A color space is a mathematical model used to represent physical colors. An RGB color space is a color space composed of three channels: red, green, blue, representing the three-dimensional information about the color. Each channel is represented by 8 bits, and the value of each channel is a value from 0 to 255.
The RGB color space is a combination of the red, green, and blue light components of additive color. The components of RGB are represented by the mathematical model:
R = red (0 ≤ R ≤ 255)
G = green (0 ≤ G ≤ 255)
B = blue (0 ≤ B ≤ 255)In the RGB color space, the light intensity of each channel is equal to the value of each channel. For example, if the value of each channel is set to 255, the color of the visualized color space results in white. Also, if the value of each channel is set to 0, the color of the visualized color space results in black.
Equal values of each channel are represented by the same color in the RGB color space, but the combination of different values of each channel leads to different colors. The RGB color space is used to calculate the color of each pixel that can be displayed on the screen.
RGB 565 is an alternative representation of RGB colors that uses 16 bits to represent the color: 5 bits for red, 6 bits for green, and 5 bits for blue. This color space is used in some embedded systems, such as microcontrollers. To pick RGB 565 colors, check out our RGB 565 Color Picker.
RGB 0-1 or Float RGB is another alternative representation of RGB colors that uses three decimal numbers between 0 and 1 to represent the color: one each for red, green, and blue, and one for an optional alpha channel. To pick RGB 0-1 colors, check out our RGB 0-1 Color Picker.
To pick RGB/RGBA/Hex/HSL colors from an image (without uploading it to any server), check out our Image Color Picker.
The RGBA color space is a color space that includes an extra channel (alpha channel) for representing the transparency information of an image. An RGBA color is composed of four channels, where each channel is represented by 8 bits. In RGBA, the transparency information is stored in the alpha channel, and the color information is stored in the three RGB channels.
The alpha channel can be displayed as a grayscale image. This means that the alpha channel is composed of 256 levels of transparency, where 0 represents the maximum level of transparency, and 255 represents the maximum level of opacity.
In the RGBA color space, the alpha channel is considered the same as a fourth channel, and the light intensity of each channel is equal to the value of each channel. For example, if the value of each channel is set to 255, the color of the visualized color space results in white. Also, if the value of each channel is set to 0, the color of the visualized color space results in black.
Equal values of each channel are represented by the same color in the RGBA color space, but the combination of different values of each channel leads to different colors.
The RGBA color space is used to calculate the color of each pixel that can be displayed on the screen. In addition, the alpha channel can be accessed in order to make an image transparent. This means that if the alpha channel has a value of 255 (opaque), it does not represent a transparent pixel.
In addition to the RGB and RGBA color spaces, there are other color spaces that are widely used in programming:
CMYK: The CMYK color space is the color space that is used for printing. It is a color space composed of four channels, where each channel is represented by 8 bits. The CMYK color space is a subtractive color space, in which the color of each channel is created by subtracting the color of one channel from the remaining channels. At least one of the channels is black, and the color of this channel is known as the key color. The other channels are the colors mixed with the key color, and the color of each channel is determined by the amount of the key color mixed in.
HSV: This color space is used to represent the color of a single hue. It is represented by a position on a hue circle, saturation, and value.
HSL: This color space is used to represent the color of a single hue. It is represented by a position on a hue circle, lightness, and value.
LAB: This color space is used to represent the colors including the brightness of a given color. It is represented by a position on a curve, a lightness value, and a red/green/blue value.
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