coloring

Coloring is the practice of applying color to an object, surface, or image. In physical media, color is produced with pigments or dyes that absorb some wavelengths of light and reflect others. In digital media, color is created by assigning numerical values to pixels within a color space. Coloring spans art, manufacturing, textiles, printing, and visual communication, and can influence mood, readability, and information transmission. Throughout history, coloring has relied on minerals, plant dyes, and, more recently, synthetic pigments.

Color theory describes how colors interact and how they are perceived. Common color models include additive systems such as RGB, used for light-emitting displays, and subtractive systems such as CMYK, used in printing. Perception-based models such as HSL or HSV separate color into hue, saturation, and lightness (or value). Concepts like color harmony, contrast, and color temperature guide palette choices for aesthetics and legibility.

Methods of coloring vary widely. Painting and drawing use pigments; dyeing coats fabrics; glazing and finishing alter surface appearance in ceramics and optics. Digital coloring encompasses image editing, color grading in film and video, and computer-generated imagery. In printing and manufacturing, color separation, calibration, and quality control ensure consistent output across devices.

Coloring intersects with accessibility and standardization. High-contrast palettes improve readability, and color-blind friendly schemes reduce misinterpretation. Color naming and standardized color spaces support interoperability across devices and industries.

In mathematics and computer science, coloring also refers to problems such as graph coloring, where colors are assigned to elements under constraints, with applications in scheduling, map coloring, and resource allocation.