Part II - Color Codes
TI has gone through a bit of a color renaissance in the last few years, transitioning from 16 standard ASCI colors to 41 additional xterm colors, and now to a full 256 color gradient. With the disclaimer that I'm still learning and growing myself, here are a few tips and tricks for navigating this strange new world:
1. Clipboard and stringcheck are your friends. Clipboard allows you to play around with color codes in TI’s setting. Simply ‘clipboard edit’, enter your strings, do @v to see them, and repeat! Similarly, using stringcheck <string> will show you both the color codes AND tell you the length of the string.
2. Use patterns when stringing groups of words with multiple color codes. Perhaps change color codes every 2 characters, or every 3. Perhaps do several short gradations and then fill the rest of the word or phrase with a single color. Symmetry and consistency goes a long way in making something pleasant to read. For some examples:
<cba>XX<dcb>XX<edc>XX<fed>XXXX<edc>XX<dcb>XX<cba>XX{x
@
<bcb>XXXX<cdc>XXXX<ded>XXXX<efe>XXXX{x
<cbb>X<dcc>XX<edd>XXX<fee>XXXX<edd>XXX<dcc>XX<cbb>X{x
<cab>X<dbc>X<ecd>X<fde>XXXXXXXXXX<ecd>X<dbc>X<cab>X{x
<bba>X<ccb>XX<ddc>XXX<eed>XXXX<ddc>XXX<ccb>XX<bba>X{x
<bcc>X<cdd>X<dee>X<eff>X<g21>XXXXXXXX<eff>X<dee>X<cdd>X<bcc>X{x
{HX{KX{OX{9XX<dab>XXXX<dab>XX{9XX{OX{KX{HX{w
3. Strings are easier to read if you place similar colors and/or similar shades adjacent to one another. Gradients from darker -> lighter, one color --> another tend to work better than abrupt transitions. For example:
<eab>th<eaf>is <eaa>is<eae> a t<eab>e<eaf>st<eab>i<eae>ng <eaa>st<eaf>ri<eab>ng!{x
<eaa>t<eab>hi<eac>s i<ead>s a <eae>te<eaf>st<eae>in<ead>g s<eac>tr<eab>in<eaa>g!{x
These two strings use the same color codes and are both symmetrical, but one is
much cleaner and easier to read than the other.
4. Know which patterns in
help gridx that provide smooth gradients. Like a tic-tac-toe grid, vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines are your friend.
1. {Rfa<fba>nt{Oa<fda>bu{hlous testin<fda>g s{Ot<fba>ri{Rng{x
2. <cdf>fa<def>nt<eff>ab<fff>ulous testing<eff> st<def>ri<cdf>ng{x
3. {9fa<eac>nt{6ab<eae>ul<eaf>ous testi<eae>ng {6st<eac>ri{9ng{x
4. <cdd>fa<cee>nta<cff>bulous testing s<cee>tri<cdd>ng{x
5. {qfa{pnta<ecd>bul{Pous testi<ecd>ng s{ptri{qng{x
6. {ffa<dbb>nta<ebb>bul<fbb>ous testi<ebb>ng s<dbb>tri{fng{x
When you want to push things to the next level, use more than one!
7. <cdc>fa<ced>nt<cfe>ab<dfe>ul{1ous tes{1ti<dfe>ng <cfe>st<ced>ri<cdc>ng{x
8. <fbe>fa<fce>nt{Pab<fee>ulo{Wus t<ffe>est{Hing {Kst{Fri{Ong{x
5. Don’t be afraid to use greyscale to help with transitions. Strings can easily get busy, especially when using vibrant colors. Sometimes inserting a bit of white, grey or black softens them out, and makes for a cleaner product.
9. {Qf<fbd>a<fcd>nt<fdd>ab<fed>u<ffe>l{Wous testi<ffe>n<fed>g <fdd>st<fcd>ri<fbd>n{Qg{x
10. <g19>f<g15>a<g11>n<g07>t{qa<dab>bulous testing s{qt<g07>r<g11>i<g15>n<g19>g{x
11. <abf>f<acf>a<adf>nt<aef>ab<aff>u<cff>l<eff>ous test<eff>i<cff>n<aff>g <aef>st<adf>ri<acf>n<abf>g{x
12. {Kf{Ha<dff>n{3t{Ta{2b<abc>u<g06>l<g05>o<g04>us test<g05>i<g06>n<abc>g {2s{Tt{3r<dff>i{Hn{Kg{w
13. {lf<cdc>ant<ded>ab{1ulo<g22>us tes<eff>t<def>ing <cde>st<bcd>rin<abc>g{x
6. Start simple and build complexity as your comfort grows. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the system when you’re starting out! Don’t feel pressure to use the full 256 right away; the 41 shorthand ascii colors are a user-friendly place to start.
