60 palettes

Saturated Color Palette: Strong Colors That Pass a Test

Press the button for one saturated palette: five swatches with hex codes.

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Streamers: red and blueSaturation 89% or more: red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Use the red least.#F20D0D · #FF7C0A · #FFE70A · #14B830 · #105EF9

Next step Draw a color wheel to place it

All 60 palettes

Rainbow brights 10

Balloon bunch: coral and azure Saturation 76% or more: coral, yellow, leaf green, azure and magenta. Use the magenta least.
Beach ball: yellow and turquoise Saturation 84% or more: crimson, yellow, turquoise, royal blue and hot pink. Use the royal blue least.
Finger paints: green and orange Saturation 76% or more: crimson, orange, green, sky blue and violet. Use the violet least.
Marker pens: lime and violet Saturation 85% or more: scarlet, lime, cyan, blue and violet. Use the violet least.
Paint set: scarlet and azure Saturation 85% or more: scarlet, amber, lime, azure and violet. Use the violet least.
Parade ribbons: hot pink and turquoise Saturation 84% or more: hot pink, orange, yellow, turquoise and indigo. Use the indigo least.
Party bunting: rose and sky blue Saturation 76% or more: rose, amber, leaf green, sky blue and purple. Use the purple least.
Pinwheel: magenta and cyan Saturation 86% or more: magenta, orange, lime, cyan and indigo. Use the indigo least.
Streamers: red and blue Saturation 89% or more: red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Use the red least.
Toy bricks: red and cobalt Saturation 92% or more: red, amber, emerald, cobalt and purple. Use the purple least.

Show all 60 palettes (50 more)

Neons 10

Arcade sign: neon pink and neon cyan Saturation 84% or more: neon pink, neon cyan, neon yellow, electric violet and neon green. Use the neon green least.
Dance floor: neon magenta and neon blue Saturation 76% or more: neon magenta, neon purple, neon blue, neon teal and neon rose. Use the neon purple least.
Diner sign: neon coral and neon teal Saturation 76% or more: neon coral, neon teal, neon yellow, neon red and electric blue. Use the neon yellow least.
Glow paint: neon pink and neon lime Saturation 88% or more: neon lime, neon pink, neon purple, neon cyan and neon orange. Use the neon purple least.
Glow sticks: neon lime and neon magenta Saturation 88% or more: neon lime, neon orange, neon magenta, electric blue and neon red. Use the neon magenta least.
Hi-vis jacket: neon yellow and neon orange Saturation 76% or more: neon yellow, neon orange, neon lime, neon coral and neon teal. Use the neon lime least.
Highlighters: neon yellow and neon pink Saturation 76% or more: neon yellow, neon green, neon orange, neon pink and neon blue. Use the neon green least.
Laser show: neon green and neon magenta Saturation 76% or more: neon red, neon green, neon blue, neon magenta and neon cyan. Use the neon green least.
Skate night: neon rose and neon teal Saturation 80% or more: neon rose, neon teal, neon purple, neon yellow and electric blue. Use the neon purple least.
Sparkler: neon red and neon lime Saturation 80% or more: neon red, electric violet, neon lime, neon rose and neon cyan. Use the electric violet least.

Jewel tones 10

Beetle wing: deep emerald and deep indigo Saturation 79% or more: deep emerald, deep teal, deep indigo, plum and burnt orange. Use the burnt orange least.
Brocade: wine and deep teal Saturation 79% or more: wine, deep gold, deep teal, plum and forest green. Use the deep gold least.
Crown jewels: ruby and sapphire Saturation 79% or more: ruby, sapphire, deep emerald, amethyst and deep gold. Use the amethyst least.
Gem hoard: deep gold and ruby Saturation 89% or more: ruby, burnt orange, deep gold, jade and navy. Use the burnt orange least.
Gem tray: amethyst and deep emerald Saturation 79% or more: deep magenta, amethyst, sapphire, deep teal and deep emerald. Use the amethyst least.
Glass lantern: deep red and peacock blue Saturation 85% or more: deep red, deep gold, forest green, peacock blue and deep violet. Use the deep violet least.
Jewel box: sapphire and wine Saturation 85% or more: sapphire, wine, forest green, deep violet and burnt orange. Use the deep violet least.
Peacock feather: peacock blue and jade Saturation 85% or more: peacock blue, jade, forest green, deep indigo and burnt orange. Use the burnt orange least.
Royal robe: deep purple and deep red Saturation 89% or more: deep purple, deep red, navy, burnt orange and jade. Use the burnt orange least.
Theater drapes: burgundy and deep gold Saturation 79% or more: burgundy, deep magenta, plum, deep violet and deep gold. Use the deep violet least.

Tropical 10

Angelfish: coral and turquoise Saturation 76% or more: coral, banana, turquoise, cobalt and orchid. Use the orchid least.
Deck chair: flamingo and cyan Saturation 74% or more: flamingo, banana, cyan, sea blue and lime. Use the lime least.
Flamingo: flamingo and lagoon Saturation 74% or more: flamingo, orchid, mango, lagoon and parrot green. Use the orchid least.
Fruit stand: mango and lime Saturation 84% or more: mango, papaya, lime, hibiscus and palm green. Use the lime least.
Hibiscus: hibiscus and palm green Saturation 80% or more: hibiscus, papaya, banana, palm green and lagoon. Use the banana least.
Island bay: lagoon and coral Saturation 76% or more: lagoon, turquoise, sky blue, banana and coral. Use the banana least.
Jungle frog: lime and scarlet Saturation 92% or more: lime, parrot green, scarlet, azure and mango. Use the scarlet least.
Parrot: scarlet and parrot green Saturation 80% or more: scarlet, banana, parrot green, azure and cobalt. Use the scarlet least.
Sunset palms: papaya and palm green Saturation 74% or more: papaya, flamingo, orchid, indigo and palm green. Use the orchid least.
Toucan: mango and sea blue Saturation 92% or more: mango, scarlet, emerald, sea blue and yellow. Use the scarlet least.

