Calving face: deep blue under whiteDeep blue fresh break, blue cracks, powder blue weathered face, white snow cap, slate blue fjord water.
Crevasse: cobalt under whiteMidnight blue bottom, cobalt walls, sky blue rim, white snow bridge, slate gray rock.
Glacier snout: blue under pale grayBlue ice front, sky blue fallen blocks, pale blue crushed ice, pale gray old snow, gray moraine rock.
Ice arch: blue and aquaNavy water below, blue underside, aqua sunlit side, white top, pale lavender evening sky.
Ice grotto: azure over navyNavy far end, azure ceiling, aqua lit wall, ice blue mouth, charcoal gravel floor.
Ice tower: powder blue and slate blueSlate blue shadow side, steel blue cracks, powder blue lit side, white top snow, periwinkle sky.
Melt channel: azure in whiteCobalt channel bed, azure running water, pale aqua banks, white ice sheet, lilac dusk sky.
Meltwater pool: turquoise in whiteTeal deep center, turquoise pool, pale aqua shallows, white rim, blue-gray gritty edge.
Rolled iceberg: cobalt and sky blueCobalt core, sky blue flank, pale blue ridges, white frosted top, navy sea.
Wind-swept ice: steel blue and ice blueDeep blue cracks, steel blue polished ice, ice blue scallops, white snow patches, lavender far peaks.
Show all 40 palettes (30 more)
Frost and snowflakes 10
Bus window: ice blue on tealPale aqua breath fog, white frost edge, ice blue frost, teal seat behind, midnight blue street outside.
Fern frost: white on navyWhite fern crystals, ice blue fine branches, pale blue clear glass, navy night behind the glass, silver window frame.
Frosted web: white on slate blueWhite beads, pale lavender threads, pale blue haze, slate blue fence behind, mint lichen.
Greenhouse glass: white on tealWhite frost feathers, mint thin frost, ice blue wet glass, teal plants behind, silver glazing bars.
Morning pane: pale lavender on steel bluePale lavender frost, white thick edge, pale blue clear patch, steel blue garden behind, lilac dawn sky.
Paper snowflake: white on cobaltWhite paper, pale aqua folds, ice blue cut-out shadows, cobalt window at dusk behind, silver thread.
Puddle ice: pale gray on slate grayWhite trapped bubbles, pale gray ice skin, pale blue sky in the ice, slate gray mud behind, blue-gray crack lines.
Six-armed flake: white on indigoWhite arms, ice blue side branches, lavender center, indigo night sky behind, pale gray falling snow.
Snowflake on wool: white on navyWhite snowflake, pale blue shaded arms, pale gray second flake, navy mitten wool, periwinkle cuff.
Windshield: white on charcoalWhite scraped frost, pale gray thick frost, ice blue thin frost, charcoal dashboard behind, blue-gray wiper.
Snow at blue hour 10
Boot prints: pale blue and steel bluePale blue snow, steel blue print shadows, lavender sky, navy far woods, ice blue kicked-up snow.
Far peaks: lavender over cobaltLavender lit peaks, periwinkle snow slopes, cobalt valley shadow, midnight blue near ridge, pale lavender sky.
Frozen river bend: pale blue on cobaltCobalt open water, pale blue shelf ice, steel blue bank shadow, ice blue snow, indigo far bank trees.
Laden pines: powder blue on slate blueNavy trunks, slate blue boughs, powder blue snow on boughs, lavender sky, pale blue ground snow.
Open snowfield: powder blue under indigoIndigo sky, periwinkle horizon glow, powder blue snow, slate blue tree line, pale blue drift tops.
Ski tracks: ice blue under violetIce blue snow, sky blue track shadows, violet sky, navy fir trees, periwinkle far slope.
Snow fence: periwinkle over powder bluePowder blue drift, slate gray fence slats, blue slat shadows, periwinkle sky, pale lavender drift crest.
Snowman at dusk: pale blue on indigoPale blue lit side, periwinkle shaded side, indigo sky, steel blue stick arms, lavender snow.
Snowy roofs: periwinkle under navyNavy sky, periwinkle roof snow, slate blue walls, lavender chimney smoke, deep blue dark windows.
Swept pond: sky blue on deep blueDeep blue pond ice, sky blue blade marks, periwinkle snow bank, indigo pines, pale lavender sky.
Ice and one warm color 10
Buoy in ice: scarlet on navyNavy open water, steel blue slush, pale gray floes, white snow on floes, scarlet buoy.
Dropped mitten: red on whiteWhite snow, pale blue shadow, powder blue ice, slate blue fence, red mitten.
