2017

Table Of Contents
an extension of the Academy/ASC XML color transform format. You can combine multiple files to create
complex transformations, and in addition you can author your own files for custom purposes.
The color engine supports a wide variety of color operations, including 1D look-up tables (LUTs), 3D LUTs,
gamma, log/antilog, exposure-contrast, matrix multiplication, and more.
In addition to native .ctf files, Autodesk Color Management can import many common color transform file
formats, including the legacy Autodesk .lut and .3dl formats as well as third-party formats such Cinespace,
Iridas, Pandora, and Nuke.
Implementation in Specific Products
Not all features are available in every application that supports Autodesk Color Management. In addition,
the implementation and workflows are different for different applications.
For example, in Flame Premium and other Creative Finishing products, you can specify the exact color
transform or chain of transforms that you want to apply. You can then export a chain as a single file for
reuse. However in Maya, you generally specify the desired color spaces, and the system applies the transforms
that are necessary to convert between those color spaces.
For information about how to work with the features available in a specific Autodesk application, see the
documentation for that application.
Color Management Concepts
Color management enables enables colors to be reproduced as accurately as possible across different devices
and media. Unlike color correction, the intention of color management is not to change colors but instead
to preserve perceived colors in different situations.
What Is a Color Space?
A color space allows people and software to communicate colors unambiguously using a numeric
representation.
A triplet of code values such as [0.506, 0.266, 0.266] by itself is not enough to specify a color. Those code
values must be interpreted with respect to a particular color space. The color represented by those three
numbers will be different in different color spaces.
There are two categories of color space:
Device-independent color spaces describe colors in absolute terms.
Device-dependent color spaces depend on the characteristics of specific hardware.
Device-independent Color Spaces
To fully match a triplet of code values to a specific color, a device-independent color space must define the
following characteristics:
The meaning of the three primary values in terms of CIE colorimetry.
One or more data types and encodings.
The image state.
The associated viewing conditions.
Examples of device-independent color spaces include ACES and the ICC Profile Connection Space.
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