Palette Tints and Shades

Aug 17, 2022

Hello everyone,

Following up on a topic discussed in this Microsoft thread, I'm curious if somebody could explain the tints and shades on theme colors. The article Storyline 360: Working with Theme Colors does not cover it.

Personally, I have a set of colors where I need both tints and shades. My green sample, however, goes from almost white through three indistinguishable greens to almost black. I would like to get the most out of the algorithmic tints/shades, but I don't know what aspect of my colors I should affect? Would it be best if all of my samples had a middling luminosity? Should they all be super saturated?

Thanks,

Pierre

2 Replies

Jose Tansengco
Staff

almost 2 years ago08/18/22 at 1:57 pm (UTC)

Hi Pierre,

Thanks for reaching out!

While we don't have specific information available on tints and shades, we do have this article available which lists some things that you can do to achieve the perfect color that you need for your course.

Three Easy Ways to Perfectly Match Up Your E-learning Course Colors

I'll leave your inquiry to the talented minds in our community, as some of may have some experience with the topic of the Microsoft thread that you shared.

Pierre Sosa
Author

24 hours ago05/20/24 at 9:49 pm (UTC)

Thanks much for changing up the way the theme palette works. I think I have the algorithm back calculated now. The L value can be found when you switch to HSL color mode. The bold text below is when the percent drift is "darker" rather than lighter.

IF L Value...	=0	>1	>20	>76	=100
Row 1	50%	90%	80%	10%	5%
Row 2	35%	75%	60%	25%	15%
Row 3	25%	50%	40%	50%	25%
Row 4	15%	25%	25%	75%	35%
Row 5	5%	10%	50%	90%	50%

So as an example of how to use this: greens, yellows, oranges, and some purples (I find) tend to have an L value between 20 and 75. As such, the algorithm provides a value gradient that jumps sharply between rows 3 and 4 (from 40% lighter to 25% darker!). If you want to get a smoother gradient, you can shift the L value below 20 or above 75.

If anybody finds a value shift that I haven't mapped here, I'd love to review my data.

Thanks,

Pierre