Ankle wave: pale aqua over sea greenSea green trough, aqua face, pale aqua lip, white foam, tan wet beach.
Board on the face: sky blue over navyNavy trough, azure face, sky blue lip, white foam, red-orange surfboard.
Curling wave: aqua over navyNavy trough, cobalt face, aqua lip, white foam, sky blue horizon.
Inside the curl: mint over dark tealDark teal trough, emerald face, mint lip, white foam, pale yellow sun.
Island roller: pale aqua over cobaltCobalt trough, turquoise face, pale aqua lip, white foam, pale yellow sun.
Reef break: sky blue over deep blueDeep blue trough, azure face, sky blue lip, white foam, pale blue haze.
Shore break: pale aqua over tealTeal trough, turquoise face, pale aqua lip, white foam, sand beach.
Storm breaker: steel blue over midnight blueMidnight blue trough, deep blue face, steel blue lip, off-white foam, blue-gray sky.
Wave on rocks: aqua over deep blueDeep blue trough, blue face, aqua lip, white foam, charcoal rocks.
Winter surf: blue-gray over navyNavy trough, slate blue face, blue-gray lip, pale gray foam, off-white sky.
Show all 40 palettes (30 more)
Deep swell 10
Buoy on the swell: navy to cobaltNavy trough, deep blue back, cobalt crest, red-orange buoy, pale blue sky.
Deep trough: midnight blue to cobaltMidnight blue trough, indigo back, cobalt crest, azure glint, blue-gray sky.
Glassy morning: teal to aquaTeal trough, turquoise back, aqua crest, pale aqua glint, peach sky.
Gray swell: charcoal to steel blueCharcoal trough, slate blue back, steel blue crest, blue-gray glint, pale gray sky.
Green swell: dark teal to emeraldDark teal trough, teal back, emerald crest, mint glint, pale gray sky.
Kelp swell: dark teal to sea greenDark teal trough, emerald back, sea green crest, olive kelp, silver glint.
Night swell: midnight blue to slate blueMidnight blue trough, indigo back, slate blue crest, silver moon glint, charcoal sky.
Open sea swell: midnight blue to deep blueMidnight blue trough, navy back, deep blue crest, sky blue glint, pale blue sky.
Swell at noon: navy to azureNavy trough, blue back, azure crest, pale yellow sun glint, sky blue horizon.
Swell lines: navy to azureNavy troughs, cobalt backs, azure crests, sky blue far water, pale blue haze.
Foam and spray 10
Backwash: off-white on tanOff-white foam line, pale aqua film of water, pale gray wet shine, tan wet beach, turquoise next wave.
Blown spray: pale gray on steel bluePale gray spray, pale blue mist, cream low sun, steel blue crest, navy face.
Bubbles in the wash: white on sea greenWhite bubbles, mint lit water, cream sun on the foam, sea green water under them, emerald deeper water.
Churned green: pale green on sea greenWhite foam, pale green churned water, pale aqua thin water, sea green face, dark teal trough.
Foam lace: white on sea greenWhite foam, pale blue foam shadow, mint thin water, sea green water under it, sand beach.
Foam on rocks: white on charcoalWhite foam, pale gray old foam, charcoal rock, teal rock pool, pale aqua runoff.
Last reach: cream on tanCream foam edge, pale aqua thin water, pale gray dried foam, tan wet line, azure sea behind.
Spray off the crest: white on blueWhite spray, pale gray mist, pale blue air behind, blue face, navy trough.
Spray rainbow: pale pink and pale yellowWhite spray, pale yellow inner band, pale pink outer band, pale blue mist, azure wave.
Whitewater: white on steel blueWhite foam, silver shaded foam, pale aqua foam edge, steel blue water between, deep blue water ahead.
Wave at sunset 10
Afterglow wash: coral on plumPlum trough, rose face, coral lit lip, peach foam, lavender sky.
Backlit wave: gold on dark tealDark teal trough, teal face, gold lit lip, pale yellow foam, coral sky.
Copper swell: orange on plumPlum trough, magenta back, orange crest, amber glint, pale yellow sun.
Dusk shore break: lavender on indigoIndigo trough, violet face, lavender lip, pale pink foam, peach sky.
Evening set: peach on tealTeal trough, turquoise face, peach lit lip, cream foam, pale yellow sky.
Golden lip: amber on navyNavy trough, cobalt face, amber lit lip, peach foam, orange sky.
