Palm island: avocado green and sandPalms in pale green, avocado green and olive; beach in cream, sand and tan.#C3E7B1 · #7C9C3A · #596124 · #F8EFD3 · #E2CAA2 · #BF9469
Coral shelf: pink and turquoiseCoral in pale pink, pink and rose pink; water in aqua, turquoise and teal.
Lighthouse rock: red and grayLighthouse stripes in coral, red and maroon; rock in pale gray, gray and charcoal.
Mangrove shore: green and tealLeaves in lime, green and forest green; water in turquoise, teal and dark teal.
Palm island: avocado green and sandPalms in pale green, avocado green and olive; beach in cream, sand and tan.
Sailboat cove: pale gray and sky blueSails in white, pale gray and gray; water in pale blue, sky blue and azure.
Sandbar: tawny and sky blueSand in apricot, tawny and brown; shallows in pale blue, sky blue and azure.
Sea stack: khaki and blueRock in beige, khaki and umber; water in periwinkle, blue and navy.
Stilt hut: red and turquoiseRoof in coral, red and maroon; sea in aqua, turquoise and teal.
Volcano isle: dark gray and turquoiseCone in gray, dark gray and black; sea in aqua, turquoise and teal.
Whale tail: denim blue and sky blueWhale in silver, denim blue and navy; sea in pale blue, sky blue and azure.
Show all 50 palettes (40 more)
Forest 10
Birch stand: pale gray and limeTrunks in white, pale gray and gray; leaves in pale yellow, lime and avocado green.
Cabin clearing: brown and emerald greenCabin in tan, brown and dark brown; pines in seafoam green, emerald green and dark green.
Deer at the stream: khaki and sky blueDeer in beige, khaki and umber; stream in pale blue, sky blue and azure.
Fall woods: amber and brownLeaves in yellow, amber and rust; trunks in tan, brown and dark brown.
Fox in ferns: orange and greenFox in apricot, orange and rust; ferns in lime, green and forest green.
Mossy boulder: sage green and dark grayMoss in mint, sage green and forest green; boulder in gray, dark gray and black.
Mossy falls: pale aqua and sage greenFalls in white, pale aqua and sky blue; walls in mint, sage green and forest green.
Owl at dusk: brown and purpleOwl in tan, brown and dark brown; sky in violet, purple and deep purple.
Pine ridge: emerald green and grayPines in seafoam green, emerald green and dark green; rock in pale gray, gray and charcoal.
Spotted caps: red and avocado greenCaps in coral, red and maroon; grass in pale green, avocado green and olive.
Desert 10
Cactus flat: avocado green and tawnyCactus in pale green, avocado green and olive; sand in apricot, tawny and brown.
Camel caravan: khaki and yellowCamels in beige, khaki and umber; dunes in pale yellow, yellow and mustard.
Canyon bend: terracotta and tealWalls in salmon, terracotta and burnt sienna; river in turquoise, teal and dark teal.
Desert fox: beige and terracottaFox in cream, beige and khaki; rocks in salmon, terracotta and burnt sienna.
Dune sea: tawny and pale lavenderDunes in apricot, tawny and brown; sky in white, pale lavender and periwinkle.
Gravel wash: khaki and orangeBed in beige, khaki and umber; banks in peach, orange and rust.
Mesa at noon: orange and sky blueMesa in peach, orange and rust; sky in pale blue, sky blue and azure.
Oasis pool: turquoise and avocado greenPool in aqua, turquoise and teal; palms in pale green, avocado green and olive.
Red arch: terracotta and blueArch in salmon, terracotta and burnt sienna; sky in periwinkle, blue and navy.
Sandstone spires: orange and lavenderSpires in peach, orange and rust; shadows in pale lavender, lavender and dusty violet.
Snow 10
Bear on the ice: beige and aquaBear in cream, beige and khaki; ice in pale aqua, aqua and cobalt blue.
Drifting berg: pale aqua and blueBerg in white, pale aqua and sky blue; sea in periwinkle, blue and navy.
Frozen tarn: aqua and pale lavenderIce in pale aqua, aqua and cobalt blue; banks in white, pale lavender and periwinkle.
Glacier cave: aqua and navyIce in pale aqua, aqua and cobalt blue; cave mouth in indigo, navy and midnight blue.
Hut in a drift: brown and lavenderHut in tan, brown and dark brown; snow in pale lavender, lavender and dusty violet.
Ice peak: pale lavender and graySnow in white, pale lavender and periwinkle; rock in pale gray, gray and charcoal.
