Illustration Tutorial: How to create color palette by observing an object

Learn How to Create Stunning Color Palettes by Observing a Single Object

Creating color palettes is an essential skill for any artist, and who better to guide you through the process than renowned concept artist, Mikko Eerola? In this tutorial, Niko shares his expert techniques for developing a color palette using a single object. Follow along to enhance your artistic skills and bring more vibrancy to your work.

In this tutorial, he will show you how to create a color palette by observing a single object. We'll use a coffee cup for this exercise, placing it far away to observe how light and shadow interact on its surface. By the end, you'll have a palette ready to apply to your own projects.

To begin, select an object – in this case, a coffee cup – and place it far away from you. This distance helps you focus on the color transitions between light and shadow without getting lost in details. Create a template for your new palette. Start with a pink color and identify its local color – the hue that lies between the shadow and light colors. Observe the point on the cup where the shadow and light meet, and match this color as closely as possible.

Using a hue ring, select a slightly different version of the local color. This tool makes it easier to find a precise match. Expand the sphere by finishing outward with it, and then color pick an actual color to represent your light source. Avoid choosing white as your light source. Now, mix the two colors to find a lighter version of the local color. Use light brush strokes to blend these hues together. Confirm that this lighter version follows the logic of your palette and add it next to your light source, the local color, and the shadow color.

Identify a shadow color for your pink. Adjust the hue ring towards cooler hues and pick a darker version. This color might appear almost purple. Mix it with the local color to find the perfect shadow version.

With these steps, you now have all the information needed to create a comprehensive color palette. Ready to put these techniques into practice? Join his online Domestika course to follow my entire creative process from scratch.