How to make a color palette in Linearity

Color is a crucial design element in any visual medium. Choosing the right palette can be one of the most challenging decisions when designing, but it’s worth getting it right.

When it comes to the technical side of setting up your custom color palettes, Linearity's design platform offers helpful tools and flexibility.

We’re constantly improving our color features. We've included 12 default color palettes for you to play with, and you can generate a color palette from a photo.

Sounds cool, right? Read on to find out more about using Color Palettes in Linearity Curve and Move.

How to work with color palettes in Linearity

Working with color in Linearity is a dream come true for digital creatives who love to experiment. You can create, rename, import, save, and delete as many custom color palettes as you like. But first, let’s cover the basics.

To find your color palettes in Linearity, tap or click on the Color Widget.

The 12 default color palettes included are:

1. Essentials
2. Rainbow Power
3. Cotton Candy
4. Tokyo Neons
5. Lost in Space
6. Mother Nature
7. Sunset Burn
8. Ocean Blue
9. Hot Desert
10. Vintage Dream
11. Berlin Grays
12. Skin Deep

You can find these in the Palettes Tab at the bottom of the Color Picker in the Inspector.

The Color Palettes Tab in Linearity

While our default palettes provide many hues to work with, you can still create and import your own.

How to import a color palette

Like many designers and digital artists, you’re probably working with multiple software programs. For instance, switching between Procreate and Linearity creates a smooth workflow that allows you to convert raster illustrations into vector designs.

When you’re working on one design with two apps simultaneously, it can be frustrating when you don’t have the right color swatches available all the time. That’s why we made it possible to import palettes in .swatches and .ASE formats into Linearity.

Create, Import, or From Photo options in Linearity"s Palettes Tab.

To import a color palette manually, click on the + button in the top right corner of the Palettes Tab and then choose Import.

Click on the Procreate .swatches file or the Adobe .ASE file and the palette will appear in your Color Picker menu.

You can even drag and drop your color palettes directly from Procreate into Linearity Curve. Watch the short tutorial below to see how to do this.

How to create a new color palette

Creating a brand new color palette in Linearity Curve and Move is super easy.

Click on the Palettes section at the bottom of the Color Widget and click the + button. Then, hit “Create” to start a new empty, greyed-out color palette.

Step 2

To add new colors to your empty color palette, go back to the Color Picker or color sliders to choose the first swatch of your palette. You can even add gradients to your palette.

Ways to add colors to your palette in Linearity

Then, go back to the Palettes Tab and tap the + button inside the empty palette you just created. A new color swatch will appear automatically inside the palette.

Repeat the process to add more colors to your color palette.

If you want to delete a color from your palette, just right-click on the swatch and select “Remove.”

Linearity provides 3,000+ free static and animated design templates for you to customize. Fast-track your color-picking process. Try one of the templates below:

Get this template

Get this template

How to generate a color palette from a photo

Have you ever been drawn to a photo because of its mesmerizing colors? Well, you can create a color palette from any image inside Linearity Curve.

Just like an online color palette generator can generate hues from an image, Linearity can do the same inside the platform. This means you don't even need access to the internet to generate color palettes.

To unlock this feature, click the + icon in the Palettes section of the Color Widget.

Select “From Photo” and then select the photo on your device you want to extract a palette from.

You can use your own photo or one that you find online. It just has to be in JPG or PNG format.

Linearity Curve will automatically create six swatches from the photo. You can now start designing using your new colors.

To give your generated palette a name, click on the options button (three dots) and choose Rename.

How to make a color palette from blending two swatches

Another exciting way to generate a unique, on-brand color palette for your projects is to use Linearity Curve's Color Blending feature.

Color Blending options in Linearity

Use the Shape Tool to create any number of shapes you'd like. Add a base color on opposite sides—we're going to blend the two colors from one side to the other.

Select all your shapes and click on the Color Picker Widget. Navigate to the Effects Tab and choose one of three Color Blending options:

• Blend Horizontally
• Blend Vertically
• Blend Back to Front

You also have the option to Desaturate or Invert in the Color Adjustment section below Color Blending.

This action will create a different color in each shape ranging from one base color to another. Watch the short video tutorial below to see Color Blending in action:

Switch to the Palettes Tab in the Color Picker.

To add these colors to a color palette, click on each shape and then click on the Plus icon next to the swatches to add the Fill color to your palette.

Make memorable designs and animations

Creating your own color combinations can be intimidating, but there are a few tricks to getting it right.

Understanding color theory is a great place to start. For example, using analogous colors (hues next to each other on the color wheel) is one surefire way to create aesthetically pleasing designs.

If you’re still stuck for ideas, try a few online tools like Coolors or Color Hunt for inspiration. You can also download pre-made palettes or swatches and automatically create your own color combinations.

Linearity Move lets you morph colors and shapes in animations. This exciting addition to your marketing design toolbox means you can create dynamic transitions and eye-popping marketing assets.

If you haven't tried Linearity Move to animate your static designs yet, get it for free below. You can also check out our premium pricing for professionals and teams.

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Animate marketing assets in seconds with Linearity Move.

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