One of the easiest ways to construct a lovely outfit is to pick 1-2 colors you like and highlight key words or phrases in the string with them. For example, this outfit’s color highlighting adds a bit of flare while only using two color codes, {K and {s:
a lightly pleated {Kochre silk wimp{Kle{x trimmed with {sshone lace{x
a durable, pocketed satchel lined with {Kochre satin quilti{Kng{x
{Klight sleev{Kes{x with folded cuffs of narrow {ssilver embroidery{x
a {ssilver chain link bracelet{x hung with a tiny {sswallow charm{x
a conservative {Ksix-paneled bodi{Kce{x with {Kpleats of ochre si{Klk{x
a collared {KVandagan greatco{Kat{x with polished, {ssilver buttons{x
a {ssilver cord cincture{x hung with an encrusted {Kswallow cha{Krm{x
a demure, pleated {Kochre velvet ski{Krt{x that brushes the floor
a pair of {sflexible slippers{x decorated with {Kochre satin bo{Kws{x
If you want to elevate the look, a simple two or three color gradient does a lot of good. Instead of using {Fstring here{x, I’m now using {Fst{Kring he{Fre{x.
a lightly pleated {Foc{Khre silk wimp{Fle{x trimmed with {sshone lace{x
a durable, pocketed satchel lined with {Foch{Kre satin quilti{Fng{x
{Fli{Kght sleev{Fes{x with folded cuffs of narrow {ssilver embroidery{x
a {ssilver chain link bracelet{x hung with a tiny {sswallow charm{x
a conservative {Fsi{Kx-paneled bodi{Fce{x with {Fpl{Keats of ochre si{Flk{x
a collared {FVa{Kndagan greatco{Fat{x with polished, {ssilver buttons{x
a {ssilver cord cincture{x hung with an encrusted {Fsw{Kallow cha{Frm{x
a demure, pleated {Foc{Khre velvet ski{Frt{x that brushes the floor
a pair of {sflexible slippers{x decorated with {Foc{Khre satin bo{Fws{x
Similarly, a classic silver-color gradient I see often is {ss{St{wr{Wing h{we{Sr{se{x. I like the way this looks, so I’ll try adding it to my outfit:
a lightly pleated {Foc{Khre silk wimp{Fle{x trimmed with {ss{Sh{wo{Wne l{wa{Sc{se{x
a durable, pocketed satchel lined with {Foc{Khre satin quilti{Fng{x
{Fli{Kght sleev{Fes{x with folded cuffs of narrow {ss{Si{wl{Wver embroid{we{Sr{sy{x
a {ss{Si{wl{Wver chain link brace{wl{Se{st{x hung with a tiny {ss{Sw{wa{Wllow ch{wa{Sr{sm{x
a conservative {Fsi{Kx-paneled bodi{Fce{x with {Fpl{Keats of ochre si{Flk{x
a collared {FVa{Kndagan greatco{Fat{x with polished, {ss{Si{wl{Wver butt{wo{Sn{ss{x
a {ss{Si{wl{Wver cord cinct{wu{Sr{se{x hung with an encrusted {Fsw{Kallow cha{Frm{x
a demure, pleated {Foc{Khre velvet ski{Frt{x that brushes the floor
a pair of {sf{Sl{we{Wxible slipp{we{Sr{ss{x decorated with {Foc{Khre satin bo{Fws{x
If I wanted to dabble further, maybe I decide that the capital {W white is a bit too bright for my taste. I want to replace that with a softer white hue. From the ‘help shades’ helpfile, I think that <g21> will do the trick. Rather than replace each instance of {W manually, I will copy my strings over to a word processor and use the ‘Find and Replace’ function to find all instances of {W and replace with <g21>. Make sure to set it as case specific! My outfit now looks like this:
a lightly pleated {Foc{Khre silk wimp{Fle{x trimmed with {ss{Sh{wo<g21>ne l{wa{Sc{se{x
a durable, pocketed satchel lined with {Foc{Khre satin quilti{Fng{x
{Fli{Kght sleev{Fes{x with folded cuffs of narrow {ss{Si{wl<g21>ver embroid{we{Sr{sy{x
a {ss{Si{wl<g21>ver chain link brace{wl{Se{st{x hung with a tiny {ss{Sw{wa<g21>llow ch{wa{Sr{sm{x
a conservative {Fsi{Kx-paneled bodi{Fce{x with {Fpl{Keats of ochre si{Flk{x
a collared {FVa{Kndagan greatco{Fat{x with polished, {ss{Si{wl<g21>ver butt{wo{Sn{ss{x
a {ss{Si{wl<g21>ver cord cinct{wu{Sr{se{x hung with an encrusted {Fsw{Kallow cha{Frm{x
a demure, pleated {Foc{Khre velvet ski{Frt{x that brushes the floor
a pair of {sf{Sl{we<g21>xible slipp{we{Sr{ss{x decorated with {Foc{Khre satin bo{Fws{x
There's much more that could be done: expansive or two-tone gradients, adding a background color, and even using a consistent pattern across all items in your set. The final product is all up to you:
7. As I said in Part I, keeping a little collection of color codes is valuable. I’ll often screenshot or store a particularly gorgeous color gradient so I can browse for inspiration down the line. Tool <item> show will also give you the raw color codes of an object if you spot a gradient or hue that catches your fancy.
8. Rules are made to be broken and there’s no right answer. Different players have different tastes, and each of us settle into a stringing style all our own. Whatever you create, it’s yours, and that’s awesome.
Happy stringing!
