Inspiring

Question

APE2025 - Color correction using the Color Wheel

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
August 27, 2025
1 reply
131 views

I think I don’t understand how the color wheel works. What does it mean to ‘scrub the wheel up to increase the value or down to decrease’?

When I click the wheel and drag the cursor, I can see the colors changing, and that part is fine. But I don’t understand what ‘scrubbing the wheel’ means. For example: ‘Scrub on the Shadows wheel up to lighten shadows, and scrub on the Highlights wheel down to darken highlights.’

I don't see "lighthening or darkening the Shadows or Highlights"

Color Correction and Grading panel

Community Expert

Community Expert

Scrubbing the wheel means moving the crosshair around.

Toward the center it is decreasing the value towards the edge is increasing the value

Shadow is on the left, highlight is on the right.

Inspiring

As I wrote before, moving the crosshair around changes the colors, and that part works.

What is not clear to me is this:

"Scrub on the Shadow wheel up to lighten shadows and scrub on the Highlights wheel down to darken highlights."

When I move the crosshair up or down, I don’t see the shadows or highlights getting lighter or darker. I only see the colors changing.

Community Expert

Community Expert

If you pull inwards on say red, the color will go lighter. Dragging outward on red, it will darken the color.

You don't need to drag. Clicking with the mouse also works on the crosshair.

If you want to do proper color grading I would look for more professional software which uses scopes.

And you need a calibrated monitor.

As of now, it's just eyeballing.