Skip to main content

​
Overview

Color functions provide utilities for creating, manipulating, and converting colors. Raylib includes predefined color constants and functions for color operations.

​
Color Type

Colors in Talon are represented by the Color class with RGBA components (0-255). 
import "raylib" for Color

// Create custom color
var myColor = Color.new(255, 100, 50, 255)  // R, G, B, A

// Use predefined colors
var red = Color.Red
var blue = Color.Blue
var transparent = Color.new(255, 0, 0, 128)  // Semi-transparent red

​
Predefined Colors

Raylib provides many predefined color constants: 
import "raylib" for Color, Raylib

Raylib.initWindow(800, 450, "Colors")

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  
  // Basic colors
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(10, 10, 100, 100, Color.Red)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(120, 10, 100, 100, Color.Green)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(230, 10, 100, 100, Color.Blue)
  
  // Grayscale
  Raylib.drawRectangle(10, 120, 100, 100, Color.Black)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(120, 120, 100, 100, Color.Gray)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(230, 120, 100, 100, Color.White)
  
  // Extended colors
  Raylib.drawRectangle(10, 230, 100, 100, Color.Maroon)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(120, 230, 100, 100, Color.Purple)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(230, 230, 100, 100, Color.SkyBlue)
  
  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

​
Available Color Constants

  • Basic: White, Black, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Magenta
  • Grayscale: LightGray, Gray, DarkGray
  • Warm Colors: Orange, Gold, Pink, Maroon, Brown, DarkBrown, Beige
  • Cool Colors: SkyBlue, DarkBlue, Lime, DarkGreen
  • Purple Family: Purple, Violet, DarkPurple
  • Special: RayWhite (off-white for backgrounds), Blank (transparent)

​
Color Manipulation

​
fade

Returns color with alpha applied (fade).
​
color
Color
required
Source color
​
alpha
Number
required
Alpha value (0.0 to 1.0)
Returns: Color - Color with applied alpha 
import "raylib" for Raylib, Color

var fadeValue = 0.0
var fadeDirection = 1

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  // Animate fade
  fadeValue = fadeValue + (0.01 * fadeDirection)
  if (fadeValue >= 1.0) fadeDirection = -1
  if (fadeValue <= 0.0) fadeDirection = 1
  
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)
  
  // Draw fading rectangle
  var fadedColor = Raylib.fade(Color.Red, fadeValue)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(300, 175, 200, 100, fadedColor)
  
  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

​
colorAlpha

Returns color with alpha value.
​
color
Color
required
Source color
​
alpha
Number
required
Alpha value (0.0 to 1.0)
Returns: Color - Color with new alpha 
var semiTransparent = Raylib.colorAlpha(Color.Blue, 0.5)
Raylib.drawRectangle(100, 100, 200, 200, semiTransparent)

​
colorTint

Returns color tinted with another color.
​
color
Color
required
Source color
​
tint
Color
required
Tint color
Returns: Color - Tinted color 
var baseColor = Color.White
var tinted = Raylib.colorTint(baseColor, Color.Red)
Raylib.drawCircle(400, 225, 50, tinted)

​
colorBrightness

Returns color with brightness offset.
​
color
Color
required
Source color
​
factor
Number
required
Brightness factor (-1.0 to 1.0)
Returns: Color - Adjusted color 
// Make color brighter
var brighter = Raylib.colorBrightness(Color.Blue, 0.3)

// Make color darker
var darker = Raylib.colorBrightness(Color.Blue, -0.3)

Raylib.drawRectangle(100, 100, 100, 100, darker)
Raylib.drawRectangle(250, 100, 100, 100, Color.Blue)
Raylib.drawRectangle(400, 100, 100, 100, brighter)

​
colorContrast

Returns color with contrast correction.
​
color
Color
required
Source color
​
contrast
Number
required
Contrast value (-1.0 to 1.0)
Returns: Color - Adjusted color 
var highContrast = Raylib.colorContrast(Color.Gray, 0.5)
Raylib.drawRectangle(100, 100, 200, 200, highContrast)

​
colorLerp

Returns color interpolation (linear) between two colors.
​
color1
Color
required
Start color
​
color2
Color
required
End color
​
factor
Number
required
Interpolation factor (0.0 to 1.0)
Returns: Color - Interpolated color 
var t = 0.0
var direction = 1

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  t = t + (0.01 * direction)
  if (t >= 1.0) direction = -1
  if (t <= 0.0) direction = 1
  
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)
  
  // Animate color transition
  var currentColor = Raylib.colorLerp(Color.Red, Color.Blue, t)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(250, 150, 300, 150, currentColor)
  
  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

​
colorAlphaBlend

Returns src alpha-blended into dst color with tint.
​
dst
Color
required
Destination color
​
src
Color
required
Source color
​
tint
Color
required
Tint color
Returns: Color - Blended color

