Burst caption: cherry red and lemonLemon burst, cherry red letters, royal blue letter shadow, white sparks, black line.
Color bars: cyan and hot pinkCream paper, cyan first bar, hot pink second bar, yellow third bar, black fourth bar.
Dial telephone: tomato red and bright blueCream paper, tomato red phone, golden yellow dial, bright blue cord, black line.
Gumballs: scarlet and royal blueNewsprint paper, scarlet machine base, golden yellow first gumball, royal blue second gumball, black line.
Hot dog cart: cherry red and yellowWhite paper, cherry red umbrella stripe, yellow squiggle of sauce, bright blue cart, black line.
Press sheet: cyan and magentaWhite paper, cyan first plate, magenta second plate, lemon third plate, black key plate.
Sunglasses ad: hot pink and cyanGolden yellow background, hot pink frames, cyan lenses, white glare, black line.
Toy rocket box: magenta and cyanNewsprint box card, cyan sky, magenta rocket, golden yellow flame, black line.
Word balloon: scarlet and yellowWhite bubble, scarlet lettering, yellow background, cobalt jacket, black line.
Zigzag bolt: lemon and cobaltCobalt sky, lemon bolt, tomato red caption box, newsprint paper edge, black line.
Show all 40 palettes (30 more)
Four-panel portrait sets 10
Big curls: cyan and pinkCyan ground, pink face, violet hair, yellow shirt in panel one; black line. Each panel shifts the four.
Big headphones: violet and golden yellowViolet ground, golden yellow face, scarlet hair, turquoise shirt in panel one; black line. Each panel shifts the four.
Bow tie: lemon and bright blueLemon ground, bright blue face, hot pink hair, green shirt in panel one; black line. Each panel shifts the four.
Bubble blower: lime and pinkLime ground, pink face, cyan hair, orange shirt in panel one; navy line. Each panel shifts the four.
Pet cat: green and orangeGreen ground, orange fur, pink ears, cyan collar in panel one; deep purple line. Each panel shifts the four.
Pet dog: bright blue and tomato redBright blue ground, tomato red fur, lemon ears, lime collar in panel one; black line. Each panel shifts the four.
Round glasses: scarlet and pinkScarlet ground, pink face, cyan hair, lemon shirt in panel one; deep purple line. Each panel shifts the four.
Space helmet: magenta and turquoiseMagenta ground, turquoise face, yellow helmet, lime suit in panel one; black line. Each panel shifts the four.
Sunglasses portrait: hot pink and lemonHot pink ground, lemon face, turquoise hair, orange shirt in panel one; black line. Each panel shifts the four.
Wink: orange and limeOrange ground, lime face, magenta hair, bright blue shirt in panel one; black line. Each panel shifts the four.
Dot-screen pairs 10
Beach panel: cyan and orangeWhite paper; cyan dots read as aqua sea; orange dots as peach sand; black line.
Bedroom panel: violet and yellowWhite paper; violet dots read as lavender wallpaper; yellow dots as butter yellow lamp light; black line.
Birthday panel: magenta and yellowWhite paper; magenta dots read as orchid icing; yellow dots as butter yellow candle glow; deep purple line.
Comic blush: scarlet and cobaltWhite paper; scarlet dots read as salmon cheeks; cobalt dots as light blue sky; navy line.
Diner panel: scarlet and greenWhite paper; scarlet dots read as salmon booth seat; green dots as mint green wall tiles; black line.
Flower stall: cherry red and limeWhite paper; cherry red dots read as candy pink petals; lime dots as light lime wrapping; black line.
Night panel: royal blue and blackWhite paper; royal blue dots read as periwinkle moonlit wall; black dots as gray shadow; deep purple line.
Park panel: green and magentaWhite paper; green dots read as mint green lawn; magenta dots as orchid blossom; navy line.
Rain panel: black and bright blueWhite paper; black dots read as gray cloud; bright blue dots as light azure puddles; black line.
Sunset panel: orange and violetWhite paper; orange dots read as peach sky; violet dots as lavender hills; deep purple line.
Two inks and their overlap 10
Bus poster: turquoise and orangeWhite paper, turquoise first ink, orange second ink, dark green where the two overlap.
Candy wrapper: pink and cyanWhite paper, pink first ink, cyan second ink, dark azure where the two overlap.
Cereal box: bright blue and lemonWhite paper, bright blue first ink, lemon second ink, emerald where the two overlap.
Fruit crate: hot pink and golden yellowCream paper, hot pink first ink, golden yellow second ink, red-orange where the two overlap.