Late glow: magenta on midnight blueMidnight blue trough, indigo face, magenta lit lip, salmon foam, violet sky.
Pink foam: pink on plumPlum trough, purple face, rose lit lip, pink foam, lavender sky.
Red sun path: red-orange on navyNavy trough, slate blue face, red-orange sun path, peach foam, amber sun.
Rim-lit wave: orange on midnight blueMidnight blue trough, navy face, orange rim light, pale yellow foam, red-orange sky.
How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-13: palettes of five colors for a picture of one ocean wave, in four kinds (breaking wave, deep swell, foam and spray, wave at sunset). Every palette, name, color word, hex code and part is our own choice; nothing is sampled from a photograph, a painting or a print, and no artwork, beach, surf spot, maker or brand is named. How a strip is ordered: a Breaking wave strip is the trough, the face, the lip and the foam, then one thing beside the wave; a Deep swell strip is the trough, the back and the crest, then a glint, a thing on the water or the sky; a Wave at sunset strip starts with its dark trough; each color is named for its part. Face, lip and back are used here as plain names for the front slope of a wave, its curling top edge and the slope of a swell. Our own tests, not a standard: in a Breaking wave strip the trough, the face, the lip and the foam are each lighter than the one before (WCAG relative luminance, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html), the first three are colors of the water and the foam has an HSL lightness of 84 percent or more; a Deep swell strip starts with its darkest color at a lightness of 30 percent or less, the back and the crest are each lighter than the color before, and it holds no foam and no color over 90 percent lightness; a Foam and spray strip holds three or more colors at a lightness of 78 percent or more and one color of the water beneath at 60 percent or less; a Wave at sunset strip starts with its darkest color at a lightness of 32 percent or less and holds two or more warm colors (a hue from 300 degrees around to 60, a saturation of 40 percent or more). The facts in the page copy, checked on 2026-10-13 against English Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0): Crest and trough, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crest_and_trough (a crest is the highest point of a wave and a trough the lowest); Breaking wave, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wave (wave breaking mostly occurs when the crest of the wave overturns; it is particularly common on beaches, where wave heights are amplified in shallower water; a spilling breaker sends turbulent whitewater down the face of the wave); Swell (wave), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swell_(wave) (a swell is made of wind-made waves that the local wind of the moment hardly changes, the consequence of the spread of wind waves from far-off weather systems); Ocean color, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_color (the ocean's color, though mostly blue, runs from blue to green and sometimes even yellow, brown or red; water preferentially absorbs red light, so blue light is left and bounces back out of the water; living phytoplankton with chlorophyll pigments is one of the main substances that affect the color). Which colors stand for a wave is our choice. 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 2026-10-13: 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, no two colors of a palette are closer than 8 in CIE Lab, 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
A wave color palette here follows one ocean wave upward: the trough, its lowest point, then the face, the lip and the white foam. Deep swells have no foam, and sunset waves have no white at all.
Read the full guide
Read the strip from the trough up
A Breaking wave strip is the trough, the face, the lip and the foam, each lighter than the one before, then one thing beside the wave: sky, sand, rocks. Deep swell runs trough, back and crest, the trough darkest. Wave at sunset keeps the dark trough and sets two or more warm colors on it, as in Golden lip: an amber #F8B72A lip and peach foam on navy.
Foam and spray
These strips are mostly pale: three or more near-whites and one color of the water beneath. In Whitewater the foam is white, its shaded side silver #C0C7CE, and the water between is steel blue #4D76A3.
Questions and answers
What colors are in a wave?
On this list a daytime wave often runs from navy #13284E or deep blue #153F7E in the trough, through cobalt #1655BB or turquoise #1FC7B9 on the face, to aqua #78DED9 at the lip and white #F5FAFA foam.
What color is the ocean?
Mainly blue, though it varies from blue to green and in places yellow or brown. Water absorbs red light first, so blue is reflected back out. Phytoplankton is one thing that shifts the color. Green swell and Churned green are two green strips here.
What is the difference between a swell and a breaking wave?
A swell is wind-made waves that have traveled away from the weather that raised them. A wave breaks when its crest overturns, most commonly in the shallower water off a beach; on a gentle slope, whitewater spills down its face.
What are the parts of a wave called?
The crest is the highest point of a wave and the trough the lowest. On these strips the face is the front slope between them, and the lip is the top edge as it curls over.