Chart tube: parchment and dark brownParchment rolled charts, dark brown leather tube, tan strap, ink black stamped letters, gold cap.
Compass points: cream and navyCream paper, navy dark points, sky blue light points, ink black lettering, gold center.
Dotted route: cream and oliveCream map sheet, olive forest patches, khaki hills, ink black place names, red dotted route.
Field journal: parchment and brownParchment page, brown leather cover, sepia handwriting, green pressed leaf, orange ribbon marker.
Pass sketch: sand and slate graySand page, slate gray pencil peaks, sepia contour lines, pale blue glacier wash, orange camp mark.
Sea serpent corner: sand and tealSand old chart, teal serpent, ink black outline, sky blue waves, red tongue.
Star wheel: cream and navyCream card, navy sky window, gray pencil notes, ink black rim marks, yellow stars.
Treasure chart: parchment and sepiaParchment paper, sepia coastline ink, sand land wash, sky blue sea wash, red X mark.
Show all 40 palettes (32 more)
Jungle and river 8
Dugout canoe: brown and tealBrown canoe, teal river, green bank, olive packs, yellow paddle blade.
Hammock camp: khaki and forest greenKhaki hammock, forest green trees, olive netting, brown trunks, orange camp fire.
Hidden falls: white and greenWhite falls, green ferns, teal pool, forest green shadow, yellow raincoat.
Lost steps: gray and greenGray stone steps, green vines, forest green shadow, khaki dropped hat, gold carved sun.
Muddy boots: brown and oliveBrown boots, olive wet leaves, terracotta mud, green ferns, orange laces.
Rope bridge: tan and forest greenTan rope, forest green gorge, brown planks, lime sunlit leaves, red bandana on the rail.
Tent lantern: forest green and charcoalForest green leaves, charcoal night, olive tent, teal river glint, yellow lantern.
Trail blaze: forest green and limeForest green undergrowth, lime new leaves, olive trunk, tan trail, orange paint mark.
Canyon and desert 8
Desert camp fire: navy and rustNavy night sky, rust lit rocks, dark brown shadows, sand ground by the fire, orange fire.
Dune caravan: sand and ochreSand dunes, ochre shadow side, brown camels, sky blue horizon, red saddle blankets.
Dusty trail: tan and sage greenTan trail, sage green scrub, ochre dry grass, brown saddlebag, red neckerchief.
Mesa glow: rust and peachRust mesa, peach sky, dusty violet far cliffs, brown foreground, yellow sun edge.
Palm oasis: sand and greenSand dunes, green palms, tan mud wall, brown trunks, turquoise pool.
River canyon: terracotta and rustTerracotta sunlit wall, rust shadow wall, sand canyon floor, sky blue strip overhead, turquoise river below.
Slot canyon: terracotta and dark brownTerracotta curved walls, dark brown deep shadow, ochre lit ledge, sand floor, yellow shaft of light.
Stone arch: rust and sky blueRust arch, sky blue opening, ochre lit face, tan bare rock, lime tent.
Open sea and islands 8
Bottle on the tide: turquoise and sandTurquoise wave, sand wet shore, white foam, cream rolled note, red wax stopper.
Lookout aloft: sky blue and creamSky blue horizon, cream sails, blue sea, brown mast, red pennant.
Reef light: navy and creamNavy night sea, cream tower, teal swell, blue moonlit water, yellow beam.
Row ashore: turquoise and sandTurquoise lagoon, sand beach, blue open sea, brown rowboat, red oar blades.
Sea chart: navy and sky blueNavy deep water, sky blue shallows, parchment land, ink black depth lines, red compass needle.
Storm crossing: slate gray and navySlate gray storm sky, navy waves, white spray, charcoal hull, yellow oilskin coat.
Sunken anchor: teal and turquoiseTeal deep water, turquoise lit water, rust anchor, sand seabed, gold lone coin.
Whale off the bow: blue and slate grayBlue sea, slate gray whale, white spout, sky blue horizon, orange life ring.
Mountains and ice 8
Base camp: white and slate grayWhite snow, slate gray rock, pale blue ice shadow, navy high sky, orange tents.
