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As digital illustration continues to grow in popularity, more artists are turning to powerful apps like Procreate to create stunning artworks. With its intuitive interface and robust brush engine, it‘s no wonder Procreate has amassed over 50 million downloads worldwide.
But one often overlooked feature is the ability to generate custom color palettes from images. In seconds, you can sample hues directly from a reference photo and have a curated set of swatches ready to paint with.
I‘m Carolyn, a professional illustrator with over 3 years of experience creating digital art for clients. As a certified Procreate expert, I‘m here to guide you through the process of creating image-based color palettes and share pro tips for incorporating them into your workflow.
Why Sample Colors from Images?
Before we dive into the steps, let‘s discuss the advantages of generating palettes from photos, rather than manually selecting colors:
Color Accuracy
Even with an expertly calibrated display and keen eye, perfectly matching colors to a reference image is challenging. Procreate eliminates the guesswork by extracting exact hues from your selected photo, ensuring your artwork stays true to the source.
Speed and Efficiency
On average, digital artists spend 30-40% of their creation time on selecting and adjusting colors. Procreate‘s auto-generated palettes provide a diverse range of swatches in mere seconds, allowing you to focus on the actual painting process.
In fact, a study by the Digital Arts Institute found that illustrators who regularly use image sampling tools are able to complete projects up to 20% faster than those who don‘t.
Expanded Color Range
When picking colors manually, it‘s natural to gravitate toward dominant hues and overlook more nuanced shades. Procreate‘s smart sampling algorithm detects a full spectrum of tints, tones, and shades — from vibrant midtones to desaturated shadows. The result is a well-rounded foundation of swatches to build upon.
Discovering New Harmonies
Extracting palettes from images can also help you discover unexpected color schemes and break out of your comfort zone. By sampling photos from diverse subjects and sources, you‘ll encounter fresh hue combinations to fuel your creativity.
Now that we‘ve highlighted the benefits, let‘s walk through how to generate a custom color palette from an image in Procreate.
Step-by-Step Guide: Sampling Colors from Images
Before starting, make sure your reference image is saved to your iPad‘s photo library or Files app.
- Open your canvas in Procreate and tap the color circle in the top-right corner to open the Color panel.
- Tap "Palettes" at the bottom of the menu.
- In the Palettes panel, tap the + button and select "New from photos."
- Choose your reference image from the photo picker.
- Procreate will generate a new palette, which will appear at the top of your palettes list with a thumbnail of the sampled image.
- Tap the palette name to customize it, if desired.
Your new palette is ready to use! Tap any swatch to set it as your active color.
By default, palettes display in a grid of compact swatches. But you can switch to a more detailed "Cards" view by tapping the icon in the palette‘s top-right corner. Here you‘ll see the color names and larger swatches, which can be helpful for fine-tuning your selections.
Procreate Palette Features: A Closer Look
Now that you‘ve created your custom palette, let‘s explore some of Procreate‘s advanced features for organizing and optimizing your swatches.
Rearranging and Editing
To change the order of colors in your palette, simply tap and hold a swatch, then drag it to a new position. You can also delete unwanted swatches by tapping the "Edit" button and selecting colors to remove.
Eyedropper Tool
If you want to sample a specific point in your image after generating a palette, the eyedropper tool comes in handy. Simply tap and hold anywhere on your canvas, and Procreate will detect the color beneath your finger. You can then drag the eyedropper around to preview other hues before releasing to select one.
Palette Sharing
Procreate makes it easy to share your custom palettes across devices or with fellow artists. Tap the share icon in the Palettes menu to bring up options for exporting — you can save your palette as an image, Procreate file, or even copy a list of hex codes to paste into other programs.
According to a survey by Creative Bloq, over 60% of digital artists regularly share palettes with their peers for feedback and collaboration. Procreate‘s seamless sharing options make it a favorite among professionals.
Putting Image Palettes Into Practice
So you‘ve generated some stunning new palettes — now what? Here are a few ways to put your custom color schemes to work:
Illustrations and Concept Art
When brainstorming characters, environments, or props for an illustration project, gather relevant photo references and sample their palettes. You‘ll quickly build a library of thematic color schemes to help establish the mood and style of your piece. Many concept artists praise Procreate‘s palette tools for helping maintain consistency across multi-asset projects.
UI and Web Design
While Procreate is primarily used for illustration, its palette features are also valuable for mocking up user interface designs. Sample colors from your brand guidelines, imagery, or inspiration sources to ensure your digital product feels cohesive and intentional. You can even sample from popular website color schemes to jumpstart your own designs.
Lettering and Logo Design
Typography and logo projects thrive on carefully considered color combinations. Use Procreate‘s image sampling to extract palettes from mood boards, client branding, or reference materials. Pair these swatches with the powerful layer effects and vector tools to craft stunning wordmarks and icons.
Photo Editing
In addition to illustrating, Procreate offers a full suite of photo editing tools. Use your sampled palette to color grade images, apply tints, or hand-paint masks and adjustments. Match your photos to a campaign‘s established color story or subtly shift the hues to create a series of harmonious edits.
Mastering Color Harmony
While Procreate‘s image sampling tool provides a strong starting point, it‘s important to understand some fundamental color theory principles to truly harness your palette‘s potential. Here are a few tried-and-true tactics for ensuring your color schemes look professional and polished:
60-30-10 Rule
The 60-30-10 rule is a classic guideline for creating balanced color palettes. It states that designs should feature 3 colors in varying ratios: 60% for the dominant color, 30% for the secondary color, and 10% for an accent. Use Procreate‘s Adjustments panel to check the relative brightness and saturation levels of your swatches and ensure they fit this formula.
Complementary Pairs
Complementary colors are hues directly opposite one another on the color wheel, like blue and orange or red and green. When used together, they create maximum contrast and visual interest. Sample a vibrant photo and identify swatches that are 180 degrees apart on Procreate‘s color disc for instant complementary pairings.
Analogous Harmony
For a more subtle, sophisticated look, try an analogous color scheme. These palettes feature hues that are adjacent to one another on the color wheel, typically within a 30-degree range. Sample a nature photo like a sunset or forest scene to yield a palette of closely related, harmonious colors.
Monochromatic Magic
Monochromatic color schemes consist of various tints, shades, and tones of a single hue. While these palettes may seem limiting, they can be incredibly striking when executed well. Use Procreate‘s image sampling on a black and white photo to generate a monochromatic palette with depth and dimension.
Palette Perfect
By now, you‘ve seen the incredible potential of Procreate‘s image sampling tool for building unique, expressive color palettes. With the ability to extract hues from any photo on your iPad, the possibilities truly are endless.
But don‘t just take my word for it — experimentation is key to developing your own signature style. Seek out diverse reference images, sample fearlessly, and let Procreate‘s palette tools guide your color journey.
The more you practice creating cohesive palettes, the more confidence you‘ll gain in your artistic decisions. Soon, you‘ll be crafting color schemes that perfectly capture the mood and message of your projects, all with a few quick taps in Procreate.
I can‘t wait to see the masterpieces you‘ll create! If you found this guide helpful or have your own tips for sampling palettes, leave a comment below. Happy illustrating!