Cook fire: ember orange and tealDark brown, ember orange, cream and teal. Teal is the accent: a little on the tent behind the fire.#362217 · #F15D27 · #F9EFD2 · #188B8B
Adobe yard: terracotta and turquoiseBrick red, terracotta, pale peach and turquoise. Turquoise is the accent: a little on a thin strip of sky.
Autumn porch: pumpkin and forest greenMaroon, pumpkin, wheat and forest green. Forest green is the accent: a little on the wreath on the door.
Beekeeper's shelf: honey and lavenderSepia, honey, cream and lavender. Lavender is the accent: a little on the jar labels.
Bun tray: caramel and rose pinkChestnut, caramel, vanilla and rose pink. Rose pink is the accent: a little on the icing.
Clay rooftops: clay and azureCocoa, clay, linen and azure. Azure is the accent: a little in one gap of sky.
Cook fire: ember orange and tealDark brown, ember orange, cream and teal. Teal is the accent: a little on the tent behind the fire.
Fox den: rust and fern greenUmber, rust, peach and fern green. Fern green is the accent: a little on the ferns at the edge.
Lantern street: scarlet and cobaltWine, scarlet, pale gold and cobalt. Cobalt is the accent: a little on the far windows.
Marigold stall: orange and violetBurgundy, orange, butter and violet. Violet is the accent: a little on one ribbon.
Toast and jam: amber and crimsonWalnut, amber, ivory and crimson. Crimson is the accent: a little on the jam.
Show all 60 palettes (50 more)
Cool 10
Blueberry bowl: indigo and limeDeep purple, indigo, pale lilac and lime. Lime is the accent: a little on the leaves.
Glacier hut: steel blue and scarletNavy, steel blue, ice blue and scarlet. Scarlet is the accent: a little on the hut door.
Guppy tank: cyan and tangerineDeep teal, cyan, seafoam and tangerine. Tangerine is the accent: a little on the smallest fish.
Ice rink: sky blue and crimsonDeep indigo, sky blue, pale cyan and crimson. Crimson is the accent: a little on a scarf.
Iris bed: amethyst and yellowDeep violet, amethyst, pale lavender and yellow. Yellow is the accent: a little at the heart of each flower.
Night swim: indigo and goldMidnight blue, indigo, pale blue and gold. Gold is the accent: a little on the moon in the water.
Pier rail: sky blue and orangeDeep blue, sky blue, snow white and orange. Orange is the accent: a little on the life ring.
Pine lake: jade and salmonPine green, jade, mint and salmon. Salmon is the accent: a little on one canoe.
Rain walk: dusty blue and amberCharcoal, dusty blue, pale gray and amber. Amber is the accent: a little on the boots.
Starfish ledge: turquoise and coralDeep teal, turquoise, pale mint and coral. Coral is the accent: a little on one starfish.
Earthy 10
Barley rows: old gold and scarletBrown, old gold, pale yellow and scarlet. Scarlet is the accent: a little on a few poppies.
Gorge ledge: rust and sky blueChestnut, rust, wheat and sky blue. Sky blue is the accent: a little in the gap of sky.
Mushroom log: moss green and ember orangeDark brown, moss green, parchment and ember orange. Ember orange is the accent: a little on the mushroom caps.
Olive grove: olive and crimsonDark brown, olive, linen and crimson. Crimson is the accent: a little on a picnic cloth.
Potter's shelf: terracotta and denimWalnut, terracotta, bone and denim. Denim is the accent: a little on one glazed rim.
Potting bench: bronze and tealUmber, bronze, bone and teal. Teal is the accent: a little on the watering can.
Reed bank: olive and turquoiseSepia, olive, sand and turquoise. Turquoise is the accent: a little on a moored rowboat.
Spice jars: copper and emeraldCocoa, copper, parchment and emerald. Emerald is the accent: a little on the lids.
Straw bales: ochre and brick redUmber, ochre, straw and brick red. Brick red is the accent: a little on the tractor.
Trail boots: leather brown and jadeCocoa, leather brown, tan and jade. Jade is the accent: a little on the laces.
Pale 10
Crib mobile: pink and sky blueSteel gray, pink, pearl white and sky blue. Sky blue is the accent: a little on one hanging star.
Hazy morning: lavender and honeySlate blue, lavender, pale lavender and honey. Honey is the accent: a little on the rim of the sun.
Lawn chair: pale aqua and roseEarth brown, pale aqua, white and rose. Rose is the accent: a little on the stripes.
Nursery wall: pale yellow and coralDenim, pale yellow, ivory and coral. Coral is the accent: a little on one toy.
Shell tray: blush and aquaGrape, blush, pearl white and aqua. Aqua is the accent: a little inside one shell.
Sled hill: pale gray and apricotSlate gray, pale gray, snow white and apricot. Apricot is the accent: a little on the low sun.
Sorbet cups: peach and hot pinkOld rose, peach, cream and hot pink. Hot pink is the accent: a little on the spoons.
Spring laundry: pale blue and lemonSteel blue, pale blue, snow white and lemon. Lemon is the accent: a little on the clothespins.
Tadpole pond: pale green and ember orangeFern green, pale green, vanilla and ember orange. Ember orange is the accent: a little on a single goldfish.
Wisteria gate: lilac and salmonPurple, lilac, pale lilac and salmon. Salmon is the accent: a little on a passing butterfly.
