Computer Tips From A Computer Guy

Extract Color Palettes from Images using ColorSuckr

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 03:08 AM PST

If you're a web developer or something who has to constantly work with color schemes and color palettes, you might already rely on software or tools to help you find the best set of matching and harmonious colors.

One cool service you should check out is ColorSuckr, a neat little service that allows you to create color schemes based on pictures. You can then use these color schemes for your art and design work.

So how does ColorSuckr work? Let's do a quick demo to see what kind of color palettes it generates.

First, type in a URL for an image that you would like to start with. Unfortunately, they currently do not have functionality to upload pictures directly from your computer, so you'll have to use a service like Flickr or Picasa to put your picture on the web. Then click Get colours.

What you'll get is a preview of the image and then a list of the 12 most common colors in that image presented along with other information.

As you can see, it starts from the darkest color in the image and continues to the lightest colors. You get a preview of the actual color and color codes, such as the Hex value, a web safe value and the RGB numbers.

If you click on the Show link or the double arrows, you will get a set of color palettes with that color included.

Now click on one of the color palettes that you like and you'll get a list of the color codes for all the colors in that palette.

The service has a couple of other useful features, such as the ability to enter the URL for a webpage, instead of just a single image. It will scan the page and show you all the images and let you choose from there.

And if you really work with color palettes a lot, you can install the ColorSuckr bookmarklet or the Firefox add-on. Just click on the bookmarklet button from whatever webpage contains the image you would like to work with.

If you use the Firefox add-on, you can simple right-click on an image and choose "Extract Image Colors". Overall, if there is an image in which you love the colors, you can use ColorSuckr to help you figure out which ones they are. Enjoy! [via HowToGeek]