Penguin floe: dark gray and pale aquaPenguins in gray, dark gray and black; ice in white, pale aqua and sky blue.
Pine in snow: emerald green and pale bluePines in seafoam green, emerald green and dark green; snow in white, pale blue and dusty blue.
Ski slope: pale blue and redSlope in white, pale blue and dusty blue; gates in coral, red and maroon.
Snow hut: pale blue and lavenderBlocks in white, pale blue and dusty blue; ground in pale lavender, lavender and dusty violet.
Night 10
Campfire camp: orange and navyFire in yellow, orange and red; sky in indigo, navy and midnight blue.
Lantern boat: orange and tealLantern in yellow, orange and red; water in turquoise, teal and dark teal.
Lightning bugs: yellow and forest greenFireflies in pale yellow, yellow and mustard; trees in emerald green, forest green and dark green.
Lit window: butter yellow and purpleWindow in cream, butter yellow and amber; wall in violet, purple and deep purple.
Northern glow: emerald green and navyGlow in seafoam green, emerald green and dark green; sky in indigo, navy and midnight blue.
Peaks by moonlight: pale gray and indigoMoon in white, pale gray and gray; peaks in dusty violet, indigo and deep purple.
Quay lamps: butter yellow and tealLamps in cream, butter yellow and amber; water in turquoise, teal and dark teal.
Starry ridge: indigo and yellowRidge in dusty violet, indigo and deep purple; stars in pale yellow, yellow and mustard.
Tent glow: orange and emerald greenTent in yellow, orange and red; pines in seafoam green, emerald green and dark green.
Wolf on a rock: gray and purpleWolf in pale gray, gray and charcoal; sky in violet, purple and deep purple.
How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-09: palettes of six colors for low poly art, sorted by scene (island, forest, desert, snow, night). Every palette, name, color word and hex code is our own choice; nothing is sampled from a game, a render or a published palette. How a strip is ordered: two things of the scene, three colors each, as lit face, side face, shaded face; the name carries the two side-face colors. Our own tests, not a standard: within each three the color darkens at every step (WCAG relative luminance, the formula at https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html) and each step is 15 or more from the one before in CIE Lab; where the three are not grays their hues stay within 60 degrees of each other; the two side-face colors of a palette are 25 or more apart; no two colors of a palette are closer than 8; no two palettes share four codes (two may share one whole set of three). The facts in the page copy, checked on 2026-10-09 against English Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0). Low poly, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_poly: a low poly mesh is, in 3D computer graphics, a polygon mesh with fairly few polygons; low poly art is a minimalistic art style that builds images or figures out of a net of only a few joined points; some artists use the low detail for its look, not to save computing. Shading, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shading: shading changes the color of each face of a 3D model by the angle between the surface and a light source; in flat shading each polygon's lighting is worked out just once and that one color fills the whole polygon, so corners look sharp. Color names are plain English words with no paint maker, pencil brand, fabric maker 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, dye or fabric, take the nearest color. Licence: own work
How it works
When each flat face of a low poly shape gets one color, a hill needs a few steps of its color to look solid. Each low poly color palette gives two things three steps: lit face, side face, shaded face.
Read the full guide
Three steps for each thing
The first three swatches belong to one thing and the last three to the other, each running from the lit face to the shaded face. Give the lightest step to the faces that point at the light and the darkest to the ones that point away, so two faces that meet do not blend into one.
Pick a scene
The menu under the button sorts by scene: Island, Forest, Desert, Snow and Night. A scene with more than two things can borrow: the sea of Stilt hut, the rock of Pine ridge and the sky of Campfire camp are sets of three you can lift on their own. For flat sprites, see the pixel art color palette.
Questions and answers
What is low poly art?
Low poly is a 3D mesh with a relatively small number of polygons. As an art style it builds images out of a net of only a few joined points, so models look blocky and simple, and some artists choose that look on purpose.
How many colors does a low poly model need?
On this list, three for each thing: a lit face, a side face and a shaded face. With flat shading one color is used for the whole polygon, which makes the corners look sharp.
What colors work for low poly trees?
Three greens that darken step by step. Pines here are seafoam green #92D3B4, emerald green #20925B and dark green #153827; palms are pale green, avocado green and olive; ferns are lime, green and forest green.
What colors make a low poly night scene?
A dark sky in three steps, indigo #342B88, navy #182954 and midnight blue #0A0C29, and one warm light against it: Campfire camp adds yellow, orange and red; Lit window sets cream, butter yellow and amber on purple.