Color plays a huge role in bringing artwork to life and even has the power to change the overall mood of your piece.
That’s why finding a great color palette is so important. As a digital artist, having a palette that’s ready to use ultimately saves a lot of time.
So, why should you use a color palette? How do you find them and get them into Procreate?
In this article, we've put together a list of 40+ free and premium color palettes for Procreate so that you can get started on your next masterpiece today.
Let's jump in!
Why use a color palette?
Color palettes are useful not only for helping your piece communicate a certain theme but also for pushing it a step further. A great piece of artwork can fall short of the artist's vision or intentions when the color selection isn't great.
That’s why choosing great colors that work well together is vital. Thankfully, digital programs like Procreate make creating, downloading, and using color palettes fast and simple.
When you have a curated color palette, your final piece looks more cohesive, and the storytelling behind it is stronger. It also takes the guesswork out of coordinating colors on your own.
The best part? Anyone can use a color palette. From lettering, calligraphy, graphic design, and painting, any artist can benefit from well-balanced color combinations.
Having a color palette ready to go is as easy as downloading it straight to your iPad. Once color palettes are saved into Procreate, you have access to them across all of your documents, and you can organize them in any way that suits the way you work.
Where to find color palettes
Color palettes are downloadable digital resources like brush sets, textures, or anything else you import into Procreate. The cool thing about this is that artists can create their own color palettes and then export and sell them on their own sites, like Etsy.
There's also the option to use a Marketplace like Design Cuts, Creative Market, or Envato Elements, where you can browse through large numbers of color palettes from a variety of creators.
When searching for a color palette online, it helps to have a theme in mind, like nature during fall. What is the subject matter of your project? What mood do you want your art to evoke?
Let the answers to these questions guide your search for the right color palette for your piece.
How to import & create color palettes in Procreate
In Procreate, there are a number of ways to create your own color palettes—from importing files to using images.
Within the program, you can import .swatch files and Adobe color palette files in .ASE and .ACO formats.
Here are a few ways that you can quickly create a new color palette right inside the app.
Importing swatch files
- Save your swatch file to your Files App.
- Open the Palette menu and press +.
- Select New from file and select your swatch file.
Creating from a new photo
- Open the Palette menu and press +.
- Select New from camera.
- Choose visual or indexed and capture your image.
Note: If you want more contrast in your color palette, choose Indexed mode.
Creating from a saved photo
- Open the Palette menu and press +.
- Select New from photos.
- Choose the image.
When you create your own color palette in these ways, the name of the palette will be generated by default. You can simply rename your palettes by tapping them once and typing in a new name.
Choosing the right photo to sample
To generate a color palette from a photo, it helps to know some basic color theory to choose the right subject. The color wheel is made of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors that are both warm and cool. Warm colors are reds, yellows, and oranges, and cool colors are blues, greens, and purples.
Colors that are complementary are across from each other on the color wheel, like red and green. You can use this color harmony to figure out if your palette will work. You can learn more about color theory here.
Consider these ideas next time you want to snap a picture of your own to generate a color palette for your next project.
Here are some additional pro tips for capturing the right picture for your color palette:
- The photo should have a good amount of contrast.
- There should be a cohesive or harmonious range of hues.
- It needs to be well lit, so the colors are vibrant and can be easily detected by Procreate.
With so many options for color palettes to choose from, it can be overwhelming at times.
Now that we know a little more about colors and how they work, let’s take a look at some amazing color palettes for Procreate.
Natural color palettes
The colors that appear in nature are part of what has inspired artists since early art history.
Everything from sprawling landscapes to the colors of the ocean can help bring life to nature-themed digital drawings and paintings.
Check out these palettes designed to take you from land to sea with their colors.
Under the Sea by Winship & Rose
Price: From $14
This color palette features 30 colors that will add a bright pop to your next sea-inspired project. With a range of hues, you can easily incorporate these onto your canvas in a cohesive way. With your download, you receive a Procreate .swatch file, a Photoshop .ACO swatch file, and instructions.
Winship & Rose is a mother-and-daughter team of artists that supplies a variety of digital resources and downloads for artists. You can browse their clip art collection, brushes, and more Procreate goodies.
