sepia

Sepia is a reddish-brown color commonly described as a warm brown with a hint of red. The name comes from the ink and pigment produced by the cuttlefish of the genus Sepia, historically used for drawing, writing, and printmaking. In art, sepia pigments were often derived from natural sources and prized for their tonal richness and permanence.

In photography, sepia toning is a chemical process that gives black-and-white images a warm brown shade. It typically involves converting some of the metallic silver in the print to silver sulfide, producing a brownish hue and, in some cases, improved durability. Sepia-toned photographs were especially popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries and are still sought for their vintage aesthetic.

In modern usage, sepia describes a color used in design, fashion, and digital imaging. Many image-editing programs offer a sepia filter that simulates the effect by adding a brown tone to grayscale imagery. The term also remains in traditional art as a pigment and ink derived from cuttlefish, though most contemporary pigments are synthetic.

Sepia is not a distinct color in the visible spectrum but a family of warm brown tones; its shade can vary from light, almost blond-brown to deep reddish brown, depending on pigments, illumination, or digital processing.