44 palettes

Sunset Color Combinations

Press the button for five sunset colors, top of the sky first, with their hex codes.

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Harvest road: pale gold over deep redPale gold, gold, orange, scarlet and deep red. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.#F0DC98 · #E7B427 · #F6831E · #EC2D18 · #670F16

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Sunset: gold into red 8

Ball field: butter over rust Butter, gold, apricot, red and rust. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Barn roof: butter over maroon Butter, amber, tangerine, red and maroon. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Bonfire hill: gold over dark brown Gold, orange, burnt orange, crimson and dark brown. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Fairground lights: cream over crimson Cream, pale gold, apricot, coral and crimson. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Harvest road: pale gold over deep red Pale gold, gold, orange, scarlet and deep red. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Kite hill: cream over maroon Cream, yellow, orange, crimson and maroon. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Rooftop tanks: yellow over deep red Yellow, gold, tangerine, scarlet and deep red. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Wheat stubble: pale gold over maroon Pale gold, amber, orange, rust and maroon. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.

Show all 44 palettes (36 more)

Afterglow: pink into violet 8

Chimney pots: apricot over navy Apricot, pink, magenta, plum and navy. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Commuter car: peach over violet Peach, pink, rose, mauve and violet. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Laundry roof: pale peach over indigo Pale peach, salmon, hot pink, violet and indigo. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Marsh path: salmon over indigo Salmon, rose, magenta, mauve and indigo. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Pier lamps: apricot over deep violet Apricot, coral, magenta, plum and deep violet. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Silo tops: peach over violet Peach, coral, hot pink, lavender and violet. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Ski lift: peach over periwinkle Peach, pink, rose, lavender and periwinkle. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Tram shelter: pale peach over deep violet Pale peach, pink, rose, violet and deep violet. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.

Sunrise: peach into pale blue 12

Bakery vent: periwinkle over butter Periwinkle, pink, salmon, apricot and butter. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Balloon field: sky blue over amber Sky blue, lavender, pink, apricot and amber. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Crop rows: periwinkle over butter Periwinkle, mauve, salmon, peach and butter. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Crossing flags: steel blue over gold Steel blue, pale blue, peach, coral and gold. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Dew field: sky blue over gold Sky blue, pale blue, pale peach, apricot and gold. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Fishing dock: steel blue over cream Steel blue, lavender, rose, peach and cream. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Frost lawn: pale blue over butter Pale blue, periwinkle, pale peach, pink and butter. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Milk truck: sky blue over yellow Sky blue, pale peach, apricot, orange and yellow. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Paper route: pale blue over pale gold Pale blue, lavender, pink, peach and pale gold. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Rooster fence: pale blue over amber Pale blue, pale peach, peach, coral and amber. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Rowing lane: pale blue over cream Pale blue, pale peach, salmon, gold and cream. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.
Tent zipper: slate blue over pale gold Slate blue, pink, coral, apricot and pale gold. Top of the sky first, the horizon last.

Sunset over water 8

Buoy channel: butter over navy Butter, gold, burnt orange, slate blue and navy. Top of the sky first, the water last.
Ferry wake: pale gold over navy Pale gold, orange, coral, deep blue and navy. Top of the sky first, the water last.
Harbor crane: amber over midnight blue Amber, orange, crimson, deep blue and midnight blue. Top of the sky first, the water last.
Jetty posts: peach over midnight blue Peach, salmon, rose, steel blue and midnight blue. Top of the sky first, the water last.
Kayak bay: yellow over navy Yellow, tangerine, scarlet, teal and navy. Top of the sky first, the water last.
Lily cove: pale peach over navy Pale peach, pink, magenta, teal and navy. Top of the sky first, the water last.
Reed lake: pink over navy Pink, peach, gold, steel blue and navy. Top of the sky first, the water last.
Surf line: cream over deep blue Cream, apricot, coral, slate blue and deep blue. Top of the sky first, the water last.

Desert and storm sunsets 8

Anvil cloud: slate gray over pale gold Slate gray, mauve, rose, apricot and pale gold. Top of the sky first, the ground last.
Canyon mouth: pink over dark brown Pink, salmon, terracotta, rust and dark brown. Top of the sky first, the ground last.
Dust wall: tan over charcoal Tan, sand, orange, rust and charcoal. Top of the sky first, the ground last.
Hail curtain: charcoal over gold Charcoal, slate gray, crimson, orange and gold. Top of the sky first, the ground last.
Mesa rim: pale gold over dark brown Pale gold, apricot, terracotta, rust and dark brown. Top of the sky first, the ground last.
Sand ridge: cream over maroon Cream, sand, apricot, terracotta and maroon. Top of the sky first, the ground last.
Squall line: dark gray over amber Dark gray, plum, magenta, coral and amber. Top of the sky first, the ground last.
Yucca spikes: peach over charcoal Peach, coral, rust, plum and charcoal. Top of the sky first, the ground last.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-02: palettes of five colors for a sunset or sunrise sky, each strip written from the top of the sky down to the horizon, the water or the ground. The test is our own, not a standard: at least three of the five colors have an HSL hue in the warm arc from 320 degrees through red to 60 degrees, and no color is a green (a hue from 70 to 170 degrees). Which colors a group holds is our choice. Read on 2026-10-02 at English Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0): blue and green light scatter more strongly out of the Sun's beam, and the reddened light that is left can light the horizon red and orange, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset; an afterglow is a wide arch of whitish or pinkish light in the twilight sky after sunset, with purple light, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterglow. Every palette, name, color word, hex code and line is our own. A name is a picture the colors could paint. 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. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint or pencils, take the nearest color. Licence: own work

How it works

Each palette is a color scheme of five sunset or sunrise colors, written from the top of the sky down. All pass one test of ours: at least three warm colors, from pink through red to yellow, and no green.

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Why a sunset is red, orange and pink

Blue and green light scatter out of the beam of the Sun more strongly, and the reddened light that is left can light the horizon red and orange. After sunset comes the afterglow, a broad arch of whitish or pinkish light with purple in it. The second group follows it from pink into violet.

Sunrise color combinations

The sunrise strips are written the same way, top first, but the top is pale blue, lavender or periwinkle and the warm colors sit low. Paper route runs pale blue, lavender, pink, peach and pale gold. Calling these strips sunrise is our choice.

Questions and answers

What colors are in a sunset?

On this page: golds, oranges and reds near the horizon, pinks and violets higher up, and dark blues for water or night. Every palette has at least three colors between pink and yellow and none that is green.

Which sunset colors go with water?

The group Sunset over water sets three sky colors over two water colors, such as Ferry wake: pale gold, orange and coral over deep blue and navy.

How do I read the strip?

From the top down. The first color is the top of the sky and the last is the horizon, the water or the ground, so the strip is in the same order as the picture.