Jam jar label: magenta and yellowWhite paper, magenta first ink, yellow second ink, bright red where the two overlap.
Juice carton: pink and lemonCream paper, pink first ink, lemon second ink, warm orange where the two overlap.
Postage stamp: cyan and magentaNewsprint paper, cyan first ink, magenta second ink, deep blue where the two overlap.
Raffle ticket: cyan and lemonCream paper, cyan first ink, lemon second ink, leaf green where the two overlap.
Sale sign: tomato red and limeNewsprint paper, tomato red first ink, lime second ink, rust brown where the two overlap.
Soap box: violet and yellowCream paper, violet first ink, yellow second ink, red-brown where the two overlap.
How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-12: flat, loud color combinations for a print in a few inks, in four kinds (primaries and black, four-panel portrait sets, dot-screen pairs, two inks and their overlap). Every combination, name, color word, hex code and part is our own choice; nothing is sampled from an artwork, a comic or a package, and no artist, artwork or brand is named. How a strip is ordered: Primaries and black lists the paper or ground first and the black last; a Four-panel portrait set lists the four flat colors of panel one (the ground, then three parts of the face or figure) and then the line, and in each later panel every flat color moves on one place; a Dot-screen pair lists the white paper, an ink, the tint its dots read as, a second ink and its tint, then the line; Two inks and their overlap lists the paper, the two inks and the color where one prints over the other. Worked out as our own approximation and not a measurement of ink: a tint is the even blend of the stored codes of the ink and the paper (dots at half coverage), and an overlap is the stored codes of the two inks and the paper multiplied channel by channel. Our own tests, not a standard: a Primaries strip holds one paper, black, and either one red, one yellow and one blue or cyan, a magenta or hot pink and one yellow; the four flat colors of a panel set are 25 or more apart in CIE Lab and the line contrasts with each by 3 to 1 or more (the WCAG contrast ratio formula, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html, used as our own threshold); no two colors of a palette are closer than 8 in CIE Lab. The facts in the page copy, checked on 2026-10-12 against English Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0): Pop art, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_art (an art movement that arose in the mid-to-late 1950s in Britain and the United States and included imagery from advertising, comics, product packaging and everyday consumer goods); RYB color model, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RYB_color_model (pigments of red, yellow and blue are treated as the primaries in art and applied design); CMYK color model, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model (the four components used in printing are cyan, magenta, yellow and the key plate, black; two of the cyan, magenta and yellow inks together give red, green or blue); Ben Day process, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Day_process (dots of equal size and distribution; magenta dots are widely spaced to create pink; widely used in color comic books); Halftone, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halftone (when the dots are small the eye reads the patterned area as a smooth tone); Overprinting, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overprinting (printing one color on top of another). 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 2026-10-12: 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, 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
Pop art drew its imagery from advertising, comics and product packaging. These pop art color combinations are built like a cheap color print: a few flat inks, a dark line and the paper.
Read the full guide
Pop art color palettes in four kinds
The menu under the button keeps to one. Primaries and black is three primaries on paper with a black line: red, yellow and blue, or the printer's cyan, magenta and yellow, sometimes with hot pink for the magenta. Dot-screen pairs show an ink beside the tint its dots read as. Two inks and their overlap adds the third color made where one ink prints over the other.
One face, four schemes
A four-panel portrait set is four flat colors and a line. Draw the face four times. Panel one takes the colors in strip order: ground, face, hair, shirt. In each later panel every color moves on one place. For subjects, see pop art ideas.
Questions and answers
What colors are used in pop art?
On this list: strong reds, yellows and blues such as scarlet #EC2913, lemon #FBF541 and cobalt #1554C1; printer's cyan #0CC4E9 and magenta #E21296; and hot pink, turquoise, orange, lime and violet, all flat, with black #121212 for the line.
Which pop art color combinations suit a portrait?
Four flats far enough apart to swap places: cyan, pink, violet and yellow with a black line (Big curls), or lime, pink, cyan and orange with a navy line (Bubble blower). In every set, any of the four can be the face.
How do dots make new colors in pop art?
Dots of one ink, all the same size, read as a lighter tint from a step back: widely spaced magenta dots make pink. Each dot-screen pair here shows an ink and its tint with half the white paper covered.
What happens when two inks overlap?
Printed in pairs, cyan, magenta and yellow inks give red, green and blue. Raffle ticket (cyan over lemon, leaf green), Jam jar label (magenta over yellow, bright red) and Postage stamp (cyan over magenta, deep blue) show the three.