A series.
The pattern gene is the first gene in the color series.
A=agouti
at=tan pattern
a=self
Agouti is dominant over tan pattern and self. Tan pattern is dominant
over self. A dominant gene can carry a recessive gene hidden, but a
recessive gene cannot carry a dominant gene, hidden.

Examples: a chestnut(agouti) can carry otter (tan pattern) or black
(self). Otter (tan pattern) can carry black (self). Self cannot carry
chestnut or otter, hidden, because it is the recessive gene in this
series.

To get a recessive color (self), that gene must come from each parent.
To get a black rabbit, both parents must carry the self gene. To get a
tan pattern, one parent must carry or be a tan pattern. To get an
agouti, one parent must be an agouti, because it is dominant.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B series.
There are only 2 colors in rabbits. I know, I know, it just doesn't
seem possible with all the varieties we have, but it's true. All
other varieties result from the other series interacting with these
two basic colors.

B=Black
b=chocolate

Remember, each kit receives one gene from each parent that
determines color.
Black is dominant to choc, so a black based rabbit can carry the
choc gene, hidden, but a choc rabbit cannot carry the black gene
hidden. If you breed 2 choc variety rabbits together, with choc
being recessive, all you will get is choc varieties, no black
varieties. The choc must come from both parents for the choc to
express. If there is a black gene from one parent, the kit will be
black rather than choc.

Black varieties are black, blue, siamese sable, siamese smoke pearl,
sable point, tort, chestnut, chin, opal, squirrel, black & blue
otter, black & blue silver marten, sable martens, smoke pearl
martens, steels, black & blue pointed whites. Anything black or blue
 has to have at least one black gene.

Chocolate varieties are chocolate, lilac, choc tort, lilac tort,
choc chestnut, lynx, choc and lilac otter, choc and lilac silver
marten, choc and lilac pointed whites. Any chocolate variety must
have 2 chocolate genes to be expressed.

I'm sure I missed some, but hope you get the general idea.

Ok, so far, we have the pattern gene and the basic color gene, here
are some examples.
AA BB= a black agouti, chestnut
Aat BB= a black agouti that carries tan pattern gene
Aa BB=a black agouti that carries self, hidden
AA Bb= a black agouti that carries choc, hidden
Aat Bb=a black agouti that carries tan pattern and choc, hidden
Aa Bb= a black agouti that carries self and choc, hidden

atat BB=a black tan pattern, otter (depending on C series)silver
marten, sable marten or smoke marten
ata BB=a black tan pattern that carries self, hidden
atat Bb=a black tan pattern that carries choc, hidden
ata Bb=a black tan pattern that carries self and choc, hidden

aa BB= a black self
aa Bb= a black self that carries choc, hidden
aa bb= a choc self
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now we come to the C series, the one that is really fun, in my
opinion. The C series determines how the color is expressed.

C=full color, such as chestnut, black, choc, etc
chd=chinchilla dark, this gene produces chins, silver martens (when
combined with the tan pattern)
chl=chinchilla light, the shading gene, which produces sia sables,
sable points, smokes, etc
ch=pointed white or himi
c=albino or REW

I've never understood why the shading gene is called chinchilla
light because it causes shading, not chin coloring. Let's look at
what these genes can do to a basic black rabbit. Remember, the
dominant gene is the one expressed.

C on a black rabbit is a black rabbit.
chd on a black rabbit is still a black rabbit but what is called a
self chin, if bred to an agouti or REW hiding agouti, it will
produce chins. Self chins will usually not be a clean, pure black.
chl on a black rabbit is siamese sable.
ch on a black rabbit is a black pointed white.
c on a black rabbit is a REW.

Many believe tort to be a shaded color, because it's grouped with
shaded in some breeds. Genetically, a tort is a full color black
rabbit with 2 nonextention genes, it's not a shaded. A shaded tort
would be a sable point.

Let's build a rabbit with what we have learned so far. Let's make a
chinchilla. First we need agouti, which can come from any of the
agoutis. A chin is black which can come from chestnut, chin, opal,
etc. We need to add the chinchilla gene which can come from a silver
marten or a chin or a self chin. Because we need to make the chd the
dominant gene for this rabbit, we need to have a recessive gene for
the chd to express, we need to have a chl, ch or c gene. I prefer
using the c (REW) as you would get unshowable colors with the other
two, such as shaded agouti or an agoutized pointed white.

Here would be the symbols for this rabbit
A_ B_ chdc
The_ means we don't know what is carried hidden at this point.

As you may be beginning to see, we can build just about any color if
we have the genes available in our herd or can buy it. It's getting
the right combination of genes that is the tricky part.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, I, personally just love the D series because I love dilutes! To
me a blue rabbit is just to awesome, LOL.

D=intense color
d=dilute color

Remember that we put the dominant gene first in the list and that
the recessive gene cannot carry the dominant one, hidden.
Blue is the dilute of black, lilac is the dilute of chocolate, same
with all the varieties. Opal is the dilute of chestnut, lynx is the
dilute of chocolate chestnut, etc.

We can get chocolates from black varieties that carry chocolate,
hidden, but we cannot get a black from 2 chocolate varieties bred
together. The same is true about dilutes. We cannot get an intense
color from two dilutes. If you breed two blues together, the only
possibilities are blue or lilac (if both carry chocolate).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The E series determines the extention of color to the fur tips. I
find the steel and japanese rather confusing but I'll try to explain
here.

Es = steel
E = normal extention
ej = japanese (as in harlequin)
e = nonextention

Steel is dominant here and shows differently with the different
pattern genes and whether it is double or not. A self with the
double steel gene will usually look like a normal self rabbit. To
get correct expression of the steel gene, we need at least one
agouti pattern gene and one steel gene, not two.

Normal extention is what most varieties are. This gene just keeps
the normal extention of color to the tips of the fur.

The japanese is what makes the pattern on the harlequin. It arranges
the color into the mosaic pattern.

Nonextention is the gene that restricts the color from going to the
ends of the fur. When we have a double nonextention gene, it turns a
black to a tort, a siamese sable to a sable point, a chestnut to an
orange, etc.