Visual Improvements And New Features For Color Grading Panel

[mmadesignerunknown]

Description

• Added Global color grading wheel with tabbed UI
• Added sliders for hue and saturation in color grading wheels
• Changed the Sun logo in luminance slider to a text label "Luminance"
• More is listed below in "Changes Made"

Type of Change

• Bug fix
• New feature
• Breaking change
• Performance improvement
• Code refactoring
• Documentation update
• UI/UX improvement
• Build/CI or Dependency update

Changes Made

• Global Color Grading Wheel: Added Global tone with independent HSL controls
• UI Redesign: Tabbed interface with 4 tabs (Global, Shadows, Midtones, Highlights)
• Shader Update: Global grading applied after per-tone adjustments
• Rust Backend: Added global support to structs and mask scaling
• Preset Import: Lightroom presets now preserve global grading values
• Added sliders for hue and saturation in color grading wheels
• Changed the Sun logo in luminance slider to a text label "Luminance"

Video

• https://streamable.com/jyudjs (Uploaded because of size issue, will expire in 2 days, sorry for the inconvenience @CyberTimon , but it can't be helped, so please tell me of you would like to add this, or would you like any edits to be made, thanks in advance).

Testing

• I have tested these changes locally and confirmed that they work as expected without issues

Test Configuration:

• OS: Windows 10
• Hardware: Intel i5

Checklist

• My code follows the project's code style
• I haven't added unnecessary AI-generated code comments
• My changes generate no new warnings or errors

Additional Notes

• Global color grading wheel affects the entire image uniformly
• Works independently from Shadows/Midtones/Highlights
• Fully compatible with masks and imported presets

Note

• For those who are wondering why the Global wheel was added, it was added to have a lightroom-like interface and yes, to make the software feature-rich.

AI Disclaimer:

Please state the involvement of AI in this PR:

• This PR is entirely AI-generated
• This PR is AI-generated but guided by a human
• This PR was handwritten with AI assistance (spell check, logic suggestions, error resolving)
• This PR contains only blood, sweat, and coffee (AI-free)

[CyberTimon]

Hi @mmadesignerunknown,

Thanks for the contribution! I really like the addition of the fourth color grading wheel. However, I have some concerns about the four toggle buttons for switching between wheels.

In practice, a typical color grading workflow involves quick, iterative adjustments across multiple wheels... for example, pushing the midtones wheel to one side and then counteracting that shift with the shadows wheel to create a nice "two tone" effect. This often means going back and forth: tweaking the midtones, finetuning the shadows, then adjusting the midtones again.

Having to toggle each wheel on and off during this process adds unnecessary slowdown. Ideally, all four wheels should be visible and accessible at the same time to support this kind of fluid workflow.

One possible solution (though I'm not entirely sure it's the best one) would be to arrange the wheels in a 2×2 grid, placing the globals wheel before the midtones wheel. This way, all wheels remain visible and easy to reach without any toggling.

What do you think?

Timon

[mmadesignerunknown]

Was actually thinking of that as well with keeping the current workflow (the 4 tabs one),
My plan is to add a 5th tab with all 4 wheels in a 2x2 grid, but actually having exams RN so couldn't manage the time, will do after they are finished.

Thanks for the immediate response @CyberTimon , Although I am deeply sorry to disturb you for it.

[CyberTimon]

My plan is to add a 5th tab with all 4 wheels in a 2x2 grid, but actually having exams RN so couldn't manage the time, will do after they are finished.

This sounds good. No stress & thanks for your contributions to RapidRAW. If you don't have time to add this, I can also add this myself. I will anyways change the switcher's design afterwards, to look and feel like the tonemapper switch (or the settings ai backend switch), including the animations.

Good luck with your exams!

[mmadesignerunknown]

Thanks for the response, and wishing me luck @CyberTimon .

Well, I was looking forward to adding the 5th tab tomorrow, and updating the tabs interface to make it like Tone Curves'. I will update the PR after it's added, or if you'd like to merge it now, I don't have any issues with that either.

Also I was thinking of adding a Parametric Tone Curve like in Lightroom.
But it will obviously take some time, and yeah, of course only of you would like something like this.

Regards,

[mmadesignerunknown]

Hi @CyberTimon ,

I have implemented the Tone Curve Style UI, along with the fifth tab featuring all four wheels.

Additionally, I would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on the Parametric Tone Curve, so I can begin working on it or at least explore an initial approach.

I’ve attached a video for your review at your convenience:
https://streamable.com/uaxktk

[fcmss]

I think UX wise it'd be better if thr "A" (All) should be the first and default option for the color grading. That way you have everything and then you can dive into finer details by going into each S M H if you want
That being said, I like how Lightroom is doing it: a black, grey and white circle to descrie shadow, midtones and highlights. It doesnt require text, so it doesn't change based on the user's language. But if you're going with colors, then I don't know what would A and G would be.

