and strokes
      3. Live Paint groups
      4. Gradients
      5. Brushes
      6. Transparency and blending modes
      7. Apply stroke on an object
      8. Create and edit patterns
      9. Meshes
      10. Patterns
    5. Select and arrange objects
      1. Select objects
      2. Layers
      3. Group and expand objects
      4. Move, align, and distribute objects
      5. Snap objects to glyph
      6. Snap objects to Japanese glyph
      7. Stack objects    
      8. Lock, hide, and delete objects
      9. Copy and duplicate objects
      10. Rotate and reflect objects
      11. Intertwine objects
      12. Create realistic art mockups
    6. Reshape objects
      1. Crop images
      2. Transform objects
      3. Combine objects
      4. Cut, divide, and trim objects
      5. Puppet Warp
      6. Scale, shear, and distort objects
      7. Blend objects
      8. Reshape using envelopes
      9. Reshape objects with effects
      10. Build new shapes with Shaper and Shape Builder tools
      11. Work with Live Corners
      12. Enhanced reshape workflows with touch support
      13. Edit clipping masks
      14. Live shapes
      15. Create shapes using the Shape Builder tool
      16. Global editing
    7. Type
      1. Add text and work with type objects
      2. Create bulleted and numbered lists
      3. Manage text area
      4. Fonts and typography
      5. Convert text within images into editable text
      6. Add basic formatting to text
      7. Add advanced formatting to text
      8. Import and export text
      9. Format paragraphs
      10. Special characters
      11. Create type on a path
      12. Character and paragraph styles
      13. Tabs
      14. Find missing fonts (Typekit workflow)
      15. Arabic and Hebrew type
      16. Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips
      17. Create 3D text effect
      18. Creative typography designs
      19. Scale and rotate type
      20. Line and character spacing
      21. Hyphenation and line breaks
      22. Spelling and language dictionaries
      23. Format Asian characters
      24. Composers for Asian scripts
      25. Create text designs with blend objects
      26. Create a text poster using Image Trace
    8. Create special effects
      1. Work with effects
      2. Graphic styles
      3. Appearance attributes
      4. Create sketches and mosaics
      5. Drop shadows, glows, and feathering
      6. Summary of effects
    9. Web graphics
      1. Best practices for creating web graphics
      2. Graphs
      3. SVG
      4. Slices and image maps
  7. Import, export, and save
    1. Import
      1. Place multiple files
      2. Manage linked and embedded files
      3. Links information
      4. Unembed images
      5. Import artwork from Photoshop
      6. Import bitmap images
      7. Import Adobe PDF files
      8. Import EPS, DCS, and AutoCAD files
    2. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator 
      1. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
    3. Save and export
      1. Save artwork
      2. Export artwork
      3. Create Adobe PDF files
      4. Adobe PDF options
      5. Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
      6. Collect assets and export in batches
      7. Package files
      8. Extract CSS | Illustrator CC
      9. Document info panel
  8. Printing
    1. Prepare for printing
      1. Set up documents for printing
      2. Change the page size and orientation
      3. Specify crop marks for trimming or aligning
      4. Get started with large canvas
    2. Printing
      1. Overprint
      2. Print with color management
      3. PostScript printing
      4. Print presets
      5. Printer's marks and bleeds
      6. Print and save transparent artwork
      7. Trapping
      8. Print color separations
      9. Print gradients, meshes, and color blends
      10. White Overprint
  9. Automate tasks
    1. Data merge using the Variables panel
    2. Automation with scripts
    3. Automation with actions
  10. Troubleshooting 
    1. Fixed issues
    2. Known issues
    3. Crash issues
    4. Recover files after crash
    5. File issues
    6. Supported file formats
    7. GPU device driver issues
    8. Wacom device issues
    9. DLL file issues
    10. Memory issues
    11. Preferences file issues
    12. Font issues
    13. Printer issues
    14. Share crash report with Adobe
    15. Improve Illustrator performance

Learn about color models and color spaces to choose the correct colors for your artwork in Illustrator.

Applying colors to artwork is a common Adobe Illustrator task, and one that requires some knowledge of color models, and color spaces. Keep in mind the final medium in which your artwork will be published, so that you can use the correct color model and color definitions.

Colors in digital graphics

Color models describe the colors that you see and work with in digital graphics. Each color model, such as RGB, CMYK, or HSB, represents a different method for describing and classifying color. Color models use numeric values to represent the visible spectrum of color.

