Using Adobe Color to Build Palettes for Adobe Illustrator, by Laura Coyle Illustrator on YouTube. 16 min 14 s.
- Video length
- 16 min 14 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Open color.adobe.com in your browser and sign in with your Adobe ID. The tool now sits inside Adobe Express, but the address still works.
Pick a starting point: the Color Wheel tab, the Primary Color tab, or the Image tab. Each one builds a palette a different way.
On the Color Wheel tab, click to generate colors, then click a swatch to lock it so it stays put. Choose a harmony such as Analogous, Complementary, Split Complementary, Triad or Monochromatic.
Use the Primary Color tab when you already have a brand color. Set the base color, then let a harmony fill in the remaining swatches.
Tune each swatch by hand: drag the tint slider, type a hex code, or open the color picker. Drag swatches to reorder them.
For a palette from a photo, open the Image tab, upload the picture and drag the sample points onto the colors you want to keep.
Name the palette and save it to a Creative Cloud library. You can also download it as an image or share a link.
In Illustrator, open Window > Libraries, right-click the color group and choose Add to Swatches to load it into your document.
To make a group inside Illustrator, click the folder button in the Swatches panel. Double-click the group with nothing selected to open Edit Colors and adjust it.
Tips and common mistakes
Run your palette through the contrast checker and color blindness simulator before you commit to it.
Illustrator caps swatch groups saved straight to a CC Library at 5 colors, so save larger groups from Adobe Color instead.
Group your swatches before recoloring, because color groups make Recolor Artwork much easier to work with.
Questions
Do I need a paid Adobe plan to use Adobe Color?
No. The palette tools at color.adobe.com work in a browser with a free Adobe ID, and you need that account to save palettes to a Creative Cloud library.
How do I get an Adobe Color palette into Illustrator?
Save the palette to a Creative Cloud library, then open Window > Libraries in Illustrator, right-click the color group and choose Add to Swatches.
Why does my saved palette stop at 5 colors?
Illustrator limits swatch groups saved directly to a CC Library to 5 colors. Save bigger groups from Adobe Color and bring them in from there.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