Sequoia Procreate Palette by Design Resource Hub
Price: From $14
These combinations of colors include various shades of brown and green, making this palette great for trees and landscapes. It also features a range of lighter colors that will give your work nice contrast and balance.
The Design Resource Hub is a family design agency that creates resources for hobbyists and professionals alike. They believe in making products that make artists’ lives easier.
Mermaid Inspired Color Palette by Ebb & Flow Creative Co.
Price: Free
Featuring a selection of greens, purples, and teals, you’ll get a nice variety in a smaller palette.
This is the first of a few free Procreate color palettes we'll see on our list. That's right. You don't always have to pay for color palettes! So be sure to enjoy this one for your next mermaid or aquatic-themed artwork.
Ebb & Flow is run by Emy, and was started as a way to share her vast tutorial library and resources with others. She keeps beginners in mind when creating her tools so that they can feel confident even as they're just starting out.
Nature Walk by Lewis Lettery
Price: $2.60
Everything you could love about long walks in nature is captured through this color palette. It ranges from the earth tones you'd expect to lighter neutrals that help round out the 30-swatch palette.
Lewis Lettery specializes in hand lettering and illustration that is designed to uplift others. Using her iPad and Apple Pencil, she creates products ranging from stickers and coloring pages to digital resources for artists.
Soft Nature by Viliri Design
Price: $1.82
Not every color palette needs to be vibrant or intense to work. Use this nature-themed palette when you want to use more toned-down colors. In this palette, you'll find a lot of browns, greens, and oranges that will make you appreciate the softer side of nature.
Irina of Villiri Design specializes in creating Procreate color palettes and design elements for artists. She takes inspiration from the things she sees around her to create inspired resources for her art and yours.
Color palettes for portraits
One essential that can take any level of portrait from good to great is carefully placed colors that make the skin look natural (if realism is the goal) and give the portrait life.
These palettes will help you do just that, as well as find the right colors for hair and eyes to complete your piece.
10 Hair Color Palettes for Procreate by Delightful Design Studio
Price: Free
Other than the skin, the rendering of hair and its colors can play a huge part in well-composed portraits. This palette pack comes with 10 diverse color palettes to help you color hair for your portraits.
That's over 200 colors, giving you a number of hair colors to use, from traditional brown and blonde to fun purples and pinks.
Since 2014, Delightful Design Studio has made over 10,000 templates for digital artists and creatives to use. They provide the best tools they can to help digital artists nurture and inspire creativity.
Skintones Procreate Color Palette by Cate Shaner
Price: From $9
With some exceptions, not having the right tones for skin can leave portrait subjects looking dull and flat. This selection of 30 skin tones offers a nice variety of shades and tones that will allow your digital portraits to communicate beyond the screen.
Cate Shaner is a designer and lettering artist who believes in creating bright, clean, and modern resources that make digital creating easier. In addition to creating tools for Procreate, she also has a wide selection of tutorials on her blog and YouTube channel.
10 Eye Color Palettes by Delightful Design Studio
Price: Free
This free download comes with 10 color palettes for you to use for eyes. Not only are they great for portraits, but the variety it gives you makes it a great resource to try for all different subjects. Allow it to expand your horizons from crystal blue eyes to hazel and more.
Since 2014, Delightful Design Studio has made over 10,000 templates for digital artists and creatives to use. They provide the best tools they can to help nurture digital artists and inspire creativity.
Haze Long Procreate Portrait Color Palettes
Price: Free
Coloring portraits can be complex when you consider how many layers go into it. This palette will guide you with different swatches for lips, highlights, shadow tints, and more.
It takes the guesswork out of what colors would go better for which parts of your portrait, resulting in a more realistic and natural-looking portrait.
Haze Long is an artist, speed painter and YouTuber living in Malaysia. She started her journey as a beauty blogger and has since transitioned to traditional and digital art. On her YouTube channel, she shares free educational resources for other artists to grow in their own art practices.
Matte Skin Tones by Soft Pastel Design
Price: $2
These skin tone swatches offer a nice variety of skin tones for portraits from fair to deeper tones. You have 30 swatches to choose from, so you have all that you need to create a beautiful digital portrait.
