Choosing colors is half the fun of a coloring page — and half the stress. This free generator builds ready-to-use five-color palettes for your next page: pick a mood, shuffle until it feels right, lock the colors you love, then copy the hex codes or download the palette as an image to keep beside you while you color.
Every palette is built the way colorists actually work: a deep shade for outlines and shadows, mid-tones for the main areas, and pale tints for highlights and backgrounds. Works for colored pencils, markers, gel pens, and digital coloring alike.
How to Use a Palette on a Coloring Page
- Follow the 60-30-10 rule. Use the palette's mid-tone for most of the page (60%), a second color for supporting areas (30%), and the boldest color sparingly for the parts you want to pop (10%).
- Start light, finish dark. Lay the pale tints down first — backgrounds, skies, skin — then build the deep shades last for shadows and outlines. You can always add more color; taking it away is harder.
- Test on scrap paper first. Pencils and markers rarely match the screen exactly. A quick swatch strip on the back of the page saves surprises.
- Stuck mid-page? Download the palette image and keep it open on your phone, or save it to Pinterest for your next session.
Palettes to Try on Our Pages
Ocean Breeze was made for the manatee coloring pages and the deep end of Forest Walk suits the horse coloring pages. Grayscale is the secret weapon for the mindfulness coloring pages — color a whole page in grays first to plan your shading, then repeat it in color. For detailed patterns like the mandala coloring pages, a tight palette like Jewel Tones keeps the design looking intentional instead of rainbow chaos.
Quick Questions
What are hex codes?
Hex codes are the six-character names screens give colors — #F9C6D3 is a soft pink, for example. They are how digital coloring apps identify an exact shade. If you color on paper, treat the swatch itself as the guide and match your closest pencil or marker to it.
Can I use these palettes for pages I sell or post?
Yes. The palettes are free to use for personal and commercial projects — color combinations can't be copyrighted. A link back to Hue Therapy is always appreciated but never required.
How many colors should a coloring page use?
Five is the sweet spot for most pages: enough variety to stay interesting, few enough to look cohesive. Busy mandalas can take the full five; simple kids' pages often look best with just three — pick your favorites from the palette and leave the rest.