48 palettes

Split Complementary Color Scheme for Every Hue on the Wheel

Press the button for one split-complementary palette: a base color and the two beside its opposite, with hex codes.

Show all 48

Red with yellow-green and blue-green, all deepDeep set. Red leads; yellow-green, the lightest of the three, is the accent.#741117 · #485F11 · #0F5457

Next step Get a subject for this palette Draw a color wheel to check it

All 48 palettes

Red 4

Red with yellow-green and blue-green Red leads. The other two sit either side of green, its opposite; yellow-green, the lightest, is the accent.
Red with yellow-green and blue-green, all deep Deep set. Red leads; yellow-green, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Red with yellow-green and blue-green, all muted Muted set. Red leads; yellow-green, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Red with yellow-green and blue-green, all pale Pale set. Red leads; yellow-green, the lightest of the three, is the accent.

Red-orange 4

Red-orange with green and blue Red-orange leads. The other two sit either side of blue-green, its opposite; blue, the darkest, is the accent.
Red-orange with green and blue, all deep Deep set. Red-orange leads; blue, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Red-orange with green and blue, all muted Muted set. Red-orange leads; green, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Red-orange with green and blue, all pale Pale set. Red-orange leads; green, the lightest of the three, is the accent.

Show all 48 palettes (40 more)

Orange 4

Orange with blue-green and blue-violet Orange leads. The other two sit either side of blue, its opposite; blue-violet, the darkest, is the accent.
Orange with blue-green and blue-violet, all deep Deep set. Orange leads; blue-violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Orange with blue-green and blue-violet, all muted Muted set. Orange leads; blue-violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Orange with blue-green and blue-violet, all pale Pale set. Orange leads; blue-violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.

Yellow-orange 4

Yellow-orange with blue and violet Yellow-orange leads. The other two sit either side of blue-violet, its opposite; violet, the darkest, is the accent.
Yellow-orange with blue and violet, all deep Deep set. Yellow-orange leads; violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Yellow-orange with blue and violet, all muted Muted set. Yellow-orange leads; blue, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Yellow-orange with blue and violet, all pale Pale set. Yellow-orange leads; violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.

Yellow 4

Yellow with blue-violet and red-violet Yellow leads. The other two sit either side of violet, its opposite; blue-violet, the darkest, is the accent.
Yellow with blue-violet and red-violet, all deep Deep set. Yellow leads; blue-violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Yellow with blue-violet and red-violet, all muted Muted set. Yellow leads; blue-violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Yellow with blue-violet and red-violet, all pale Pale set. Yellow leads; blue-violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.

Yellow-green 4

Yellow-green with violet and red Yellow-green leads. The other two sit either side of red-violet, its opposite; violet, the darkest, is the accent.
Yellow-green with violet and red, all deep Deep set. Yellow-green leads; violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Yellow-green with violet and red, all muted Muted set. Yellow-green leads; violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Yellow-green with violet and red, all pale Pale set. Yellow-green leads; violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.

Green 4

Green with red-violet and red-orange Green leads. The other two sit either side of red, its opposite; red-violet, the darkest, is the accent.
Green with red-violet and red-orange, all deep Deep set. Green leads; red-violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Green with red-violet and red-orange, all muted Muted set. Green leads; red-violet, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Green with red-violet and red-orange, all pale Pale set. Green leads; red-orange, the darkest of the three, is the accent.

Blue-green 4

Blue-green with red and orange Blue-green leads. The other two sit either side of red-orange, its opposite; orange, the lightest, is the accent.
Blue-green with red and orange, all deep Deep set. Blue-green leads; orange, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Blue-green with red and orange, all muted Muted set. Blue-green leads; red, the darkest of the three, is the accent.
Blue-green with red and orange, all pale Pale set. Blue-green leads; red, the darkest of the three, is the accent.

