One of the frustrating parts of web graphics is color matching. (It’s worse than me trying to match my blue and purple socks.) Whether you’re trying to create additional drawings, make web pages or touch up a photo, selecting the right color and color code is important. With the web’s hex-based color numbering scheme, just figuring out what the number for the color you are working with can be a test of persistence.
Now, that problem is solved thanks to a small program called ColorPic!
The folks at iconico.com have created a color selection tool that makes web and photo color selection a breeze. The tool shows the hex color number, a matching color palette, hue, saturation and RGB values, hue selection, has a location for “paint chips” and has a magnifying area that enlarges the screen area around the mouse cursor. It comes preloaded with 8 different palettes and has the ability to store and recall custom palettes.
The utility resides on top of all other windows and continuously displays the color information for the pixel directly beneath the mouse pointer. Hit ctrl+G with the pointer over the selected spot and ColorPic records the color information and creates a “paint chip” that displays the color in its paint chip palette.
I used to keep four different color palette “cheat sheets” handy for matching colors but ColorPic makes this process so much simpler. Iconico.com has a number of other tools for measuring distance (caliper), measuring on-screen angles (protractor) and for using the mouse as a compass (complete with circle, freehand and contained-area measurements.)
