40 palettes

Comic Color Palette

Press the button for one comic palette: five flat colors mixed from four inks, with hex codes.

Comic Color Palette

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Caped flyer: red and deep blueRed cape, deep blue suit, yellow belt, peach face, black line. Peach is magenta 25%, yellow 25%.#E2120A · #000D75 · #FBE313 · #F5BCA6 · #1A1718

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All 40 palettes

Four-color primaries 8

Caped flyer: red and deep blue Red cape, deep blue suit, yellow belt, peach face, black line. Peach is magenta 25%, yellow 25%.
Cowboy at noon: yellow and cyan Yellow desert, cyan sky, green cactus, golden brown horse, black line.
Impact burst: yellow and red Yellow burst, red lettering, cyan sky, orange burst edge, black line. Orange is magenta 50%, yellow 100%.
Pit lane: red and yellow Red car, yellow number disc, green grass, warm gray track, black tires. Warm gray is cyan 25%, magenta 25%, yellow 25%.
Rocket cover: red and cyan Red rocket, cyan planet, deep blue space, light yellow flame, black line. Light yellow is yellow 50%.
Sea monster: green and deep blue Green monster, deep blue sea, magenta tongue, light green belly, black line. Light green is cyan 50%, yellow 50%.
Strongman: magenta and yellow Magenta leotard, yellow tent stripe, cyan sky, apricot arms, black line. Apricot is magenta 25%, yellow 50%.
Tiger in the leaves: green and magenta Green leaves, magenta flower, yellow eyes, orange tiger, black stripes. Orange is magenta 50%, yellow 100%.

Show all 40 palettes (32 more)

Aged newsprint 8

Attic find: faded green and orange Yellowed paper page, faded green jungle, faded orange tiger, faded magenta flower, aged black line.
Back-issue bin: faded red and deep blue Yellowed paper page, faded red cape, faded deep blue suit, faded yellow burst, aged black line.
Coupon page: faded red and cyan Yellowed paper page, faded red headline, faded cyan coupon box, faded pink starburst, aged black small print.
Dog-eared cover: faded yellow and purple Yellowed paper page, faded yellow title, faded purple night sky, faded aqua moon glow, aged black line.
Letters page: faded blue and peach Yellowed paper page, faded blue heading, faded peach face, faded magenta border, aged black type.
Spinner rack: faded deep blue and orange Yellowed paper page, faded deep blue masthead, faded orange explosion, faded lime green robot, aged black line.
Swap pile: faded green and cyan Yellowed paper page, faded green monster, faded cyan sea, faded golden brown raft, aged black line.
Taped spine: faded pink and blue Yellowed paper page, faded pink heart, faded blue dress, faded yellow hair, aged black line.

Night in the city 8

Clock tower: light yellow on blue Blue sky, pale lavender tower, light yellow dial, purple shadows, black hands.
Fire escape: light yellow on midnight blue Midnight blue wall, purple shadows, light yellow window, cornflower blue railing, black line.
Rainy lamp post: golden yellow on deep blue Deep blue street, sky blue rain, golden yellow lamp, blue puddles, black post.
Rooftop tank: pale yellow on midnight blue Midnight blue sky, cornflower blue tank, pale yellow moon, blue roofline, black legs.
Rooftop watch: yellow on deep blue Deep blue sky, blue rooftops, yellow moon, periwinkle clouds, black figure.
Skyline leap: yellow on purple Purple sky, deep blue towers, yellow windows, magenta glow, black figure.
Speeding sedan: yellow on blue Blue road, red tail lights, yellow headlights, pale blue exhaust, black car.
Subway steps: orange on midnight blue Midnight blue street, emerald green railing, orange globe lamp, pale blue steps, black line.

Cosmic 8

Alien sun: red and orange Black space, red sun, orange corona, golden yellow flare, green planet.
Comet streak: cyan and pale yellow Deep blue space, cyan tail, pale yellow head, magenta streak, black void.
Energy dots: magenta and light yellow Black space, magenta energy, light yellow core, cyan sparks, purple haze.
Meteor shower: orange and red Midnight blue sky, orange meteors, red trails, light yellow sparks, black ridge.
Moon base: pale lavender and sky blue Deep blue sky, pale lavender dust, sky blue dome, red beacon, black shadows.
Planet and ring: orange and golden yellow Black space, orange planet, golden yellow ring, purple shadow, pale blue stars.
Portal ring: purple and pink Black space, purple ring, pink inner glow, orange sparks, light yellow core.
Star route: pale blue and yellow Deep blue chart, pale blue grid lines, yellow stars, pink route, black border.

