Palette Cooler(Kuler) is an incredibly useful, community-driven color scheme generator that first appeared in Photoshop CS4, and launched as a web application several years before.

If you don't like working with , you don't have it on hand, or you need fresh ideas for creating color schemes, then you can choose from large number themes (as color schemes are called in the application) created by a community of users.

To open Kuler palette, select menu command Window - Extensions - Kuler(Windows - Extensions - Kuler)

Note

In order for the palette to download the latest and most popular themes created by an online community of users, you must be connected to the Internet.

Attention!

The Kuler palette does not work on pirated, unlicensed versions of Photoshop. Therefore, if you have an empty palette window open, then nothing can be fixed. Works only in the licensed version of the product.

Kuler palette interface

Explanation of footnotes:

Item 1 - Search query input field.

Item 2 - Drop-down filter lists.

Point 3 - Topics.

Item 4 - Button View previous set of topics (Previous).

Item 5 - Button View the next set of topics (Next).

Item 6 - Update topics in the Kuler community (Refresh) button.

Step 7 - Edit theme button in the creation panel (Edit themes).

Step 8 - Button Add selected theme to Swatches.

Step 9 - Select the base color by dragging the circle with the mouse up/down or towards/from the center of the circle.

Item 10 - Brightness slider.

Item 11 - From left to right:

  • Add foreground color as base button.
  • Button Add current background color as base (Add background color as base).
  • Button Change other theme colors according to the laws of harmony (Apply harmony).
  • Button Add a new color to the theme (Add color).
  • Button Delete this color from the theme (Delete color).

Step 12 – Upload Color Theme to Kuler Website Button (Upload)

How to use the palette

There are three buttons at the top of the palette:

Intelligence(About). If you want to learn about the online community or become a member, this tab will take you to the app's website. After registering for free, you will be able to upload themes you create to the website, rate other users' themes, write on forums, and so on.

Review(Browse). If you want to view themes created by other users, you can search for them by entering keywords (cool, sunny, romantic, pastel, etc.), creator's name, theme name, or hexadecimal value in the search query input field. Or, alternatively, browse the list of topics using the scroll bar. Drop-down lists at the top of the palette allow you to sort topics by rating, time on the website, and so on.

To use a specific theme, that is, import its colors into Photoshop, select it, then click on the button Add the selected scheme to the samples(Add selected theme to Swatches) - point 8.

You can also click on the small triangle that appears to the right of the scheme when you select it, and select Add to Swatches Panel from the context menu.

Create(Create). Click this button to open a tab that allows you to create your own themes.

First select from the drop down list Rule(Color Ruler) color scheme: you can create other schemes. Then drag the mouse enclosed into white ring circle on the color wheel so that it is tinted with the color you want to create a theme around (in other words, the main color). You will see lines that go from the main color to other colors according to the rule you chose. Other colors will also move when you move the main one.

You can drag the white circle of the main color with your mouse towards the center or away from the center of the circle, left or right, up or down, until you find the color you want.

The middle swatch in the row of square swatches below the color wheel will show the main color. When you find the one you want, you can change its brightness value - step 10, higher to lighten it, or lower to darken it.

To change a different theme color, select it by clicking on its swatch below the color wheel. You will see that the corresponding circle on the color wheel will be highlighted with a white ring. Once a circle is selected, you can change its color by dragging it to another point on the circle, or change its brightness by moving the slider.

Once you've found the theme colors you're happy with, click the button Save topic(Save Theme) in the lower left corner of the palette to save the theme, and then click on the button to the right to add the colors of this theme to palette Swatches.

If you notice an error in the text, select it and press Ctrl + Enter. Thank you!

Plugins, you see, are quite a useful thing. And if you are a professional designer who wants to simplify your work, then you can’t do without them. Today we will offer you some more useful plugins for Photoshop that will help you in your work.

Among them you will find paid - expensive and not very expensive, as well as free tools. But all of them undoubtedly deserve your attention.

Photoshop plugins for color, fonts and effects

Swatchy is a small plugin that allows you to organize your color swatches into folders. This way you can save and easily access your color scheme, as well as preview the colors you usually use.

Key Features:

  • Manages color swatches and allows you to organize them into folders
  • Works on OS X and Windows
  • Requires Photoshop CC and CC 2014

MagicPicker is a color management plugin that enhances Photoshop's existing color tools by adding useful features. You can use options such as Tone Lock to control the gamut of selected colors, as well as an improved color wheel with three available modes. The plugin helps you create color schemes, and it also offers a compact mode to save screen space.