A color space is a variant of a color model and has a specific gamut (range) of colors. For example, based on the RGB color model are these color spaces: Adobe® RGB, sRGB, and Apple® RGB. While each of these color spaces defines color using the same three axes (R, G, and B), their gamuts are different.

Gamuts of different color spaces
Gamuts of different color spaces

A. Visual gamut B. RGB color space C. CMYK color space 

Different devices, such as computer monitor and printer, throughout your workflow operate within different color spaces and each with different gamuts. Some colors within the gamut of your computer monitor are not within the gamut of your inkjet printer, and the other way round. When a color cannot be produced on a device, it’s considered to be outside the color space of that particular device. In other words, the color is out of gamut.

When an image moves from one device to another, image colors may change because each device interprets the RGB or CMYK values according to its own color space. For example, it is impossible for all the colors viewed on a monitor to be identically matched in a print from a desktop printer. A printer operates in a CMYK color space, and a monitor operates in an RGB color space. Their gamuts are different. Some colors produced by inks cannot be displayed on a monitor, and some colors that can be displayed on a monitor cannot be reproduced using inks on paper.

If your color workflow involves transferring documents among devices, you may want to use a color-management system (CMS) to help maintain and regulate colors throughout the process.

RGB, CMYK, HSB, Lab, and Grayscale color models

RGB

A large percentage of the visible spectrum can be represented by mixing red, green, and blue (RGB) colored light in various proportions and intensities. Where the colors overlap, they create cyan, magenta, and yellow.

RGB colors are called additive colors because you create white by adding R, G, and B together. Additive colors are used for lighting, television, and computer monitors. Your monitor, for example, creates color by emitting light through red, green, and blue phosphors.

Additive colors (RGB)
Additive colors (RGB)

A. Red B. Green C. Blue 

You can work with color values using the RGB color mode, which is based on the RGB color model. In RGB mode, each of the RGB components can use a value ranging from 0 (black) to 255 (white). For example, a bright red color might have an R value of 246, a G value of 20, and a B value of 50. When the values of all three components are equal, the result is a shade of gray. When the value of all components is 255, the result is pure white; when all components have values of 0, the result is pure black.

Illustrator also includes a modified RGB color mode called Web Safe RGB, which includes only those RGB colors that are appropriate for use on the web.

CMYK

Whereas the RGB model depends on a light source to create color, the CMYK model is based on the light-absorbing quality of ink printed on paper. As white light strikes translucent inks, a portion of the spectrum is absorbed. Color that is not absorbed is reflected back to your eye.

Combining pure cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) pigments would result in black by absorbing, or subtracting, all colors. For this reason, they are called subtractive colors. Black (K) ink is added for better shadow density. (The letter K came into use because black is the “key” color for registering other colors, and because the letter B also stands for blue.) Combining these inks to reproduce color is called four-color process printing.

Subtractive colors (CMYK)
Subtractive colors (CMYK)

A. Cyan B. Magenta C. Yellow D. Black 

You can work with color values using the CMYK color mode, which is based on the CMYK color model. In CMYK mode, each of the CMYK process inks can use a value ranging from 0% to 100%. The lightest colors are assigned small percentages of process ink colors; darker colors have higher percentage values. For example, a bright red might contain 2% cyan, 93% magenta, 90% yellow, and 0% black. In CMYK objects, low ink percentages are closer to white, and high ink percentages are closer to black.

Use CMYK when preparing a document to be printed using process inks.

HSB

Based on the human perception of color, the HSB model describes three fundamental characteristics of color:

Hue

Color reflected from or transmitted through an object. It is measured as a location on the standard color wheel, expressed as a degree between 0° and 360°. In common use, hue is identified by the name of the color, such as red, orange, or green.

Saturation

Strength or purity of the color (sometimes called chroma). Saturation represents the amount of gray in proportion to the hue, measured as a percentage from 0% (gray) to 100% (fully saturated). On the standard color wheel, saturation increases from the center to the edge.

Brightness

Relative lightness or darkness of the color, measured as a percentage from 0% (black) to 100% (white).

HSB color model
HSB color model

A. Hue B. Saturation C. Brightness 

Lab

The CIE Lab color model is based on the human perception of color. It is one of several color models produced by the Commission Internationale d’Eclairage (CIE), an organization dedicated to creating standards for all aspects of light.

The numeric values in Lab describe all the colors that a person with normal vision sees. Because Lab describes how a color looks rather than how much of a particular colorant is needed for a device (such as a monitor, desktop printer, or digital camera) to produce colors, Lab is considered to be a device-independent color model. Color management systems use Lab as a color reference to predictably transform a color from one color space to another color space.