Blue 4

Blue with red-orange and yellow-orange Blue leads. The other two sit either side of orange, its opposite; yellow-orange, the lightest, is the accent.
Blue with red-orange and yellow-orange, all deep Deep set. Blue leads; yellow-orange, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Blue with red-orange and yellow-orange, all muted Muted set. Blue leads; yellow-orange, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Blue with red-orange and yellow-orange, all pale Pale set. Blue leads; yellow-orange, the lightest of the three, is the accent.

Blue-violet 4

Blue-violet with orange and yellow Blue-violet leads. The other two sit either side of yellow-orange, its opposite; yellow, the lightest, is the accent.
Blue-violet with orange and yellow, all deep Deep set. Blue-violet leads; yellow, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Blue-violet with orange and yellow, all muted Muted set. Blue-violet leads; yellow, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Blue-violet with orange and yellow, all pale Pale set. Blue-violet leads; yellow, the lightest of the three, is the accent.

Violet (purple) 4

Violet with yellow-orange and yellow-green Violet leads. The other two sit either side of yellow, its opposite; yellow-green, the lightest, is the accent.
Violet with yellow-orange and yellow-green, all deep Deep set. Violet leads; yellow-orange, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Violet with yellow-orange and yellow-green, all muted Muted set. Violet leads; yellow-orange, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Violet with yellow-orange and yellow-green, all pale Pale set. Violet leads; yellow-green, the lightest of the three, is the accent.

Red-violet 4

Red-violet with yellow and green Red-violet leads. The other two sit either side of yellow-green, its opposite; yellow, the lightest, is the accent.
Red-violet with yellow and green, all deep Deep set. Red-violet leads; yellow, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Red-violet with yellow and green, all muted Muted set. Red-violet leads; yellow, the lightest of the three, is the accent.
Red-violet with yellow and green, all pale Pale set. Red-violet leads; yellow, the lightest of the three, is the accent.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-01: the split-complementary scheme of each of the twelve hues of the painter's color wheel, at four strengths. The two partners are worked out from places on the wheel (five and seven steps on from the base). The accent a line names is the partner that differs most from the base in lightness (WCAG relative luminance), and "lightest" or "darkest" is true of the three codes shown; that the base leads is our suggestion. Checked on 2026-10-01 against Wikipedia, Color scheme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_scheme): a split-complementary scheme, also called compound harmony, is a base color and the two colors 150 and 210 degrees from it; Color wheel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_wheel): the wheel has twelve main divisions, so one step is 30 degrees; and Complementary colors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementary_colors): in the traditional red, yellow and blue model the complement of blue is orange, and in the red, green and blue model of a screen it is yellow. The hex codes are the wheel table of our Art Color Challenge list, chosen for a screen; with paint or pencils, take the nearest color. Licence: own work

How it works

A split complementary color scheme is a base color plus the two colors either side of its opposite on the color wheel. Here it is worked out for every hue of the painter's wheel, as swatches with hex codes.

Read the full guide

Find the scheme for your color

A menu under the button lists the base colors. Choose yours and press again: each has a full, a pale, a deep and a muted palette. With yellow at 12 on a clock face, the two partners always sit five and seven hours around from the base.

Use the three colors

The base leads, so give it the most room; the line under each name says which partner is the accent. In color theory split complementary schemes are also called compound harmony. For limited palettes of every kind, a split complementary palette among them, deal from the art color challenge.

Questions and answers

What are some split complementary color scheme examples?

Red with yellow-green and blue-green. Yellow with blue-violet and red-violet. Blue with red-orange and yellow-orange. The list holds one for every hue of the wheel, each at four strengths.

What is split complementary color harmony?

Three colors: a base, and the two colors 150 and 210 degrees around the wheel from it. Those two are the neighbors of the base's opposite, so the scheme is the complement split in two.

What is the split complementary of blue?

Red-orange and yellow-orange, on the painter's wheel taught in art class: they sit either side of orange, which is blue's opposite. A screen mixes light, not paint, and on its wheel the opposite of blue is yellow.

What is the difference between split complementary and triadic?

Both use three colors. A triadic scheme spaces them evenly, a third of the wheel apart. A split-complementary scheme keeps two of them close together, so one color stands apart from a near pair.