Chimera Built-in Colors

Chimera includes many named colors:

There is some overlap; for example, the names white and H refer to the same color.

Additional colors can be created and named with the command colordef, or created interactively and saved to a palette with the Color Editor.

Color names are used in several commands (color, modelcolor, rangecolor, etc.) and can be entered directly into the Color Editor.

In built-in color names, gray and grey can be used interchangeably.

Element Colors

These are the same as the Jmol element colors. Mousing over an entry shows the corresponding Tk color code. The element colors are used in coloring by element or by heteroatom (with unknowns colored magenta), but the element symbols can also be used in commands like any other color names. [Colors in the Menu]

1
H
2
He
3
Li
4
Be
5
B
6
C
7
N
8
O
9
F
10
Ne
11
Na
12
Mg
13
Al
14
Si
15
P
16
S
17
Cl
18
Ar
19
K
20
Ca
21
Sc
22
Ti
23
V
24
Cr
25
Mn
26
Fe
27
Co
28
Ni
29
Cu
30
Zn
31
Ga
32
Ge
33
As
34
Se
35
Br
36
Kr
37
Rb
38
Sr
39
Y
40
Zr
41
Nb
42
Mo
43
Tc
44
Ru
45
Rh
46
Pd
47
Ag
48
Cd
49
In
50
Sn
51
Sb
52
Te
53
I
54
Xe
55
Cs
56
Ba
(L) 72
Hf
73
Ta
74
W
75
Re
76
Os
77
Ir
78
Pt
79
Au
80
Hg
81
Tl
82
Pb
83
Bi
84
Po
85
At
86
Rn
87
Fr
88
Ra
(A) 104
Rf
105
Db
106
Sg
107
Bh
108
Hs
109
Mt
 
L: 57
La
58
Ce
59
Pr
60
Nd
61
Pm
62
Sm
63
Eu
64
Gd
65
Tb
66
Dy
67
Ho
68
Er
69
Tm
70
Yb
71
Lu
A: 89
Ac
90
Th
91
Pa
92
U
93
Np
94
Pu
95
Am
96
Cm
97
Bk
98
Cf
99
Es
100
Fm
101
Md
102
No
103
Lr

The 20 Top Tier Colors

Twenty frequently used colors are available under Actions... Color in the menu. [All 60] [Element Colors]

ColorName Tk Code
  red#ff0000
  orange red#ff4500
  orange#ff7f00
  yellow#ffff00
  green#00ff00
  forest green#228b22
  cyan#00ffff
  light sea green#20b2aa
  blue#0000ff
  cornflower blue#6495ed
  medium blue#3232cd
  purple#a020f0
  hot pink#ff69b4
  magenta#ff00ff
  white#ffffff
  light gray#d3d3d3
  gray#bebebe
  dark gray#a9a9a9
  dim gray#696969
  black#000000

All Colors in the Menu

Sixty named colors are available under Actions... Color... all colors in the menu. These are a subset of X colors, except that orange and medium blue are as defined in the HTML colors list. [Top 20] [Element Colors]

ColorName Tk Code
  tan#d2b48c
  sienna#a0522d
  brown#a52a2a
  dark red#8b0000
  firebrick#b22222
  salmon#fa8072
  red#ff0000
  coral#ff7f50
  sandy brown#f4a460
  orange red#ff4500
  orange #ff7f00
  goldenrod#daa520
  gold#ffd700
  yellow#ffff00
  khaki#f0e68c
  dark khaki#bdb76b
  dark olive green#556b2f
  olive drab#6b8e23
  chartreuse#7fff00
  green#00ff00
  dark green#006400
  forest green#228b22
  lime green#32cd32
  light green#90ee90
  sea green#2e8b57
  spring green#00ff7f
  dark cyan#008b8b
  light sea green#20b2aa
  turquoise#40e0d0
  aquamarine#7fffd4
ColorName Tk Code
  cyan#00ffff
  deep sky blue#00bfff
  dodger blue#1e90ff
  steel blue#4682b4
  sky blue#87ceeb
  light blue#add8e6
  blue#0000ff
  medium blue#3232cd
  cornflower blue#6495ed
  navy blue#000080
  dark slate blue#483d8b
  medium purple#9370db
  purple#a020f0
  plum#dda0dd
  orchid#da70d6
  magenta#ff00ff
  dark magenta#8b008b
  violet red#d02090
  hot pink#ff69b4
  pink#ffc0cb
  deep pink#ff1493
  rosy brown#bc8f8f
  slate gray#708090
  dark slate gray#2f4f4f
  white#ffffff
  light gray#d3d3d3
  gray#bebebe
  dark gray#a9a9a9
  dim gray#696969
  black#000000

UCSF Computer Graphics Laboratory / May 2008