Kuler/color swatch questions

[Leea]

Hi, I've been reading posts about using Adobe's Kuler for creating swatches.
1. What I've read, it lsounds like it selects colors from photos to create a swatch...are the color choices random or do you tell it what you're wanting...pastels, dark colors, shades of the same color?
2. Some of what I read makes it sound like Kuler is already in CS4...is it in there or does it still need to be downloaded from the site?
3. It sounds like swatches can be downloaded with Kuler from Adobe...is this like the exchange? Can you download swatches other people have made and use them for creating backgrounds,etc?
Thanks :)
Leea

[JenniferG]

Leea, Kuler is from adobe,but I don't think that it is in CS4. I have CS4 and haven't found it yet! And yes, it's like an exchange. So you can create swatches and download other swatches you find on the site.

Kuler selects colors from any image you upload and displays 5 of them. You can ask it to pick from the following schemes: Colorful, Bright, Dark, Muted or Custom. When you do custom, you simply slide the color pickers to an area of the photo you want, and it'll select the color for you. Once you are satisified with your swatch, you just save the swatch and then you have the option of downloading the photoshop ase file so you can add it to your Adobe Photoshop ___/Presets/Color Swatches file. Or if another program supports ase files, you can add it to the corresponding file.

Hope this answers your question! Kuler can be a bit addicting, though! I have SOOOO many swatches from them it's ridiculous!

[ScrapMel]

It is in CS4!!! Go to Windows, Extensions, Kuler and you have a menu pop up. This was the reason I bought CS4 (fact is CS3 had it too from what I heard). You can either Browse or Create color swatches ... and then download them into your swatch palette.VERY cool!

[JenniferG]

Wow! Thanks! Glad to know I can do it from my program instead of always going online. Will save SOOOO much time!!! I'm always learning something new here at DSP!

[Kathleen]

It's built into CS4, that is really cool! I keep telling myself I don't NEED to upgrade, but then I get glimpses of these little things that would be fun.

I think in CS3 you have to save the ASE file from Kuler on the web, and then load it into your swatches, which takes all of about 2 minutes.

I did find some commentary on Kuler about the integration into products (Using kuler Colors (http://kuler.adobe.com/links/kuler_help.html#Colors)):

Using kuler Colors

Q: What’s Adobe Swatch Exchange?
A: Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE) is a file format that was introduced in Adobe Creative Suite 2 that lets users easily share swatches with color consistency across components of Creative Suite® 2 and Creative Suite 3.

Q: How do I use themes with Adobe Illustrator®, Photoshop®, or InDesign®?

A: For Adobe Creative Suite® 2 components:

Your kuler themes are supported as Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ase) files. To download a theme from kuler, first make sure you’re signed in. Click on the theme you’d like and click Download. This downloads the theme as an .ase file to the location of your choice. In Illustrator CS2, from the Swatches palette pop-up menu, select Open Swatch Libraries > Other Libraries, and navigate to and select your saved .ase file. The file will open in a separate palette labeled with the theme name. To move these swatches to the Swatches palette, select the swatches you wish to move and, from the pop-up menu, select Add to Swatches. The swatch will be added to the Swatches palette. In Photoshop CS2 or InDesign CS2, from the Swatches palette pop-up menu, go to Load Swatches and navigate to your .ase file. Open the .ase file; your colors should appear in the Swatches palette.

For Adobe Creative Suite® 3 components:

In Illustrator CS3, you can use the kuler panel to quickly and directly download themes from kuler into the Swatches panel. Select Window>Adobe Labs>kuler to display this kuler panel. Using this panel, you can browse different RSS feeds from kuler (Most Popular, Newest, Highest Rated), as well as custom feeds, which are explained below. When you see a theme you like, click the Add to Swatches button on the kuler panel, which downloads the theme as a Color Group directly to the Illustrator Swatches panel.

You can also import .ase files downloaded from kuler into Illustrator CS3. From the Swatches panel pop-up menu, select Open Swatch Libraries > Other Libraries, and navigate to your saved .ase file. The file will open as a color group in a separate panel labeled with the theme name. To move this color group to the Swatches panel, select the group and drag it to the Swatches panel.

In Photoshop CS3 or InDesign CS3, from the Swatches panel pop-up menu, select Load Swatches, and navigate to your .ase file. Open the .ase file; your colors will appear in the Swatches panel.

In addition, Adobe Bridge CS3, a component of Creative Suite 3 as well as individual products, allows you to view your .ase files as visible swatches for easy selection.

For Adobe Creative Suite® 4 components:

Find Kuler panels in Photoshop CS4, Illustrator CS4, InDesign CS4, Fireworks® CS4, and Adobe Flash® CS4 Professional software by choosing Window > Extensions > Kuler.

Q: How do I upload themes from Illustrator CS3 to kuler?
A: First select the color group in your Swatches panel that you want to upload, then click the Upload button on the kuler panel. Your Illustrator CS3 color group will appear in your Mykuler page.

Note: kuler currently supports color themes from three to five colors. Color groups containing any extra colors will be truncated to five colors when uploaded to kuler.

Q: What are Custom Feeds in the Illustrator CS3 kuler panel?
A: Custom feeds let you browse RSS feeds of terms that you choose, such as theme creator, theme title, or theme tag. For example, you could browse the latest posted themes from a kuler member whose themes you like by adding the member’s name to the Custom Feeds area, look for a particular theme title, or browse themes tagged with a certain word. Click the Edit Custom Feeds button, add up to three terms, click OK, and use the RSS feed dropdown menu to select the desired custom feed. The panel will then display those themes.

[Leea]

Thanks :)