Panuttha of Soft Pastel Design is a digital artist from Thailand. They create a variety of digital resources, from Procreate brush stamps, brushes, and color palettes.
Bright color palettes
Bright colors can make you feel awake, energized, and engaged. That's because they're bold and saturated.
There are, of course, a variety of bright colors to choose from, so these palettes will provide a great selection of colors across a number of themes.
Synthwave Color Palette by Brushboy
Price: Free to download with an Envato Elements subscription.
This harmonious color palette will transport you to the 80s with its punchy colors. This set comes with three different color palettes and 90 colors total.
Use it to bring a bright pop of pinks, blues, and reds to your piece. It also comes with a commercial license, making it great to use with both professional and personal projects.
Brushboy has a number of digital resources available across popular apps, from Procreate to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. His palettes, stamps, and brushes are sure to expand your mind and inspire you.
Procreate Color Palette - Bright by Cathconofolio
Price: From $9
This fun selection of colors was inspired by the happy feeling of summer. It will help your work read as youthful and fun. The inclusion of warm and cool tones makes it well suited for a variety of uses.
Cather is the artist behind the illustration and design studio Cathconofolio. She creates fun assets for the Procreate app and tutorials to educate other artists.
Fiesta Color Palette by Monolinea
Price: From $9
These colors are coordinated and offer a rainbow selection of hues, plus browns and grays.
Each color has a light and dark variation, giving you a nice range of colors to choose from across two swatches and 50 colors.
Kemi of Monolinea has over 20 years of experience and uses that to create designs and resources that delight. Her colorful palettes and brushes make using Procreate easier.
Pastels & Brights by Wind and Sage Studio
Price: $1.87
Who said you have to choose between pastels and brighter colors? With this color palette, you get the best of both worlds with lighter hues besides punchier ones for a total of 30 to choose from. These are all fun and expressive, making them ideal for any kind of artwork.
Monica of Wind and Sage Studio creates art inspired by her faith as well as digital goods for artists. Her handpicked color palettes for digital artists are what she is best known for.
Seasonal color palettes
Whatever your favorite season might be, you can always turn to these color palettes time and time again.
Depending on the palette, shades of orange can communicate either summer or fall. Curated palettes for the seasons will help your piece break through and be on theme.
5 Crisp & Cozy Fall Color Palettes by Every Tuesday
Price: Free
This article contains five free fall-inspired color palettes for artists. Alongside the Procreate swatch files, you'll also get sample artwork from Teela Cunningham of Every Tuesday. You can choose to use these fun color palettes with Teela's Procreate brushes or whichever you have loaded into your program.
Teela Cunningham of Every Tuesday is a graphic designer, lettering artist, and illustrator. Within Teela's work, you'll find a beautiful pairing of florals and script lettering. Through her YouTube channel, you'll be able to see how Teela uses brushes, textures, and more in Procreate to create lettering that's great for a range of skill levels.
Spring Shades Color Palette by iPad Lettering
Price: Free
This palette features beautiful colors that remind you of a spring meadow full of flowers. The palette has a beautiful range of light to deep greens as well as playful pinks and oranges. It's the perfect way to liven up your spring illustrations.
Karin Newport of iPad Lettering shares her passion for lettering and calligraphy on the iPad for creatives of all skill levels. You can learn not only different styles but also how to master Procreate to create lettering and modern calligraphy with her digital resources.
Color Trend Swatches for Winter by Studio 17
Price: From $10
These color swatches were designed to make your winter projects cool and on-trend. Whether you’re trying to portray a frozen landscape or just add smaller surrounding elements, this massive selection of palettes includes 270 colors across nine palettes.
It also comes with downloadable PNG files for you to sample your colors in different programs outside of Procreate.
Studio 17 makes creative assets for designers. Use their swatches, brushes, and more to speed up your next Procreate project.
Christmas Color Palette by Cate Shaner
Price: From $9
This color palette is great for those who want to create holiday-themed work. The selection of colors feels festive with a modern twist because they're not overly saturated. Enjoy a selection or all 30 in your next project.