Ice tunnel: pale blue and tealPale blue ice walls, teal deep ice, white snow floor, navy tunnel dark, yellow headlamp.
Peak at dawn: peach and dusty violetPeach lit peak, dusty violet shadowed slopes, navy valley, white snow line, yellow hut window.
Roped climbers: pale blue and whitePale blue glacier, white snow ridge, dusty violet shadow, charcoal crevasse, red jackets.
Sled on the ice: white and dusty violetWhite snow, dusty violet long shadows, gray dogs, brown sled, orange harness.
Stone hut: gray and greenGray hut walls, green meadow, white far snow, brown door, red shutters.
Summit flag: sky blue and whiteSky blue thin air, white summit, gray bare rock, pale blue cornice shadow, red flag.
Switchback trail: gray and slate grayGray scree, slate gray cliff, sage green low plants, tan path, orange backpack.
How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-09: palettes of five colors for pictures of maps and journeys, sorted by terrain (old maps and ink, jungle and river, canyon and desert, open sea and islands, mountains and ice). Every palette, name, color word, hex code and part is our own choice; nothing is sampled from a photograph, a map, a film or a game, and the page states no outside fact. How a strip is ordered: the land, the sea or the paper first, each color named for its part, and last the stand-out, the one bright thing in the picture (a tent, a flag, a lantern, the X on a map). The name carries two of the colors. Our own tests, not a standard: the stand-out has an HSL saturation of 60 percent or more and is 25 or more in CIE Lab from every other color of its strip; an Old maps strip starts with a paper (parchment, cream or sand) and holds an ink that contrasts with it by 4.5 to 1 or more (the WCAG contrast ratio formula, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html, used as our own threshold); a Jungle and river strip holds two or more greens (a hue from 60 to 170 degrees); a Canyon and desert strip holds two or more of rust, terracotta, ochre, sand, tan and brown; an Open sea strip holds two or more colors of the water (a hue from 170 to 250 degrees); a Mountains and ice strip holds two or more of white, pale blue, gray, slate gray, dusty violet, sky blue, navy and teal; no two colors of a palette are closer than 8 in CIE Lab; no two palettes share four codes. Color names are plain English words with no paint maker, pencil brand or color-matching system, and one word is one code everywhere on this list. Checked on 2026-10-09: every code is #RRGGBB, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, no palette, name or line repeats, and no palette is on another palette list of this site or of its sister sites. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint, pencils or markers, take the nearest color. Licence: own work
How it works
An adventure color palette here is a place and one thing meant to be seen in it: an orange tent on snow, a red X on parchment.
Read the full guide
Pick the terrain
The menu under the button sorts the palettes by where the journey goes. Old maps and ink start with parchment, cream or sand and hold a dark ink. Jungle and river is greens, from lime to forest green, with browns for rope, planks and boots. Canyon and desert is rust, terracotta, ochre and sand. Open sea runs from turquoise shallows to navy. Mountains and ice is mostly white, pale blue and gray.
Use the stand-out once
The last color of every strip is the one bright thing: a tent, a flag, a lantern, a life ring. Keep it small and put it where the eye should land. For a journey to go with the place, deal one from adventure story ideas.
Questions and answers
What colors represent adventure?
On this list, the colors of terrain and kit: parchment #E6D4B3, khaki #B6A872, rust #AB4621, forest green #1F5130 and navy #17284F, plus one bright signal, most often red #D7241D. That reading is our own.
What colors are on a treasure map?
Paper first, then a dark ink and one bright mark. Sea serpent corner is an old chart in sand #E1C698 with ink black outlines, a teal serpent and one red tongue. Compass points puts navy and sky blue on cream around a gold center.
What colors go with khaki?
Greens and browns. Hammock camp sets khaki #B6A872 with forest green, olive and brown around one orange camp fire; Dotted route puts khaki hills on a cream map beside olive forest.
What are good desert colors?
Rust #AB4621, terracotta #CE6A46, ochre #D99D26 and sand, with a cool color for relief. River canyon adds a strip of sky blue and a turquoise river; Desert camp fire sets rust and sand under a navy night.