Color wheel

See how colors relate before you commit them to a page.

Click the wheel to set a base hue. Choose a harmony and watch the related colors lock into place. This is color theory you can steal.

Harmony

Two hues opposite each other for the strongest contrast.

How the wheel works

Primary hues sit 120° apart. Mix two primaries and you get a secondary. Mix a primary with a secondary and you get a tertiary. The wheel is a map of those distances, not a decoration.

Complementary colors are 180° apart. They make each other louder. Analogous colors sit next to each other and behave like a family. Triadic schemes are three equal steps — useful when a scene needs energy without a single screaming accent.

In comics, pick a harmony first, then decide which member of that family is allowed to be loud. A complementary pair with both sides at full saturation will fight the line art.

Contrast check

  • #c22c33cream 5.6 · ink 2.7
  • #2cc2bbcream 2.2 · ink 7.1
Extract a palette from a photo

Questions