In Illustrator, you can use the Lab model to create, display, and output spot color swatches. However, you cannot create documents in Lab mode.

Grayscale

Grayscale uses tints of black to represent an object. Every grayscale object has a brightness value ranging from 0% (white) to 100% (black). Images produced using black-and-white or grayscale scanners are typically displayed in grayscale.

Grayscale also lets you convert color artwork to high-quality black-and-white artwork. In this case, Adobe Illustrator discards all color information in the original artwork; the gray levels (shades) of the converted objects represent the luminosity of the original objects.

When you convert grayscale objects to RGB, the color values for each object are assigned that object’s previous gray value. You can also convert a grayscale object to a CMYK object.

Grayscale
Grayscale

Spot and process colors

You can designate colors as either spot or process color types, which correspond to the two main ink types used in commercial printing. In the Swatches panel, you can identify the color type of a color using icons that appear next to the name of the color.

Spot colors

A spot color is a special premixed ink that is used instead of, or in addition to, process inks, and that requires its own printing plate on a printing press. Use spot color when few colors are specified and color accuracy is critical. Spot color inks can accurately reproduce colors that are outside the gamut of process colors. However, the exact appearance of the printed spot color is determined by the combination of the ink as mixed by the commercial printer and the paper it’s printed on, not by color values you specify or by color management. When you specify spot color values, you’re describing the simulated appearance of the color for your monitor and composite printer only (subject to the gamut limitations of those devices).

Keep the following guidelines in mind when specifying a spot color:

  • For best results in printed documents, specify a spot color from a color-matching system supported by your commercial printer. Several color-matching system libraries are included with the software.

  • Use fewer spot colors. Each spot color you create will generate an additional spot color printing plate for a printing press, increasing your printing costs. If you think you might require more than four colors, consider printing your document using process colors.

  • If an object contains spot colors and overlaps another object containing transparency, undesirable results may occur when exporting to EPS format, when converting spot colors to process colors using the Print dialog box, or when creating color separations in an application other than Illustrator or InDesign. For best results, use the Flattener Preview or the Separations Preview to soft proof the effects of flattening transparency before printing. In addition, you can convert the spot colors to process colors by using the Ink Manager in InDesign before printing or exporting.

  • You can use a spot color printing plate to apply a varnish over areas of a process color job. In this case, your print job would use a total of five inks—four process inks and one spot varnish.

Process colors

A process color is printed using a combination of the four standard process inks: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). Use process colors when a job requires so many colors that using individual spot inks would be expensive or impractical, as when printing color photographs.

Keep the following guidelines in mind when specifying a process color:

  • For best results in a high-quality printed document, specify process colors using CMYK values printed in process color reference charts, such as those available from a commercial printer.

  • The final color values of a process color are its values in CMYK, so if you specify a process color using RGB (or LAB, in InDesign), those color values will be converted to CMYK when you print color separations. These conversions differ based on your color-management settings and document profile.

  • Don’t specify a process color based on how it looks on your monitor, unless you are sure you have set up a color-management system properly, and you understand its limitations for previewing color.

  • Avoid using process colors in documents intended for online viewing only, because CMYK has a smaller color gamut than that of a typical monitor.

  • Illustrator and InDesign let you specify a process color as either global or non-global. In Illustrator, global process colors remain linked to a swatch in the Swatches panel, so that if you modify the swatch of a global process color, all objects using that color are updated. Non-global process colors do not automatically update throughout the document when the color is edited. Process colors are non-global by default. In InDesign, when you apply a swatch to objects, the swatch is automatically applied as a global process color. Non-global swatches are unnamed colors, which you can edit in the Color panel.

Note:

Global and non-global process colors only affect how a particular color is applied to objects, never how colors separate or behave when you move them between applications.

Using spot and process colors together

Sometimes it’s practical to use process and spot inks in the same job. For example, you might use one spot ink to print the exact color of a company logo on the same pages of an annual report where photographs are reproduced using process color. You can also use a spot color printing plate to apply a varnish over areas of a process color job. In both cases, your print job would use a total of five inks—four process inks and one spot ink or varnish.

Comparing colors in InDesign and Illustrator

To learn about the differences between colors in Illustrator and InDesign, see Compare colors in InDesign and Illustrator.


Related resources

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Konferensi Kreativitas

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Konferensi Kreativitas

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