Fish under ice: orange in tealTeal water below, aqua clear ice, pale aqua bubbles, white snow edge, orange fish.
Fox on the ice: orange on pale grayPale gray lake ice, white snow, blue-gray far shore, steel blue shadow, orange fox.
Frozen berries: scarlet in whiteWhite frost, pale aqua iced twig, blue-gray sky, slate gray branch, scarlet berries.
Icebreaker hull: rust in pale blueDeep blue channel, pale blue broken ice, white floes, silver sky, rust hull.
Lantern on a sled: amber on midnight blueMidnight blue night, slate blue snow, ice blue lit snow, silver sled runners, amber lantern.
Skater's scarf: hot pink on pale bluePale blue rink ice, white blade marks, periwinkle shadow, cobalt coat, hot pink scarf.
Sunlit berg tip: peach on azureNavy sea, azure berg in shade, sky blue waterline, ice blue snow, peach sunlit tip.
Tent on the ice: yellow on ice blueWhite snow, ice blue frozen lake, sky blue shadow, indigo dusk sky, yellow tent.
How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-14: palettes of five cold colors in four kinds (glacier ice, frost and snowflakes, snow at blue hour, ice and one warm color). Every palette, name, color word, hex code and part is our own choice; nothing is sampled from a photograph, and no place, film, brand or product is named. How a strip is ordered: each color is named for its part of one small scene, and the name carries two of the colors; a Glacier ice strip runs from its deepest blue up to a near-white, then one thing beside the ice; an Ice and one warm color strip ends with its warm color. Our own tests, not a standard: outside the warm accents every color is cold (an HSL hue from 150 to 290 degrees, or a saturation of 16 percent or less); in a Glacier ice strip the first three are blues of the ice (a hue from 170 to 240 degrees), each of the first four is lighter than the one before (WCAG relative luminance, the formula at https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html) and the fourth has a lightness of 84 percent or more; a Frost and snowflakes strip holds three or more pale colors (a lightness of 78 percent or more) and one color behind them at 50 percent or less; a Snow at blue hour strip holds four or more blues and violets (a hue from 195 to 275 degrees) and nothing lighter than 92 percent; an Ice and one warm color strip is four cold colors and then one warm one (a hue from 335 degrees around to 55 at a saturation of 60 percent or more). The facts in the page copy, checked on 2026-10-14 against English Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0): Blue ice (glacial), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_ice_(glacial) (small amounts of regular ice appear white because of air bubbles inside; in glaciers the pressure squeezes the air bubbles out, increasing the density of the ice; water is blue in large quantities, as it absorbs other colors more efficiently than blue, and a large piece of compressed ice similarly appears blue); Snowflake, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowflake (snow appears white in color despite being made of clear ice, because the many small crystal facets of the snowflakes scatter the sunlight between them); Frost, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost#Window_frost (window frost, also called fern frost or ice flowers, forms when a glass pane is exposed to very cold air on the outside and warmer, moderately moist air on the inside); Blue hour, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_hour (the period of twilight when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon; during this time the remaining sunlight takes on a mostly blue shade). That snow at blue hour is painted without white is our own choice. 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 2026-10-14: every code is #RRGGBB, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, 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, 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 icy color palette is pale blue, white and gray, with a deep blue where the ice is thick. Glacier ice is blue because its air bubbles have been squeezed out, and water absorbs other colors more than blue.
Read the full guide
Glacier ice, frost and a snowflake color palette
A Glacier ice strip starts with its deepest blue and climbs to a near-white, then adds one thing beside the ice. For a snowflake color palette, choose Frost and snowflakes: three or more pale colors on one darker color behind them. Snowflake on wool is white, pale blue and pale gray on a navy mitten.
Blue hour, and one warm color
At blue hour the Sun is well below the horizon and the light that remains is mostly blue, so these strips paint snow with no white: powder blue, periwinkle, lavender. Ice and one warm color is four cold colors and a single warm one, last.
Questions and answers
What colors are in an icy color palette?
On this list: white #F8FAFC, ice blue #D2ECF9, pale blue #BAD4F3 and powder blue #A1C2D9, deepened with cobalt #1D4BAF and navy #17284F and grayed with silver and slate. Outside the warm accents every color is a cold one.
What color is a snowflake?
White to the eye, though it is clear ice: the many small facets of the crystals scatter the sunlight. To draw one, set white on a dark, as in Six-armed flake: white arms, ice blue side branches and a lavender center on indigo.
What warm color goes with icy blues?
One. Dropped mitten is a red mitten on white snow with pale blue and powder blue around it; Fish under ice is an orange fish under aqua ice. The accents here are red, scarlet, orange, amber, yellow, peach, rust and hot pink.