Color Palette Guide

How to Use This Guide

Each palette has five colors with hex codes you can type into most drawing apps' color pickers. The colors are listed roughly from dark → light or main → accent. Save the ones you like as palettes in your app. Colors can look slightly different across screens, so test them on your own device.

Quick rule for using a palette: use one color for most of the image (about 60%), a second for supporting areas (about 30%), and the rest as small accents (about 10%).

Part 1: 20 Ready-to-Use Palettes

Warm & Cozy

1. Autumn Café #3B2A20 · #7A4A2E · #C27A42 · #E8B77D · #F6E9D7 Use for: coffee shops, autumn scenes, cozy interiors.

2. Terracotta Sun #5A2E22 · #A54B32 · #D9825B · #F0C49B · #FBF1E4 Use for: desert landscapes, warm portraits, pottery.

3. Golden Hour #2F2440 · #8E4A5C · #E07A5F · #F2B880 · #FCE8C8 Use for: sunsets, nostalgic moments.

4. Spice Market #4A1E1E · #9C2F2F · #D46A2A · #E8B33E · #F7E4B5 Use for: food illustration, lively street scenes.

Cool & Calm

5. Nordic Morning #1F2D3A · #3F5F78 · #7FA3BC · #C6D8E4 · #F2F6F9 Use for: snow, early mornings, minimal scenes.

6. Deep Sea #0B1D2E · #123E5A · #1F6F8B · #5BB6C8 · #BDE7EE Use for: underwater scenes, night skies.

7. Lavender Fog #2E2A44 · #5D5682 · #9A90C2 · #CFC6E6 · #F3F0FA Use for: dreamy, quiet illustrations.

8. Mint Studio #22333B · #3E6B64 · #6FB3A2 · #B8E0D2 · #F1FAF6 Use for: fresh, clean product illustrations.

Nature

9. Forest Walk #1E2B1F · #3A5A40 · #588157 · #A3B18A · #E9EDDE Use for: woodland scenes, plants, outdoor adventures.

10. Meadow #2F4A2A · #6A994E · #A7C957 · #F2E8CF · #E76F51 Use for: spring scenes; the orange is your flower accent.

11. Coastline #264653 · #2A9D8F · #8AB17D · #E9C46A · #F4A261 Use for: beaches, summer travel.

12. Desert Bloom #4B3B2F · #A07855 · #D4B483 · #C1666B · #F5EBDD Use for: cacti, warm plants, earthy illustrations.

Bold & Playful

13. Pop Party #1D1E2C · #FF5D73 · #FFC145 · #4CC9F0 · #FFFFFF Use for: stickers, characters, energetic posts.

14. Retro Arcade #14121F · #7B2CBF · #F72585 · #4CC9F0 · #F9F871 Use for: neon scenes, gaming art.

15. Citrus Splash #203A43 · #F4A300 · #FFD23F · #A1C181 · #FFF8E7 Use for: summer, food, cheerful designs.

16. Comic Primary #111111 · #D62828 · #F77F00 · #FCBF49 · #3A86FF Use for: bold comic-style art with black outlines.

Muted & Moody

17. Vintage Paper #3D3B3C · #7D6B5D · #B8A48F · #D9C9B6 · #F3EBDD Use for: old-fashioned, storybook illustrations.

18. Rainy City #1C2329 · #3C4A55 · #6B7A86 · #A8B3BB · #E3B23C Use for: urban scenes; the yellow is a single bright accent (a taxi, umbrella, or window light).

19. Dusty Rose #3B2C35 · #7E5A6B · #B88B9A · #E3C4C8 · #F7EDEE Use for: romantic, soft portraits.

20. Midnight Garden #0F1A20 · #22383F · #3F6E5B · #B4656F · #E9D8A6 Use for: night scenes with plants, mysterious moods.

Part 2: How to Pick Your Own Palette

Step 1: Decide the mood

Ask: how should this image feel? Calm, energetic, nostalgic, spooky, cozy? Write one or two words.

Step 2: Choose a color harmony

• Analogous: 3 neighboring hues (e.g. blue, teal, green). Peaceful.

• Complementary: a main hue plus its opposite as an accent (blue + orange). Punchy.

• Split-complementary: a main hue plus the two neighbors of its opposite. Lively but balanced.

• Monochrome: one hue in different values and saturations. Elegant.

Step 3: Build a value range

Make sure your palette has a dark, a mid, and a light. Without a range of values, images can look flat. Test by desaturating your palette swatches: you should see clearly different grays.

Step 4: Add one accent

Pick one color that stands out (more saturated or a contrasting hue) and use it sparingly, on the thing you want people to look at first.

Step 5: Test it

Color a small thumbnail sketch with your palette. Squint, check it in grayscale, and adjust.

Part 3: Palette Sources for Inspiration

• Your own photos: pick colors from a photo you took of a place you love.

• Nature walks: collect leaves, stones, and flowers and match their colors.

• Film stills, packaging, and interiors you find beautiful (for inspiration only).

• Your favorite artists: notice how many colors they use and where they put accents.

Palette Worksheet

Mood: ______________ Harmony: ______________ Accent used for: ______________

Sample product from a Fora-made demo creator page.