Colour Palette Generator
Builds matching palettes and tone steps from an image.
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A WHOLE PALETTE FROM ONE COLOUR.
The Colour Palette Creator builds a ready-to-use colour palette starting from an image. First the dominant colours in the image are measured (between 2 and 16, 6 by default) and the colour taking up the most space is chosen as the main colour. Then harmonies are derived from that main colour according to classic colour theory: complementary (180°), split complementary (150° and 210°), triadic (120° and 240°), analogous (±30°) and square (90°, 180°, 270°). Six tone steps of the main colour, from dark to light, are given as well. If you like, the most vivid colour can be used as the main colour instead; on images with a grey or white background, the harmonies then come from the accent colour rather than the background.
The dominant colours are measured, while the harmonies are worked out from the geometry of the colour wheel. So that a very washed-out or very dark main colour does not produce an unusable palette, the saturation and lightness are pulled into a reasonable range. Transparent pixels are not counted. Every colour is given with its HEX code; the report can be downloaded as JSON. It is used to draw cover, presentation or brand colours from a photograph. If you only want to see the colours in the image and their proportions, the “Extract Colour Palette” tool is simpler.
From start to finish
- Upload your image. Drag and drop or choose the photo, logo or design.
- Choose the number of dominant colours. Between 2 and 16; 6 is a good start for most images.
- Use the palette. Take the harmonies and the tone steps with their HEX codes, or download the report as JSON.
Frequently asked questions
Which harmony should I choose?
Complementary gives a strong contrast and is good for an accent colour. Analogous gives a calm, harmonious look. Triadic gives a lively but balanced palette. Square builds a rich system with four colours.
What are the tone steps for?
They are six tones of the same colour, from dark to light. They let you choose background, border, button and text colours consistently from a single main colour.
What is the difference from “Extract Colour Palette”?
Extract Colour Palette reports what is in the image and in what proportions. This tool also derives harmonious colours from the main colour that you can use in a design.
Does my file stay on the server?
No. Your file reaches the server only to be processed and is deleted when the job is done; the output is deleted too once you download it and leave the tool. You don't need an account, a name or an email address, and your files are never sent to a third-party service. It is free to use: we set no hourly or daily quota on the number of jobs, we don't make you watch an ad before processing, and we add no watermark to the output.
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