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Color Palette Generator

Extract colors from images or generate beautiful color schemes instantly

Upload Image to Extract Colors
JPG, PNG, WebP — colors extracted client-side, nothing uploaded
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What is Color Palette Generator?

Generate color palettes from uploaded images or create harmonious color schemes. Copy HEX, RGB, HSL codes instantly. Free online color palette tool. Creative design tools that work entirely in your browser without any software. TekPulse's Color Palette Generator is completely free — no signup, no ads in results, and no data stored on our servers.

How to Use Color Palette Generator Online

  1. Upload an image to extract its dominant colours, or use the random palette generator
  2. For image extraction: drag in any photo and view the 5 most dominant colours as hex codes
  3. For generated palettes: select a harmony type (Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, etc.)
  4. Click any colour swatch to copy the hex code
  5. Download the full palette as a PNG image or copy all hex codes as a list

Color Palette Generator Formula & Calculation

Harmony hue = (Base H + offset) mod 360° — offsets: Complementary 180° | Triadic 120°/240° | Split 150°/210° | Tetradic 90°/180°/270° | Analogous ±20°/±40°

The generator converts your chosen base color to HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness), rotates the Hue around the 360° color wheel by fixed offsets depending on the harmony type, then converts each resulting hue back to RGB/HEX — keeping Saturation and Lightness constant so every swatch reads as part of one cohesive family. Monochromatic mode instead holds the Hue fixed and steps Lightness in 16% increments across 6 shades.

Example: Base color #1a56db (H=221°, S=74%, L=51%) with Triadic harmony → hues at 221°, 341°, 101° → three colors equally spaced 120° apart on the wheel, each converted back through HSL→RGB. The image-extraction tab uses a different method: it downsamples the uploaded image to an 80×80 canvas, buckets pixels by rounding R/G/B to the nearest 32, and returns the most frequent buckets — a simple color quantization technique.

Key Factors That Affect Your Result

  1. Harmony type — Complementary (180° apart) gives maximum contrast, good for CTAs against a background; Analogous (hues within 40°) feels calm and cohesive, common in nature-inspired palettes; Triadic/Tetradic give vibrant, balanced multi-color schemes used in branding.
  2. Saturation & Lightness — The generator keeps these constant across all generated hues (except monochromatic mode) so the palette stays visually balanced — wildly different S/L per swatch is what makes amateur palettes look mismatched.
  3. Color extraction from images — Uses frequency-based quantization (rounding to the nearest 32 per channel) rather than a clustering algorithm like k-means, so it favors large flat color areas over subtle gradients — ideal for extracting a brand palette from a logo or flat-design image.
  4. Accessibility — When pairing extracted or generated colors for text/background, check contrast ratio separately (WCAG AA needs 4.5:1 for body text) — a harmonious palette is not automatically an accessible one.

Why Use TekPulse Color Palette Generator?

Runs Entirely in Your Browser
Colors are extracted via Canvas pixel analysis — your uploaded image is never sent anywhere
Extract Colors From Any Image
Upload a photo and get its 8 dominant colors automatically
6 Color Harmony Modes
Generate complementary, analogous, triadic, split-complementary, tetradic, or monochromatic schemes from any base color
One-Click Copy
Click any swatch to copy its HEX code instantly

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Frequently Asked Questions

Color harmony refers to combinations of colors that are visually pleasing together. Common types include: Complementary (opposite colors), Analogous (adjacent on the color wheel), Triadic (3 evenly spaced), Tetradic (4 colors forming a rectangle), and Monochromatic (same hue, different shades).

Upload any JPG, PNG or WebP image and the tool samples pixels across the entire image, groups similar colors, and returns the top 8 dominant colors with their HEX and RGB codes. All processing happens in your browser — no image is uploaded to our servers.

HEX is a 6-digit hexadecimal code (#1a56db) used in HTML/CSS. RGB (Red, Green, Blue) specifies color intensity 0–255. HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) is more intuitive for design — Hue is 0–360°, Saturation and Lightness are percentages.

Most successful websites use 3 colors: a primary color for CTAs and highlights, a secondary color for accents, and neutral colors (white, gray) for backgrounds. Choose accessible contrast ratios (4.5:1 for normal text) and stick to analogous or complementary palettes.

Define colors as CSS custom properties: :root { --primary: #1a56db; --secondary: #10b981; } Then use them: button { background: var(--primary); }. This makes it easy to update your theme from one place.

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