Color Picker from Image

How to Pick Colors from an Image

Extracting exact colors from an image is essential for designers, developers, and creatives who need pixel-perfect color accuracy.

A color picker from image lets you identify the exact color value of any pixel in a photograph, illustration, or screenshot. Unlike eyeballing colors or using approximate swatches, a pixel-level color picker reads the precise red, green, and blue channel values that define each pixel, then converts those values into the color formats you need: HEX for web development, RGB for digital design, and HSL for intuitive color manipulation.

The process is straightforward: upload an image, hover over the area of interest using the magnifier loupe for precision, and click to capture the color. The loupe provides an 8x zoomed view of the pixels around your cursor, making it easy to target the exact pixel you want even in areas with subtle color gradients or fine details. Once picked, the color is displayed in all three major formats simultaneously, and each value can be copied to your clipboard with a single click.

Understanding Color Formats

HEX codes (like #FF5733) are the standard for web design and CSS. They represent colors as six hexadecimal digits: two for red, two for green, two for blue. RGB notation (like rgb(255, 87, 51)) describes colors by their red, green, and blue channel intensities on a 0-255 scale, commonly used in CSS and graphic design software. HSL (like hsl(14, 100%, 60%)) describes colors by hue (the color wheel position, 0-360 degrees), saturation (color intensity, 0-100%), and lightness (brightness, 0-100%), making it intuitive for creating color variations and harmonies.

Building a Color Palette

The color history feature lets you pick multiple colors from an image to build a complete palette. Click different areas of your image to collect up to 10 colors, then use "Copy All" to export the entire palette as a list. This is invaluable for extracting brand colors from logos, deriving color schemes from photographs, or documenting the exact colors used in a design reference image.

Color Picker Use Cases

Color Picker Features

Frequently Asked Questions

Color Picking for Design and Development

Extracting colors from images is a fundamental workflow for web designers, graphic designers, and developers building brand-consistent digital products.

Building a Brand Color Palette from Reference Images

The fastest way to establish a brand color palette is to start with reference images that capture the mood and aesthetic you want. Upload mood board images, competitor designs, or inspiration photos, and pick the colors that resonate. A complete brand palette typically includes: a primary color (main brand identity), a secondary color (accents and calls-to-action), a dark neutral (text and headings), a light neutral (backgrounds), and one or two supporting tones. Extract these from your reference images, then refine the exact values for consistency across all brand materials.

Color Extraction for Web Development

When translating a design mockup into code, you need exact color values. Upload the mockup screenshot, pick each unique color, and copy the HEX or RGB values directly into your CSS. This is faster than using browser developer tools when working from a static image (a PDF mockup, a Figma export, or a client's emailed screenshot). Build a CSS custom properties block with your extracted colors for a consistent design system: --primary: #2563EB; --accent: #F59E0B;

Matching Colors Across Physical and Digital Media

Designers frequently need to match a physical product color in digital materials — packaging, fabric swatches, painted surfaces. Photograph the physical item under neutral lighting (daylight or 5000K), upload the photo, and pick the color. The HEX value gives you a starting point, but be aware that monitors cannot perfectly reproduce all physical colors (especially metallics, fluorescents, and very saturated pigments). For print work, convert HEX to CMYK using a color conversion tool for accurate reproduction.

Accessibility and Color Contrast

After picking colors from a design, check that your text and background color combinations meet WCAG accessibility standards. The minimum contrast ratio is 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Pick your text color and background color, then use a contrast checker (like WebAIM's contrast checker) with the HEX values you extracted. This ensures your design is readable for users with visual impairments.

Understanding Color Formats: HEX, RGB, and HSL

Each color format has specific strengths. Understanding when to use HEX, RGB, or HSL makes your design and development work more efficient.

HEX — The Web Standard

HEX codes (#FF5733) are the most compact way to represent colors and are the default in HTML and CSS. Each pair of characters represents red, green, and blue intensity in hexadecimal (00-FF). HEX is ideal for: CSS color properties, HTML attributes, design tool color inputs, and sharing colors in documentation. Shorthand HEX (#F00 for #FF0000) saves characters when each pair is identical. For transparency, use 8-digit HEX (#FF573380 for 50% opacity) — supported in all modern browsers.

RGB — The Technical Standard

RGB values (rgb(255, 87, 51)) directly correspond to how screens produce color — by mixing red, green, and blue light at intensities from 0 to 255. RGB is most useful in: programming and scripting (color calculations, gradients), graphic design software (Photoshop, Illustrator), and dynamic color manipulation in JavaScript. For transparency, use RGBA: rgba(255, 87, 51, 0.5) for 50% opacity. RGB makes it intuitive to adjust individual color channels programmatically.

HSL — The Human-Friendly Format

HSL (hsl(14, 100%, 60%)) describes colors the way humans think about them: Hue is the color itself (position on the color wheel, 0-360 degrees), Saturation is how vivid or muted the color is (0-100%), and Lightness is how bright or dark it is (0-100%). HSL excels at: creating color variations (change lightness for hover states), building cohesive palettes (same hue, different saturations), and understanding color relationships. To create a lighter version of a color, simply increase the lightness value — much more intuitive than adjusting three separate RGB channels.

Converting Between Formats

This tool provides all three formats simultaneously for every picked pixel, eliminating the need for manual conversion. However, understanding the relationship helps: HEX and RGB are mathematically equivalent (FF = 255, 80 = 128, 00 = 0). HSL to RGB conversion involves trigonometry, which is why having all three formats available at once saves significant time. When in doubt, use HEX for CSS, RGB for programming, and HSL for design decisions.

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