ACEScg

AC EScg is a working color space within the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) designed specifically for computer graphics rendering and visual effects workflows. It provides a linear RGB space with a wide gamut intended to accommodate the color ranges produced by modern CGI renders and texture work. As a CG-focused working space, ACEScg emphasizes straightforward linear-light calculations for shading, lighting, and physically based rendering, while remaining interoperable through ACES transforms.

The color characteristics of ACEScg are defined within the ACES framework using the AP1 primaries, which give it a wide yet practical gamut for CG workflows. Being a linear color space, its values represent light quantities rather than gamma-encoded intensities, enabling accurate combination of light and color in rendering pipelines.

In practical production pipelines, data is frequently converted between ACEScg and other ACES spaces such as ACES2065-1 for archival and interchange, or to display-referred spaces (for viewing) like sRGB or Rec.709 via standard transforms. Render outputs and textures can be authored in ACEScg and then transformed for grading, compositing, or final output. ACEScg is intended as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, other ACES spaces used for color grading and high-dynamic-range workflows.

Relationship to other spaces: ACEScg is distinct from ACEScc and ACEScct, which use logarithmic encodings suited for grading, while ACEScg remains a linear working space optimized for CG rendering and interchange within the ACES ecosystem.

See also: ACES, ACES2065-1, ACEScc, ACEScct, OpenColorIO.