Color Palette Generator

Generate color palettes free online from a single base color using real color theory -- complementary, analogous, and triadic schemes calculated by hue rotation.

How to Use This Tool

Pick a base colorYour starting point for the palette

Choose a color schemeComplementary, analogous, triadic, or monochromatic

Copy the generated paletteClick any swatch's HEX to copy

Color Palette Generator is a free online tool that works entirely in your browser — no signup, no data uploaded, no limits.

Color Theory as Calculable Hue Rotation

Color schemes that "just work" together aren't arbitrary aesthetic choices -- they follow specific, calculable relationships on the color wheel. This generator applies those actual hue rotation rules to your chosen base color, producing palettes grounded in established color theory rather than randomly generated combinations.

The Four Schemes and Their Visual Character

Complementary (180 degrees apart) creates maximum contrast and visual tension. Analogous (30 degrees apart) creates a cohesive, harmonious feel with low contrast. Triadic (120 degrees apart, three colors) balances variety with visual harmony. Monochromatic varies only lightness and saturation while keeping hue constant, producing the most unified, subtle palette of the four.

Consistent Saturation and Lightness Across the Palette

Rotating only the hue while keeping saturation and lightness consistent with your base color ensures the generated palette feels like a coherent family of colors, rather than colors that happen to share a hue relationship but clash in intensity or brightness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Each scheme follows a specific hue rotation rule on the color wheel: complementary takes the hue directly opposite (180 degrees), analogous takes hues close together (30 degrees apart), and triadic takes three hues evenly spaced around the wheel (120 degrees apart) -- real, calculable relationships, not arbitrary selections.

Colors directly opposite on the color wheel create maximum visual contrast and tension, which is why complementary pairs (like blue and orange) are commonly used when you want elements to stand out sharply against each other.

Hues close together on the wheel share more visual similarity, producing a naturally cohesive, low-contrast feel -- useful for backgrounds, gradients, or any context where you want variety without visual tension.

Evenly spacing three hues 120 degrees apart around the wheel creates a balanced scheme with more variety than analogous but less harsh contrast than a single complementary pair, a middle-ground option color theory commonly recommends for vibrant but balanced palettes.

The core scheme calculation is hue-based, but the generator keeps saturation and lightness consistent with your base color across the generated palette, so the resulting colors feel like a coherent family rather than wildly different in intensity.