Cate Shaner is a designer and lettering artist who believes in creating bright, clean, and modern resources that make digital creating easier. In addition to creating tools for Procreate, she also has a wide selection of tutorials on her blog and YouTube channel.
Summery Procreate Color Palette by Blush River Design
Price: $2
This color palette includes six mini summer color palettes. Each palette contains five unique colors with summer themes like "The Beach", "The Park," and "The Lake". These colors are ready to transport you to wherever you want your artwork to go. The beauty of these mini palettes is that they're all included in one procreate file for your convenience.
Lauren of Blush River Design is a Procreate brush designer. In addition to her brushes, she creates color palettes for digital artists who want to get the most out of working in Procreate.
Procreate brush and palette bundles
Procreate is an expansive tool with a variety of capabilities.
That’s why it's common to see a lot of creators make bundles featuring a collection of different tools, including brushes, textures, and color palettes.
The items included are often designed to complement each other, allowing you to create fun and unique artwork with them.
Sparkly Brushes for Procreate by Seamless Team
Price: From $16
Not only will these brushes add a nice shimmer and shine to your designs, but you also get 40 of them to use. To support these brushes, you gain access to 20 colors in Procreate. The glitter, metallic, and shine of the brushes will work well with the colors included in this brush pack.
Seamless Team specializes in creating unique Procreate brushes. Use their brushes to add texture, custom graphics, and effects to your work.
Gouache Brushes by Lisa Glanz
Price: From $19
These brushes add a realistic gouache paint effect to your digital artwork without the mess. With these brushes, you'll get access to four different themes of color swatches.
The themes give you options to create with deeper, darker colors and cooler, brighter colors. As a bonus, you'll also get access to a beautiful botanical art video tutorial that’s perfect for beginners.
Lisa Glanz is an illustrator who is passionate about creating and sharing resources for artists. She also has a number of courses designed around digital illustration.
Space Procreate Brushes by Freezerondigital
Price: From $17
This brush pack will send you to the stars with its space-themed brushes and stamps.
To help you perfectly capture the vastness of space, you get 150 colors between 5 palettes. With 62 different brushes, you'll be able to create realistic-looking nebulas and stars.
Yaroslav is the creator of Freezerondigital. They create backgrounds, overlays, and resources for Procreate and Photoshop.
Neon Procreate Brush Kit by Mila Garret
Price: From $9
This brush pack will have you creating instant neon sign effects in Procreate. It comes with 30 color swatches that were selected to make the collection of 16 neon brushes pop.
Want to learn how to create an even better neon effect?
This brush kit comes with realistic background files and a tutorial to make your final piece read like real neon.
Mila Garret is a type designer and creative. Her love of type and lettering is shown through her range of brushes and fonts.
Realistic Tie Dye Brushes & Swatches by Nurmiftah
Price: $14
These brushes were made using tie-dye fabric texture to give you a realistic effect. Each brush stamp has a unique shape, giving you 35 different patterns to use. To complement the tie-dye brushes, a swatch file is ready for you with 30 colors to help you complete the tie-dye effect.
Nur Miftah is an illustrator and lettering artist from Indonesia. They create a variety of Procreate tools and fonts for creators.
Pastel & neutral color palettes
Sometimes the best color approach needs to be muted and soft.
You can achieve this with pastel and neutral color palettes. They're great for creating work that needs a more delicate selection of colors.
Pastels Procreate Color Palette by Cate Shaner
Price: $9
This color palette is designed to give you pale shades of multiple hues. The 30 colors in this swatch file will give exactly what you need. Whether you want to go warmer or cooler, you can incorporate these colors in a number of combinations in your artwork.
Cate Shaner is a designer and lettering artist who believes in creating bright, clean, and modern resources that make digital creating easier. In addition to creating tools for Procreate, she also has a wide selection of tutorials on her blog and YouTube channel.
Procreate Palette - Light Pastels by Brushboy
Price: Free to download with an Envato Elements subscription.
This color palette includes three different swatches of pastels. The first group includes some nice natural browns and greens.