Saturated with one neutral 10

Big top: red and bone Saturation 88% or more: red, yellow, royal blue, magenta, with bone as the neutral. Use the royal blue least.
Pop print: scarlet and black Saturation 92% or more: scarlet, azure, amber, purple, with black as the neutral. Use the purple least.
Poster on white: red and cobalt Saturation 92% or more: red, cobalt, yellow, emerald, with white as the neutral. Use the red least.
Race car: scarlet and silver Saturation 88% or more: scarlet, royal blue, yellow, turquoise, with silver as the neutral. Use the royal blue least.
Rocket toy: cobalt and white Saturation 76% or more: coral, cobalt, lime, purple, with white as the neutral. Use the purple least.
Signal flags: blue and cream Saturation 89% or more: crimson, blue, amber, leaf green, with cream as the neutral. Use the blue least.
Sneaker: hot pink and charcoal Saturation 84% or more: hot pink, cyan, lime, indigo, with charcoal as the neutral. Use the indigo least.
Team jersey: violet and pale gray Saturation 79% or more: violet, amber, turquoise, rose, with pale gray as the neutral. Use the violet least.
Toy robot: teal and gray Saturation 95% or more: orange, teal, magenta, lime, with gray as the neutral. Use the lime least.
Warning sign: orange and soft black Saturation 92% or more: orange, emerald, azure, crimson, with soft black as the neutral. Use the orange least.

One color in five steps 10

Azure: nearly gray to full azure One azure at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.
Blue: nearly gray to full blue One blue at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.
Green: nearly gray to full green One green at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.
Lime: nearly gray to full lime One lime at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.
Magenta: nearly gray to full magenta One magenta at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.
Orange: nearly gray to full orange One orange at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.
Red: nearly gray to full red One red at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.
Sea green: nearly gray to full sea green One sea green at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.
Violet: nearly gray to full violet One violet at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.
Yellow: nearly gray to full yellow One yellow at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation; hue and brightness stay the same.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-01: palettes of five colors for a picture, built on strong color. In five groups every color passes one test for saturated: its HSV saturation is 70 percent or more (the largest of its red, green and blue parts less the smallest, divided by the largest). The 70 is our own threshold, not a standard. In the group Saturated with one neutral the fifth color is a white, a gray, a black or a cream and is exempt. The jewel tones also have an HSV value of 70 percent or less, which is our line for dark. The group One color in five steps is worked out: one hue at one brightness, at 10, 30, 50, 75 and 100 percent saturation, so only its last two swatches pass the test; it is there to show what saturation is. Its last swatch is the hue at full strength for that brightness, which is under 100 percent, so it is a shade of the pure color and not the pure color. Every palette, name, color word and hex code is our own; the line under a name tells you to use least the color with the largest chroma in CIE Lab. The saturation of every color is worked out from its code and stored beside it. Facts checked on 2026-10-01 and again on 2026-10-02 against Wikipedia. Colorfulness (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorfulness): saturation is how colorful an area looks for its brightness. HSL and HSV (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSL_and_HSV): HSV stands for hue, saturation and value; the pure colors have saturation 1 and, in HSV, value 1, and mixing them with black leaves saturation unchanged; HSL and HSV define saturation differently. Color names are plain English words and one word is one code everywhere on the list. Checked on 2026-10-02: every code is #RRGGBB, no palette and no name repeats, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, no two colors of a palette are closer than 10 in CIE Lab, no two palettes share four colors, 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 or pencils, take the nearest color. Licence: own work

How it works

A saturated color palette here is five strong colors. Outside the group of single colors in steps, every color has an HSV saturation of 70 percent or more, apart from the one neutral in the neutral group.

Read the full guide

Read the line under the name

It gives the lowest saturation in the palette, lists the colors in strip order and names the one to use least: the strongest color. In the steps group it gives the five saturations instead.

Pick a kind

A menu under the button keeps to one group: rainbow brights, neons, jewel tones, tropical, or saturated with one neutral, a high saturation color palette with a white, a gray, a black or a cream beside the four. The last group shows one color in five steps, from nearly gray to full strength. To place a color, see color wheel drawing ideas.

Questions and answers

What is a saturated color?

A strong color with little gray or white in it. Saturation is how colorful a color looks for its brightness. The group One color in five steps shows it: the same color from nearly gray to full strength.

Is a vivid color palette the same as a saturated one?

In everyday use, yes: both describe strong color. On this list the word has one meaning, a test of each color's HSV saturation, so every palette is checked the same way.

How is saturation measured?

In the HSV model it is the gap between a color's largest and smallest of red, green and blue, divided by the largest. Pure colors score 100 percent and grays score 0. Other models, such as HSL, define it differently.

Can I use these with paint or pencils?

Yes. The codes are for a screen, so take the nearest paint or pencil to each swatch and keep the palette's order of light and dark.