How to pick and save colors

Choose and save two colors in five steps

1. 1

   Choose an exact cream color

   Open the sample from this page, or choose File› then Open… Click the front color square near the bottom of the left toolbar. In Foreground Color, replace the value in the # field with F7F1E5. The New preview becomes cream. Click OK.

   You can also enter red, green and blue values in the R, G and B fields.

   

   

   

2. 2

   Save it as Paper cream

   Choose Window› then Swatches. At the bottom of the panel, click the ringed + button (Add the foreground color as a swatch). Name it Paper cream and click Add.

   The new chip appears after the built-in colors in the Swatches panel. Hover over a chip to see its name and hex value.

   

   

   

3. 3

   Choose Eyedropper and its sample size

   Right-click the toolbar button below Crop and above Brush, or press and hold it, then choose Eyedropper. In the options bar, change Sample from Point to 5 × 5 average.

   Point reads one pixel. An average mixes a small square of pixels around the click, so a speck of texture has less influence.

   

   

4. 4

   Sample the orange table and save it

   Click the empty orange tabletop to the left of the saucer, about a third of the way across the photo and level with the middle of the cup. Point 1 marks the area. The foreground square becomes orange.

   Use the same footer button from step 2 to save this color as Table orange. Your exact orange can vary with the spot you click.

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5. 5

   Recall the foreground and background colors

   In Swatches, click Paper cream to make it the foreground color. Hold Alt on Windows or Option on a Mac and click Table orange to make it the background color.

   The front square is now cream and the rear square orange. The two named chips remain available when you choose other colors.

   Tip Click outside any text field first. X swaps the foreground and background colors; D resets them to black and white.

   

Choose colors without opening the dialog

Choose Window› then Color to keep the color controls visible. Its # field, on the row marked Foreground, changes the foreground color directly. The Hue, Saturation and Lightness controls change the color, its intensity and how light or dark it is.

Use the colors in a design

• Paint with your foreground color: use the Brush tool.
• Cover a selected area: use Paint Bucket or Fill.
• Blend between colors: make a gradient.

Color picking and swatches: questions and answers