How to Convert LCH to HWB
Converting LCH to HWB translates a scientific, perceptually uniform color model into a format designed to mimic mixing physical paint. LCH defines color using absolute Lightness and Chroma, while HWB defines color by adding white and black to a base hue.
Why Convert to HWB?
LCH is excellent for generating accessible palettes and smooth gradients, but it can be complex to read manually due to its unbounded Chroma values. If you need to quickly generate a monochromatic palette (a series of tints and shades based on a single color), HWB is much faster to work with. Converting a base LCH color to HWB allows you to lock the Hue and simply adjust the Whiteness and Blackness percentages.
The Conversion Pipeline
To convert LCH to HWB, the color must pass through the sRGB color space. The LCH values are converted to CIELAB, then to CIE XYZ, then to linear RGB, and finally to standard gamma-corrected RGB.
Once the RGB values (0-255) are established, the HWB Hue is calculated based on the dominant RGB channel. The Whiteness is determined by the lowest RGB channel, and the Blackness is calculated by subtracting the highest RGB channel from 100%.