sepia

Cuttlefish ink color

Sepia is a reddish-brown color, or a photograph or print in that brownish tone.

Old photographs often have a sepia tint, either from the original developing process or from aging, so sepia evokes nostalgia and the past: The film opens with sepia-toned footage of the 1920s.

The color comes from the ink of cuttlefish, historically used for writing and drawing.

color

umber

Natural earth pigment

  • siennaEarthy artist's pigment
  • tanYellowish-brown hue
  • beigePale sandy brown

ochre · brown · amber · caramel · chestnut · copper · bronze · sand · taupe · mocha

cuttlefish

cuttlefish

Color-changing cephalopod with internal shell

  • inkWriting fluid
  • molluskSoft-bodied invertebrate, often shelled
  • tentaclesFlexible grasping appendages

cuttlebone · camouflage · mantle · siphon · aquarium · Mediterranean · paella · risotto · pasta

nostalgia

vintage

Quality from past eras

yellowed · aged · weathered · timeworn · memories · bygone · yesteryear · retro · nostalgic · sentimental

photography

daguerreotype

First commercial photography method

monochrome · film · darkroom · toning · fading · yellowed · contrast · grain · emulsion · gelatin

warmth

warm

Moderately heated, or friendly

soft · golden · autumnal · cozy · faded · subdued · candlelit · fireside · aged · burnished

Categories
Opposites
color tone

sepiacyan

Blue-green hue

blue · cool gray · silver · cobalt · steel gray

photographic/aesthetic quality

sepiafull color

Using complete chromatic range

technicolor · vivid · saturated · high-definition · polychrome

temporal association

sepiafuturistic

Suggestive of times ahead

modern · contemporary · digital · high-definition · neon

Phrases
Family

sepias

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G