Today, I am sharing some ideas for color palette inspiration. There are many ways you can find inspiration to build your own color palette. This is one of my favorite things to do and I am so excited to share this with you. Over on YouTube, I have a video for you to check out. Down below, I am sharing the different ways from Pinterest to magazines to Washi. These are all the ways I create my color palettes. The biggest thing to remember is to build your color palette with a dark tone, a light tone, 2 midtones, and a pop of color. So, let’s get into it!
Digital Color Palette Inspiration
The easiest, and go to for many of us, is definitely Pinterest. You can just pop color palette inspiration into the search bar, and you will be inundated with many options. It can be super overwhelming so I find it’s best to search when you have specific color you want to use, and then just find a palette with that color that you like. When I’m just browsing, I save color palettes that I like to a Pinterest board to draw inspiration from later.
Coolors
Coolors.co is a website and an app that generates color palettes. This is a slightly less overwhelming option as only one color palette is generated at a time. There is a free and a paid version, with the paid version having many more options for you to adjust the palette. You can reduce or increase the number of colors, lock down the color you like and generate other colors around it. You can stick to monochrome, complementary, triadic, tetradic, etc., color palettes. The options become endless once again. What I like most about Coolors, is the option to export the palette once you’ve chosen one. This is great for matching your colors if you’re using Procreate or Illustrator.
Canva
Canva is another great tool for color palette inspiration. This tool is available on a free account as well. You have the option to upload a photo and Canva will select the colors for you. They have color palette combinations for you to check out as well, The generator gives the option to enter a color and then it will generate combinations based on your search criteria. Definitely check that out and see what you can come up with.
Traditional Color Palette Ideas
Magazines
Magazines are a great option to build color palettes. Pay attention to ad campaigns in generic magazines, but if you can find Mantra, Well Being, or even Real Simple, there is a ton of color to be inspired by. Those are some of my favourite magazines, including Uppercase, my latest favorite. Sometimes I may see one color I like and then build a palette around that one color.
Paint Chips
This one I feel is an easy one too, but paint chips from your hardware store. I always want a reason to grab some and, when working on a. big project, I will go and check out some of the booklets they have available. I once found a great little informational booklet that talked about color theory and how to make colors work together so I strongly recommend that as an option.
Scrapbook Paper Pads/Sets
Another easy way to gather inspiration is the paper aisle at your local craft store. This has always been my most favorite aisle! When I used to make cards, this would be the best day to go and match plain and embossed papers to a paper pad that I loved. Lots of opportunities there. You can also check out scrapbook.com for their paper sets and start building your own palette from there.
Washi
If you are a washi collecter (no side-eye – I am one of you), grab a roll and start putting some colors together. In my paint mixing post, I show how I use washi as inspiration to build a color palette. It can be as easy as that. I also like to combine different plain washi colors and patterns to have at least 3 to 4 different options to pull inspiration from.
Find Your Color Palette Inspiration
As you can see, there are many ways to draw inspiration for building a color palette. The ones I mention here are the ones I use most often. There are many other ways to find inspiration too. I am sharing a gallery of my layouts to help inspire you. If I haven’t mentioned your favorite way to find inspiration, let me know as I love finding new and fresh palettes to build upon. As always, thank you so much for your time today!
Talk soon!