The second includes softer pale yellows and grays, and the third group of pastels is a nice selection of pinks, blues, and purples. This gives you 90 colors to mix and match as you like.
Brushboy has a number of digital resources available across popular apps, from Procreate to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. His palettes, stamps, and brushes are sure to expand your mind and inspire your creativity.
Pastel Rainbow by Crisico
Price: $2.50
Forget what you know about the rainbow and check out this color palette. These pastel color swatches give it a new life and feel. With each hue broken down into lighter, softer tones, it makes it look more fresh and modern. Give it a try in place of the colors you'd usually use for a rainbow.
Crystal of Crisico is a casual artist, doodler, and graphic designer. She makes Procreate color palettes and brushes that are easy for digital artists to use.
Rosey Neutrals by Shop Made by Maris
Price: $2.50
If you want a little bit of romance in your work, this color palette gives that vibe. The mix of browns, reds, and pinks is a perfect way to liven up landscapes, portraits, and more.
Marisa Carioscia is a Chicago-based artist specializing in custom hand lettering and design. In addition to her digital resources for artists, she also creates using traditional materials on signage, products, apparel, and more.
Dreamy Neutrals Color Palette by Winship and Rose
Price: From $9
Need softer neutral tones for your next project? Use this selection of swatches to give a sophisticated look to your work. The delicate hues of pinks, browns, and grays make this a great collection of 30 colors.
As an added bonus, you'll also get a Photoshop .ACO swatch with your download.
Winship and Rose is a mother-and-daughter team of artists that supplies a variety of digital resources and downloads for artists. You can browse their collection of clip art, brushes, and more to add to Procreate.
Bundle color palettes
Like having a large selection of colors to use? Bundle packs are a great way to get a large number of Procreate color swatch files in a single download.
With each swatch file able to hold up to 30 colors, you get access to a lot of colors for less when you choose bundles.
Procreate Color Palettes by Lisa Bardot
Price: Free
These color palettes are bold and fun. Covering a number of themes, you can grab any of these palettes and be ready to create. Not sure how to use a color palette? Check out Lisa's resource for using a color palette here.
Lisa Bardot of Bardot Brush on YouTube has been creating tutorials and brushes online for creatives using Procreate at all skill levels for many years.
Palette Vault for Procreate by Visual Timmy
Price: Free
The color palettes in this bundle are ready to use and allow you to use them under a commercial license. Each palette consists of harmonious hues that will go together seamlessly in your next project. You'll get access to 60 swatch files and to all future updates to the collection.
Visual Timmy is the creator of a number of Procreate brushes, textures, and resources. Through his community, he offers additional tutorials and resources to members.
Procreate Color Palette Bundle by Aure Design Co.
Price: From $24
This premium color palette bundle is huge. Boasting an impressive 32 color palettes and 960 colors, you'll have a perfect swatch collection. Perfect for projects ranging from illustration to modern calligraphy, you'll get plenty of use out of these palettes that apply a modern take to classic themes.
Aure Design Co. is run by brand designer and web designer Lauren, with over 10 years of experience. She designs digital tools and resources for creatives.
7 Unique Color Palettes by Studio B. Art Design
Price: From $9
Having themes and color groups makes choosing colors easier.
From the warm, old-school vibes of Retro Vintage to the coolness of the Beach Vibes palette, there's something for everyone to enjoy. This pack was designed to give artists a wide selection of palettes at an affordable price.
Studio B. Art Design strives to create quality resources ranging from color palettes to brush packs. They're great for digital artists and designers looking to level up their work.
Procreate Color Palette Bundle by Point and Poem
Price: $14
Bring exciting themes to life with this curated bundle of palettes. From softer neutral colors to bright and bold colors, you'll get a lot of different hues.
Each color was picked to work cohesively with the others in every project. You can even enjoy having a PDF guide and a collection of JPG files to sample colors in programs outside of Procreate.
Monika of Point and Poem provides a lot of add-ons for Procreate, like color palettes, graphics, and more. You can even use her clip art graphic resources in commercial projects.
111 Procreate Color Palettes by Annia Art
Price: $12
This bundle pack includes over 100 palettes for Procreate, ranging from cool and warm to bright and soft. Each palette has five colors, offering a tailor-made selection for your projects.