[mmadesignerunknown]

Thanks for the feedback @fcmss ,

I think you are right about the order, I will implement this ASAP, I am also thinking of renaming the "A" to "All"
I think we can also implement the colored buttons,

• Black for shadows
• Grey for midtones
• White for highlights
• Gradient of Black, Grey, And White for global
• Current Setup unchanged for all

What do you think about this @CyberTimon and @fcmss .

[Naeki-D]

Hello @mmadesignerunknown ! Since I almost never use GitHub, I’m not really sure how it works beyond leaving a comment.

Is it possible to see the changes that were made in a video? Or perhaps is it possible to test the modifications through RapidRAW?

In any case, good luck with your exams!

regards,

[mmadesignerunknown]

Thanks @Naeki-D .

Well I actually uploaded the video, but it expired after two days, 😅.

I will upload it again in a while so you can give a review. On my phone actually, and I don't have the video on it. Will upload after I get my laptop. :)

Regards,

[mmadesignerunknown]

Here is the video @Naeki-D : https://streamable.com/k04wg6

[Naeki-D]

Thanks @mmadesignerunknown

From what I can see, it looks intuitive, and the ability to enlarge the color wheel is definitely a plus! However, it would be perfect if we could directly enter the hexadecimal code of a specific color, particularly for shadows / midtones / highlights / global, so that we can be 100% precise. The placement could be just above Hue.

Lastly, I’m not sure keeping the 2×2 layout is really useful in A. The minimalist S M H G interface works very well as it is, but that’s just my opinion. ^^

[mmadesignerunknown]

Thanks @mmadesignerunknown

From what I can see, it looks intuitive, and the ability to enlarge the color wheel is definitely a plus! However, it would be perfect if we could directly enter the hexadecimal code of a specific color, particularly for shadows / midtones / highlights / global, so that we can be 100% precise. The placement could be just above Hue.

Lastly, I’m not sure keeping the 2×2 layout is really useful in A. The minimalist S M H G interface works very well as it is, but that’s just my opinion. ^^

Thanks Alot For The Feedback @Naeki-D .
For accuracy, I have already implemented a system in which if you click the value of a slider, For Example Hue, you can enter the exact amount of Hue you want, same goes for Saturation and Luminance, implementing a hexadecimal input field, although it can be helpful, but in typical raw editors like Lightroom, And Others, it's not there, however, I will still try to implement it. And will eventually open a feedback discussion for the feature.

As far as you are concerned about the 2x2 grid, it's proposed by @CyberTimon with a very valid reason that practical color grading requires quick iterative adjustments and switching between tabs can ... you know give an impression of bad UX. Moreover, even in Lightroom, a recognised professional grade editor, there's an option to have three wheels together (S, M, H). I respect your opinion but in majority, even including me, people prefer an "All In One" layout. That's why I have implemented both setups, an all in one, and 4 individuals for every wheel, so everyone can have the desired experience they want.

If you have any other ideas, please feel free to suggest some, will try my best to implement if I can. Thanks.

Regards,

[CyberTimon]

Thank you for the discussion. Since RapidRAW is primarily intended to offer a simple and clean user interface, I've redesigned it to better integrate with the other adjustments and make it particularly user-friendly for the average user (who doesn't want to see 50 sliders). Advanced users who want to input specific values ​​can toggle the sliders using a simple switch. See the screenshots below:

3-way:

Global + Toggle Sliders enabled:

3-way + Toggle Sliders enabled:

I'm also unsure whether single wheels for midtones, highlights, and shadows are necessary. What do you think? I've removed them for now, since you can simply enlarge the right-hand control panel if they're too small.

LGTM, will merge now. Thanks for the work 💯.

[mmadesignerunknown]

As you wish ;)
Thanks for accepting the contribution @CyberTimon .

I was thinking of two more things:

• Add shaded sliders for Hue, Saturation and Luminance.
  • The colors in Luminance and Saturation sliders will update according to the Hue.
• Ctrl + Dragging on wheel changes only Hue.
• Shift + Dragging on wheel changes only Saturation.

I will gladly implement these, would be great if you can share your thoughts about this. Thanks.

Regards,

[mmadesignerunknown]

Thank you for the discussion. Since RapidRAW is primarily intended to offer a simple and clean user interface, I've redesigned it to better integrate with the other adjustments and make it particularly user-friendly for the average user (who doesn't want to see 50 sliders). Advanced users who want to input specific values ​​can toggle the sliders using a simple switch. See the screenshots below:

3-way:

Global + Toggle Sliders enabled:

3-way + Toggle Sliders enabled:

I'm also unsure whether single wheels for midtones, highlights, and shadows are necessary. What do you think? I've removed them for now, since you can simply enlarge the right-hand control panel if they're too small.

LGTM, will merge now. Thanks for the work 💯.

I really like the toggle Idea, thanks for implementing that :)

However, I personally like the separate tabs for the individual ones too (It's similar to lightroom and easier for my muscle memory)
So I was thinking of this, in the settings Panel in start screen, we add an option to choose the Color Grading Panel interface they think suits them. What do you think about this @CyberTimon .

Regards,