Screentone grays 8

Cat in shadow: 30, 50 and 80 percent White paper, black dots: 30 percent floor, 50 percent fur, 80 percent shadow. Black line.
Clouds over roofs: 10, 20 and 50 percent Cream paper, blue-black dots: 10 percent cloud shadow, 20 percent sky, 50 percent rooftops. Blue-black line.
Folded umbrella: 10, 30 and 60 percent Cream paper, blue-black dots: 10 percent puddle, 30 percent pavement, 60 percent umbrella. Blue-black line.
Hallway at dusk: 30, 50 and 80 percent Cream paper, blue-black dots: 30 percent window light, 50 percent lockers, 80 percent far wall. Blue-black line.
Last train: 10, 50 and 90 percent White paper, black dots: 10 percent window glow, 50 percent carriage, 90 percent night sky. Black line.
Rainy window: 10, 30 and 60 percent White paper, black dots: 10 percent sky, 30 percent wall, 60 percent coat. Black line.
School blazer: 20, 40 and 70 percent White paper, black dots: 20 percent shirt shadow, 40 percent skirt, 70 percent blazer. Black line.
Sneakers by the door: 20, 40 and 70 percent Cream paper, blue-black dots: 20 percent laces, 40 percent canvas, 70 percent doormat. Blue-black line.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-16: palettes of five colors for a comic page, in five kinds (four-color primaries, the same inks on aged newsprint, a night in the city, a cosmic spread, screentone grays). Every palette, name, color word and part is our own choice; nothing is sampled from a printed comic, and no character, title, publisher, artist or studio is named. How the codes are made, worked out by script and not measured from ink: four inks of our own choosing (cyan #00AAE8, magenta #E61486, yellow #FFE814, black #1A1718) on a paper (white #FBFAF5, yellowed #EBDDB8 or cream #F4EEDD). A tint is the even blend of an ink and its paper, as dots covering that share of the paper read from a step back; inks printed over each other multiply, channel by channel. Cyan, magenta and yellow are each used at none, a quarter, half or full strength, which are our own steps. Both rules are approximations for a screen. How a strip is ordered: each color is named for its part of one panel or cover. Four-color primaries: three or more flats whose inks are all at full strength, one part-strength mix in fourth place, the black line last. Aged newsprint: the yellowed paper first, three mixes printed on it, the black on that paper last. Night in the city: a blue or purple night first, the black last, and one light that contrasts with the night by 4.5 to 1 or more (WCAG contrast ratio, the formula at https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html). Cosmic: black, deep blue or midnight blue first, no gray, and a magenta, purple, red or pink. Screentone grays: the paper, three tones of black dots (ink black on white paper, or a blue-black #161B2E on cream paper) at the stated share of the paper, light to dark, then the black. The outside facts in the page copy, checked on 2026-10-16 against English Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0): CMYK color model, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model (four inks, cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the key plate; pairwise combinations of cyan, magenta and yellow inks produce red, green and blue; halftoning varies the size and spacing of small ink dots, so that 20% coverage of magenta gives a pink; the process was first implemented in the 1890s for color newspaper illustrations and comic strips); Colorist, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorist (CMYK codes were written on the page to indicate the final printed colors, and the hand-colored pages were used as guides by the engraver; by the early 1990s one large publisher allowed only a 64-color palette and another had expanded it to 125 colors); Screentone, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screentone (a technique for applying textures and shades to drawings, used as an alternative to hatching; in the conventional process, patterns are transferred to paper from preprinted sheets). That three inks at four strengths make 64 mixes is arithmetic; the articles do not say that the 64 colors of that publisher were these. 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 2026-10-16: every code is #RRGGBB, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code (a dot tone is named by its share of the paper), no palette, name or line repeats, no two palettes share four codes, no two colors of a palette are closer than 8 in CIE Lab (5 between dot tones), 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

Comics are printed in four inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Each color in this comic color palette mixes the first three at none, a quarter, half or full strength, worked out for a screen; black is the line.

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Read a strip as an ink recipe

Red is magenta over yellow, both at full strength. Green is cyan over yellow, and deep blue is cyan over magenta. Orange is yellow with half magenta; peach is a quarter of each. A Four-color primaries strip is three such flats, one part-strength mix and the black line.

Vintage comic color palette

The Aged newsprint group prints the same inks on yellowed paper #EBDDB8, so every color darkens and warms: cyan turns toward teal, pink toward salmon. Night in the city starts with a blue or purple night and adds one light. Screentone grays are black dots over a stated share of the paper.

Questions and answers

What colors are used in comic books?

Four inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the key plate. In pairs, cyan, magenta and yellow give red, green and blue; lighter colors come from dots that let the paper show. The process was first used in the 1890s for newspaper illustrations and comic strips.

What is a vintage comic color palette?

The same flat mixes on paper that has yellowed. Back-issue bin is faded red #D41008, faded deep blue #000C58 and faded yellow #EBC90E on paper #EBDDB8, with an aged black line. Pick Aged newsprint in the menu for more.

How many colors did old comics use?

A limited set. Colorists wrote ink codes on a hand-colored page, and the engraver used it as a guide. By the early 1990s one large publisher allowed only 64 colors and another 125. Three inks at four strengths, as on this list, also make 64.

What is screentone?

A way to shade a drawing with printed patterns instead of hatching; the patterns are transferred to the paper from preprinted sheets. Each Screentone grays strip gives three tones by the share of paper its dots cover: Rainy window is 10, 30 and 60 percent.