Color Lava for Photoshop
Mix custom colors that you can instantly access in Adobe® Photoshop® software.
Dab, smudge, and mix to create unique color swatches and themes on your iPad. Then access them in Photoshop.
What is Adobe Color Lava?
With Adobe Color Lava, you can use your fingertips to mix colors on your iPad and create custom swatches and five-swatch themes. Instantly access them in Photoshop—all you need is a network connection between your iPad and computer. Or use the app wherever inspiration strikes, and then bring your colors into Photoshop when you're connected. Share colors via email, too.
Experience Color Lava
Get a feel for the colorful creative possibilities in this video by Marcolina Design.
PLAY VIDEOThe designer's touch
Christoph Moskalonek
As the Adobe software designer who programmed Adobe Color Lava, Christoph thinks people will enjoy the way the app brings them closer to their digital paint. He engineered the Color Lava paint to behave realistically and not like abstract computer pixels.
Playful experimentation
"Color sets tone and mood—it creates emotional responses and it elicits reactions. With Adobe Color Lava, you can discover colors you may not have found using RGB or HSB sliders alone, and then you can easily riff on your discoveries to create new colors and themes."
Real-time interaction
"When you're connected to Photoshop you can take a two-handed approach to your work, with one hand mixing and the other selecting the colors you want to use. You can get away from the abstract feel of the keyboard and go more tactile, more hands-on."
Swatch library
"The swatch library has the familiar look of a fine artist's watercolor box or a makeup artist's kit, and you can build it out to hold up to 300 themes—or 1500 colors—that you can thumb through with ease. When you're connected to Photoshop, you can tap any color in the library to change your foreground color in Photoshop."
Sharing via email
"Color is not just a statement—it's also a conversation. Once you've created a color theme, you can quickly share it with anyone. That person can import your theme's canvas into their Color Lava app, and he or she can then refine or add new colors to the theme to continue the conversation."
Quick tip
"Double-tap any circular color well on the color wheel to adjust hue, saturation, and brightness. Or drag and drop a square swatch onto a circular well to play with already-discovered colors."
Adobe Color Lava in action
Watch an overview of Adobe Color Lava with Photoshop computer scientist Christoph Moskalonek.
PLAY VIDEOMore Adobe Photoshop companion apps
Photoshop and devices
Learn how apps that communicate with Photoshop from different devices open new creative possibilities.
PLAY VIDEO
Adobe Photoshop SDK for developers
Download the SDK to develop your own apps that communicate with Photoshop.
GET SDKGetting Started checklist
- Must have Adobe Photoshop CS5 software with 12.0.4 or higher for Mac OS or Windows® and an Apple iPad. Stay current with Adobe Application Manager.
- Visit Adobe Forums for help
- Ask questions, report problems, and make requests at feedback.photoshop.com
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