Dark 10
Cellar door: walnut and amberSoft black, walnut, wheat and amber. Amber is the accent: a little on the crack of light.
Deep trench: deep blue and limeDark teal, deep blue, pale cyan and lime. Lime is the accent: a little on one glowing fish.
Footlights: burgundy and goldBlack, burgundy, bone and gold. Gold is the accent: a little on the curtain rope.
Forge: dark gray and pumpkinSoft black, dark gray, warm gray and pumpkin. Pumpkin is the accent: a little on the hot metal.
Old library: maroon and tealDark brown, maroon, parchment and teal. Teal is the accent: a little on one book spine.
Owl wood: forest green and ember orangePine green, forest green, sage and ember orange. Ember orange is the accent: a little on the owl's eyes.
Rail crossing: navy and scarletBlue-black, navy, powder blue and scarlet. Scarlet is the accent: a little on the crossing lights.
Screen door: deep indigo and honeyBlue-black, deep indigo, pale gray and honey. Honey is the accent: a little on the porch bulb.
Storm harbor: deep teal and amberInk blue, deep teal, silver and amber. Amber is the accent: a little on one lit window.
Velvet chair: plum and emeraldDark plum, plum, dusty pink and emerald. Emerald is the accent: a little on one cushion.
High contrast 10
Arcade door: magenta and limeBlue-black, magenta, pale cyan and lime. Lime is the accent: a little on the buttons.
Bee stripe: amber and bright blueSoft black, amber, ivory and bright blue. Bright blue is the accent: a little on the sky behind.
Carrot nose: royal blue and pumpkinBlack, royal blue, snow white and pumpkin. Pumpkin is the accent: a little on the snowman's nose.
Chalkboard: emerald and yellowPine green, emerald, white and yellow. Yellow is the accent: a little on the underlines.
Hazard stripe: yellow and tangerineBlack, yellow, white and tangerine. Tangerine is the accent: a little on one warning light.
Ladybug leaf: red and bright greenBlack, red, pale mint and bright green. Bright green is the accent: a little on the leaf veins.
Poster wall: hot pink and cyanBlue-black, hot pink, white and cyan. Cyan is the accent: a little on the lettering.
Race flag: bright green and electric blueBlack, bright green, chalk white and electric blue. Electric blue is the accent: a little on the numbers.
Road cones: orange and cobaltSoft black, orange, white and cobalt. Cobalt is the accent: a little on the sign behind.
Sound effect: bright blue and tangerineInk blue, bright blue, snow white and tangerine. Tangerine is the accent: a little on the letters.
How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-02: palettes of exactly four colors, each in one fixed order: a dark, a main color, a light and one accent. The order and the tests are our own, not a standard. On every palette the dark is the darkest of the four and the light is the lightest (WCAG relative luminance, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html), the dark and the light contrast by 3 to 1 or more, and the accent stands 25 or more in CIE Lab from each of the other three. The groups are filed by our own lines. Warm: the dark, the main color and the light have a hue from red through orange to yellow, browns and creams included. Cool: those three have a hue from blue-leaning green through blue to violet, cool grays included. Earthy: the dark and the main color are browns, ochres or dull greens. Pale: the main color and the light are pale and the dark is a mid tone. Dark: the dark is close to black and the main color is deep. High contrast: the dark and the light contrast by 12 to 1 or more and the main color and the accent are strong. In every group the accent is free and often comes from the other side of the wheel. Every palette, name, color word, hex code and line is our own; a name is a picture the four colors could paint, and the line says where a little of the accent would go in that picture. Color names are plain English words with no paint maker, pencil brand or color-matching system, and one word is one code everywhere on the list. What a tetradic scheme is was checked on 2026-10-02 against Wikipedia, Color scheme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_scheme): it uses four colors arranged into two complementary pairs. Checked on 2026-10-02: every code is #RRGGBB, no palette and no name repeats, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, no two palettes share three colors, no palette is one of the four-color palettes of the art color challenge, no palette is on another palette list of this site or of its sister sites or sits inside one of their larger palettes, and none shares three of its four codes with a palette on another of those lists. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint or pencils, take the nearest color. Licence: own work
How it works
Each palette here is exactly four colors in one order: a dark, a main color, a light and one accent. The strip shows them from the top down, with the hex codes under the line.
Read the full guide
Read the strip
The top swatch is the dark, for lines and shadows. The second is the main color, the one for most of the picture. The third is the light. The last is the accent, and the line under the name says where a little of it could go.
Pick a kind
A menu under the button keeps to one group: warm, cool, earthy, pale, dark or high contrast. Like other 4 color schemes, these still need a subject; the art prompt generator deals one.
Questions and answers
What are four colors that go well together?
A dark, a main color, a light and one accent make a set of four with a job for each, such as dark brown, ember orange, cream and teal. Every palette on this page is built that way.
How are these four color combinations sorted?
By our own tests: warm, cool, earthy, pale, dark and high contrast. In the warm and cool groups the dark, the main color and the light pass the test, and the accent may come from the other side of the wheel.
Is a four color palette the same as a tetradic color scheme?
No. A tetradic scheme is four colors arranged as two complementary pairs on the color wheel. These palettes are sorted by job instead: a dark, a main color, a light and an accent, which can sit anywhere on the wheel.
Which of the four colors is the accent?
The last one on the strip. The line under the name gives its name and one small place for it.