Overtone
In paint and pigment, the color visible in a thin layer — as opposed to the mass tone seen in a thick layer. Not directly applicable in digital color.
What it means
Overtone is primarily a paint and pigment concept. When you spread oil paint thinly, the color you see (the overtone) can differ from the thick, opaque application (the mass tone). This happens because light passes through the thin layer, interacts with the substrate, and produces a different perceived color.
In digital color, every pixel is a single RGB triplet with no physical layering, so overtones don't occur naturally. The term sometimes appears in color theory discussions, but for screen-based design, undertone is the more relevant and actionable concept.
Why it matters in palette design
While overtones don't apply directly to digital design, understanding the concept prevents confusion when reading color theory resources that reference both undertones and overtones. If you encounter the term in a paint-focused context, it describes a physical phenomenon of pigment transparency, not a property you can manipulate in CSS or a design tool.
Example
An artist mixing cadmium red notices it appears orange when spread thinly over white canvas (the overtone) but deep red when applied thickly (the mass tone). In Figma, #DC2626 looks the same at any layer count — digital color has no overtone equivalent.
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Apply this to your palette
Open PerfectPalette and put these concepts into practice with your own colors.