Annia Art creates digital products like brushes, palettes, and more, all for Procreate. From brushes for lettering to trendy color palettes, they create everything a digital artist could need.
Procreate Trendy Color Palettes by Studio 17
Price: $14
The way you use color can speak to current color trends. With nine palettes and 270 colors, you can drop these fun color combinations into your work in Procreate.
Use this to expand your view of classic color combinations and how they can be used. With instant download, you'll be ready to use these in Procreate in no time.
Studio 17 makes creative assets for designers. Use their swatches, brushes, and more to speed up your next Procreate project.
50 Color Procreate Swatch Bundle by Patrycja Dolata
Price: $20
The palettes in this bundle feel subtle and soft. They've been handpicked to use in a number of different pieces. You can use these to create gradients, use them with your favorite brushes, and more.
The 50 color palettes in this bundle have 30 colors each, giving you a massive selection of 1,500 colors.
Patrycja Dolata of Pede Designs creates premium brushes and palettes for Procreate artists. Her YouTube channel has tutorials on how to use textures, watercolor effects, and more in Procreate.
Monochromatic color palettes
As the name implies, monochromatic color palettes center around a single hue or color. They're always a trendy way to color work because they instantly feel visually cohesive.
If you usually tend to use a variety of hues in your work, you can challenge yourself by using different values and saturations of a single color instead.
Blue for You by Wind and Sage Studio
Price: $1.87
Blue is known as a color of calm and relaxation. So do you need a shade of blue for your project? Enjoy this blue color palette with 30 hand-picked swatches for all the versions of blue you could need. From light to dark shades and tints, this palette has you covered.
Monica of Wind and Sage Studio creates art inspired by her faith as well as digital goods for artists. Her handpicked color palettes for digital artists are what she is best known for.
Summer Blonde by Creative Kunai
Price: $2.99
Yellow is closely associated with happiness, sunshine, and energy. Use this color palette to infuse those feelings into your work. This color palette has 30 swatches that are full of a wide variety of yellows, from light and bright to deep dark tones.
Creative Kunai creates digital stickers and Procreate color palettes for creatives. They're the perfect way to bring life to your work or favorite digital planner.
Sea La Vie Color Palette by Dawn Nicole
Price: Free
Who doesn't love a trip under the sea? This fun blue color palette is free to download and features six fun colors and sample artwork for your inspiration. Dawn Nicole also includes lettering tips to help you create your own piece with her color palette.
Dawn Nicole is a Paperlike ambassador, lettering artist, and author. Her work spans tutorials, Procreate brushes, and more. You can learn more from Dawn through her YouTube channel and Instagram.
Patty by Tiny Little Dots
Price: $4
If you're looking for all things green, you've found the right palette! Not to mention it can promote feelings of health, calm, and maybe even luck! This color palette features 15 beautiful green swatches ranging from pastels to muted tones for a sophisticated look.
Tiny Little Dots is a mother, daughter Etsy shop specializing in color palettes, chalkboard art, and more. They also have a sister shop, Tiny Dots Stitchery.
Orange Soda by The Happy Palette Shop
Price: $3
Orange inspires confidence, optimism, and warmth. These oranges range from saturated to less intense tones and even yellows as well. This color palette is a great one to have handy in Procreate for your next project.
Caitlyn of The Happy Palette Shop is a color-obsessed digital artist. With over five years of experience, she loves brightening the lives of other artists with her color palettes. She also creates Procreate brushes and wallpapers.
Wrapping up
Choosing colors can be a challenge for artists of all skill levels. That’s why color palettes are such useful tools: they take a lot of the guesswork out of going through the color picker to create a cohesive color story.
With Procreate, you can choose to create your own palettes or access the vast amount of color palettes available from the community of artists using Procreate.
Choosing the right colors can help elevate your work and define a signature look that's consistent across your artwork. Creating digital art is also easier thanks to the Screen Protector by Paperlike. With the added resistance, drawing with your Apple Pencil will feel more natural.
Ready to start creating? Get yours today!
