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What is color management, and what are color spaces? A color space is a model that essentially defines the most extreme intensity of colors and luminance that can be used by your software or hardware. The sRGB color space, for instance, has effectively been used for decades to determine how information is displayed on devices such as TVs and computer monitors. More recently, color specialists from different industries have been trying to define new standards, which would provide artists with a wider color space and a simpler workflow between applications. One notable such initiative is the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES). This ongoing work in color management has ultimately resulted in new standards allowing artists even more realism and fidelity in their artwork.

Color management in a 3D context, then, is the practice of ensuring that the same color space is used by all software for each function (display, working, painting, data, and so on). This makes artists’ workflow easier, ensuring that all colors in a project look consistent, no matter which app you’re using.

Let’s dig into the latest release of Painter, to see how color management has improved.

All visuals for this article were created by Casimir Perez.