​
Color Comparison

​
colorIsEqual

Checks if two colors are equal.
​
col1
Color
required
First color
​
col2
Color
required
Second color
Returns: Boolean - True if colors are equal 
var color1 = Color.new(255, 0, 0, 255)
var color2 = Color.Red

if (Raylib.colorIsEqual(color1, color2)) {
  System.print("Colors match!")
}

​
Color Conversion

​
colorToInt

Converts color to hexadecimal value.
​
color
Color
required
Color to convert
Returns: Number - Hexadecimal color value 
var colorValue = Raylib.colorToInt(Color.Red)
System.print("Red as hex: %(colorValue)")

​
getColor

Returns a Color from a hexadecimal value.
​
hexValue
Number
required
Hexadecimal color value
Returns: Color - Color from hex 
var color = Raylib.getColor(0xFF0000FF)  // Red
Raylib.drawRectangle(100, 100, 200, 200, color)

​
colorNormalize

Returns color normalized as float [0..1].
​
color
Color
required
Color to normalize
Returns: Vector4 - Normalized color (r, g, b, a)

​
colorFromNormalized

Returns color from normalized values [0..1].
​
normalized
Vector4
required
Normalized color values
Returns: Color - Color

​
HSV Conversion

​
colorToHSV

Converts color to HSV values.
​
color
Color
required
Color to convert
Returns: Vector3 - HSV values (hue, saturation, value) 
var hsv = Raylib.colorToHSV(Color.Red)
System.print("Hue: %(hsv.x), Sat: %(hsv.y), Val: %(hsv.z)")

​
colorFromHSV

Returns a Color from HSV values.
​
hue
Number
required
Hue (0.0 to 360.0)
​
saturation
Number
required
Saturation (0.0 to 1.0)
​
value
Number
required
Value (0.0 to 1.0)
Returns: Color - Color from HSV 
// Create rainbow colors
var hue = 0.0

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  hue = (hue + 1) % 360
  
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)
  
  var rainbowColor = Raylib.colorFromHSV(hue, 1.0, 1.0)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(250, 150, 300, 150, rainbowColor)
  
  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

​
Complete Color Example

import "raylib" for Raylib, Color

var screenWidth = 800
var screenHeight = 450

Raylib.initWindow(screenWidth, screenHeight, "Color Functions")
Raylib.setTargetFPS(60)

var hue = 0.0
var fadeValue = 0.0
var fadeDirection = 1

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  // Update animations
  hue = (hue + 1) % 360
  fadeValue = fadeValue + (0.01 * fadeDirection)
  if (fadeValue >= 1.0) fadeDirection = -1
  if (fadeValue <= 0.0) fadeDirection = 1
  
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)
  
  // Rainbow gradient using HSV
  var rainbowColor = Raylib.colorFromHSV(hue, 1.0, 1.0)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(50, 50, 200, 100, rainbowColor)
  Raylib.drawText("HSV Rainbow", 90, 70, 20, Color.White)
  
  // Fading color
  var fadedColor = Raylib.fade(Color.Blue, fadeValue)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(300, 50, 200, 100, fadedColor)
  Raylib.drawText("Fading Blue", 340, 70, 20, Color.White)
  
  // Color interpolation
  var lerpColor = Raylib.colorLerp(Color.Red, Color.Green, fadeValue)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(550, 50, 200, 100, lerpColor)
  Raylib.drawText("Red to Green", 570, 70, 20, Color.White)
  
  // Brightness variations
  var darkBlue = Raylib.colorBrightness(Color.Blue, -0.5)
  var normalBlue = Color.Blue
  var brightBlue = Raylib.colorBrightness(Color.Blue, 0.5)
  
  Raylib.drawRectangle(50, 200, 150, 100, darkBlue)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(225, 200, 150, 100, normalBlue)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(400, 200, 150, 100, brightBlue)
  
  Raylib.drawText("Dark", 90, 240, 20, Color.White)
  Raylib.drawText("Normal", 255, 240, 20, Color.White)
  Raylib.drawText("Bright", 430, 240, 20, Color.White)
  
  // Semi-transparent overlay
  var overlay = Raylib.colorAlpha(Color.Black, 0.3)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(0, 350, screenWidth, 100, overlay)
  Raylib.drawText("Semi-transparent overlay", 250, 380, 20, Color.White)
  
  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

Raylib.closeWindow()

​
Best Practices

Use predefined color constants (like Color.Red, Color.Blue) for better readability and consistency.
The fade() function is useful for UI animations, fade-in/fade-out effects, and particle systems.
Use HSV color space for creating rainbow effects, color pickers, or any UI that needs intuitive color manipulation:
var rainbowColor = Raylib.colorFromHSV(hue, 1.0, 1.0)
Color component values are 0-255 for RGB, but alpha values in functions like fade() use 0.0-1.0 range.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us