This is important because your artist’s palette is the one tool you will always work with. This is true whether you become a professional artist or are even a student artist in traditional painting and drawing classes or an abstract art course .
How to make your own color palettes
W orking with color is hard. No argument there, but do you know what’s even harder? Pairing colors together. Think about the last time you built a color palette from scratch. What was your process? How did it look? If you answered with a visible *shrug* then keep reading.
We covered the basics of what color is and how it works in How to Not Suck at Color, but now that you’re hue literate, it’s time we do something more interesting. Like building our own set of color palettes.
Oh, and we’re going to build them all from one color.
That sounds clickbait-y, doesn’t it? I mean it though. We’ll start with a single color of your choice and through guided magic develop an array of color palettes to use. Think of this like a method to sketch with color.
Quick disclaimer: This is by no means a replacement for learning how color works and developing your own process for using it. However, if you are interested in doing so, I teach a course about color theory and go deep on how I use it. Also, it’s a go-at-your-own-pace kind of class, so you can learn on your own time.
Disclaimer over. Let’s get back to the exercise.
Pick a color. Any color.
Well, almost any color, but we’ll get to that in minute. Before we dive in, where would you typically start when building a palette?
Maybe you’d Google “color theory” and begin to research. You’d likely get overwhelmed by beautiful, complex models of color and a deluge of science jargon that goes with them. If you’re lucky, you’d stumble upon the intricate, colorful drawings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Another popular approach to consider is using something like Adobe Color to help you generate a palette. You may also pick a prebuilt scheme from a palette library, like Color Hunt. Both are great options to start with, but you’re not here for that. You’re here to learn something new and fun. So let’s get weird.
How To Create Color Palettes
Planning a color scheme for an artwork is an effective way to achieve visual cohesion and intent in your artwork.
Video Walkthrough
- Color schemes are a way to make a composition more cohesive.
- Does a color scheme need to be planned in advance? (Lauryn does!)
- Color schemes are a very effective means to show mood in artwork.
- Often color schemes are not considered enough.
- Picasso’s Blue Period & Rose Period.
- Limited palettes are a good place to get started with color schemes.
- Every color is affected by the colors around them, don’t look at colors in isolation.
- There is no such thing as the “correct blue” mixture.
- Colors are about relationships, how do they work together as a group?
- Collage is a really great way to collect color schemes.
- Don’t limit yourself to just artwork when look at colors, it’s everywhere!
- Lauryn’s process for creating color schemes.
- Lauryn puts an artwork into Photoshop and uses the eye dropper tool to create a palette of 4-6 swatches of color.
- Color grading is used frequently in movies to make the image more cohesive.
- Lauryn’s “clown vomit” paintings.
- Think about color holistically.
- Color can be intimidating.
- Movies are a great way to get started learning and seeing color schemes.
- Taking stills from movie trailers is a way to get to know color.
Bowsers’ Tips
Sometimes taking a break and spending quality time with your dog can help your practice too. Take that much needed break so you don’t run yourself into burnout and come back fresh + ready to go.
Burning out will set you back waaaay further than taking a few rest days here and there as needed.
Artists mentioned
- Lisa Yuskavage
- Saul Becker
- Lois Dodd
- Pablo Picasso
- Billy Childish
- Pierre Bonnard
- Doron Langberg
- John McAllister
- Peter Doig
- Janet Fish
Films mentioned
- In the Mood for Love
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Kirikou and the Sorceress
- The Birds
- Howl’s Moving Castle
- The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
- The Color of Pomegranates
Resources
- Color Palette Cinema in Instagram
Books mentioned
- The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
- Little Nemo by Winsor McCay
- The Ethan Allen Treasury of American Traditional Interiors
As a free educational source, Art Prof uses Amazon affiliate links (found in this page) to help pay the bills. This means, Art Prof earns from qualifying purchases.
Related
Color Saturation This video explores color saturation, explaining how intense and muted colors can work together effectively…
Complementary Color Chart This video shows a color chart mixing exercise based on complementary color pairs, using purple…
Procreate: Color Palettes for Characters This video demonstrates how to create several different color palettes for one character design https://youtu.be/UmG9jC1gv2M?t=70…
- Tags color fundamentals
Free Art Tutorials: How to Make a Paint Palette
To make your painter’s palette, you’ll need the following supplies:
A piece of glass
- You’ll want real glass. It’s more durable than plexiglass.
- Make sure the glass is clean and free of any fingerprints.
- You can buy this at a hardware store. Or if you’d like a more inexpensive option, go to a thrift store and buy an old frame to re-purpose the glass.
A piece of wood
- Shape the wood to be slightly larger than the piece of glass to protect the glass.
- You can cut the size of your wood yourself or go to your local hardware store to have them cut it for you.
White paint or a white sheet of paper
- Paint the wood white or add a white piece of paper between the glass and the wood. If you use paper, make sure that it’s the same size as the glass.
- A light neutral gray color is a good option as well, but if you don’t feel confident that you will find or create that specific shade, plain white still works great!
Heavy duty duct tape
- Make sure your tape is a solid, neutral color. Don’t use colorful or printed duct tape because it will be distracting when you try to mix clean, beautiful colors.
- Place the tape along the edges of the glass and the wood, and leave some tape over the edges so you can fold it over the back.
Photo caption: John Milan demonstrates how to adhere the tape to a DIY painter’s palette.
More Quick Tips for Students for Making a Paint Palette
For everyday use, make your painter’s palette at least a 16 x 20“. You can always customize the size depending on its purpose (plein air painting , larger projects, etc.)
If you need extra guidance, watch this video. John Milan offers a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a paint palette.
Video caption: How to make an affordable glass painter’s palette.
Final Thoughts on Making a Painter’s Palette
Becoming an exceptional artist means that you have mastered every aspect of your art career, including the behind-the-scenes stuff, like making an artist’s palette. This step-by-step art tutorial was intended to empower you to be that kind of artist.
If you’d like some more in-depth art tutorials for students , consider joining the Milan Art Institute Art Club , or if you’re interested in becoming a professional artist, look into the Mastery Program . It’s a one-year professional training program that teaches you how to become a professional artist.
