How to Create Colors in CMYK

Hello. This is Tsukamoto, the designer.

When using Illustrator, you can't quite mix the color you want, so you end up picking from the swatches every time. And as a result, everything ends up looking like the same shade…

Have you ever had that experience?

In this blog post, I'll introduce an easy way to create colors in CMYK.

① Hue

First, decide on the hue.

A rough idea is fine. Just pick a color, such as yellow, blue, green, or orange.

Let's say we go with orange.

② Next, decide on the brightness.

With CMYK, the more you reduce the amount of ink, the brighter the color becomes.

This time, I went with a bright orange.

③ Finally, decide on the saturation.

Saturation drops when you muddy the color.

So this time, we'll mix in some cyan.

And the color starts to become muted.

Just like with paint, the more colors you mix in, the muddier it gets.

Using this technique, you can create colors in any tone you like, so please give it a try!