Key Features:

  • Works on OS X and Windows
  • Supports Photoshop CC2014, CC, CS6, CS5.5, CS5, CS4 and CS3
  • Allows you to create color schemes
  • Color selection from an improved color wheel with three modes and Tone Lock function
  • Selects only warm or cool tones from the palette
  • Copies hexadecimal color codes with one click

Price: $19, free 15-day trial available for download

FilterForge is an incredibly powerful editor that can be used as a standalone application or a plugin for Photoshop. You can use it to create your own photo effects and filters, and the plugin also gives you access to a huge online repository of user-generated content. It supports seamless tiling for textures and filters are provided in any resolution. Each preset has multiple options to choose from, so FilterForge should cover all your photo effects needs.

Key Features:

  • Works on OS X and Windows
  • Allows you to create your own filters, effects and textures
  • Availability of online filter storage
  • Generates maps and textures that support seamless tiling

Price: $399, free 30-day trial available

Alienskin's Eye Candy 7 is a plugin that lets you choose from 32 effect categories and over a thousand presets to apply to your graphics. You can use it to create your own effects and instantly view changes applied to any layer. All effects are applied on a new layer, so your original artwork will remain intact until you decide to change it.

Key Features:

  • Creates and applies realistic effects
  • Ability to select presets from a rich collection
  • Supports editing on a new layer to preserve the original design
  • Instant preview of effects
  • Works on OS X OS x 10.7 or later, Windows 7 and 8
  • RequiredPhotoshopCS5Elements 10 or later

Price: $129, free trial available

The plugin will help you organize your fonts and eliminate the need for a separate font management application. Font Hero downloads all the installed fonts from your computer into a neat interface where you can bookmark, favorite, and group them. You can instantly preview fonts and change their appearance. The plugin allows you to change the font on any text layer with one click. It supports Google Fonts and Typekit, but keeps them separate for your convenience.

Key Features:

  • Helps you import, view, and organize all your fonts directly into Photoshop
  • Ability to tag and favorite fonts to make searching easier
  • Web font support
  • Works on OS X and Windows, requires Photoshop CC 2014

Price: $39

Other plugins for Photoshop

FlatIcon is a popular stock resource, and this simple plugin allows you to use their free icons directly from Photoshop. Some icons are imported as vectors, which means you can freely edit them as per your requirements.

Key Features:

  • Gives you access to thousands of free icons
  • All icons are available in fully editable vector format
  • Supports Photoshop CS5, CS6, CC and CC 2014

This is a lifesaving plugin if you often use scanned materials in your projects. It removes interference patterns from scanned images using an accurate Fourier transform. Unlike other tools that rely on blur, Descreen can preserve more detail with this approach. Recommended viewing resolution is between 600 and 1200 pixels/inch.

Key Features:

  • Supports Photoshop from version 7.0 and CS to CS6 and CC
  • Removes interference patterns from scanned images
  • Works on Windows and OS X

Price: Nome Edition - €15, Professional Edition - €75

Perfect Resize allows you to enlarge your photos without losing quality or aspect ratio. The plugin offers a cropping tool with presets and another tool to “straighten” photos. With Perfect Resize, you can enlarge photos taken with mobile devices and create additional margins for printing photos. You can use the plugin to batch resize photos and save two different versions of the same image.

Key Features:

  • Allows you to enlarge, crop and straighten photos
  • Optimizes photos for printing
  • Supports batch editing of images
  • Powered byWindows 7 and 8 and OSx 10.8 – 10.10
  • RequiredPhotoshopCS6,CC orCC 2014 and alsoElements 11, 12 and 13

Price: $79.95, 30-day trial available

This plugin is ideal for book cover designers and anyone who wants to showcase their work in a professional manner in a visually appealing way. Cover Action Pro converts your design into 3D product models. You can use templates and guides, and choose from 25 categories containing more than 150 models, including books, hardcovers, DVD cases, greeting cards, business cards, magazines.

Key Features:

  • Allows you to convert your designs into 3D product models
  • Offers templates and models
  • Designed for Photoshop CS6 and later, but can work with CS5, CS4 and CS3
  • Automatic update

Price: $147 or $247 with 60 designer templates

Avocode is a tool for collaboration and project management, designed for collaboration between designer and developer. It allows designers to upload their design through a Photoshop plugin, and developers can then explore design elements in the web interface or desktop app. Avocode exports layers as images, converts layers to CSS, Less, Sass and Stylus, provides information about text formatting and layer sizes. It stores all uploaded designs on the server, so you can use it as a variation control system for your design.

Key Features:

  • Easily share your projects using a Photoshop plugin
  • Check design in web interface or app - works on OS x, Windows and Linux
  • Exports layers as images, converting to CSS
  • Gives access to previous designs

Price: Starts at $20 per month, includes a free 14-day trial

I immediately remembered this picture:

There are a lot of unknown variables in your question: website or logo, background or button, what colors have already been used, what is nearby, what is the coverage area, etc.

Let's take green and red colors using the example of Valeera from Blizz's Kharstone and strawberries (nature itself chose the combination):

Cool, right? This means that green goes well with red. Now look at the hell that will happen if you make a green button on a red background or a red button on a green background:

I want to close it quickly: it’s too aggressive in both cases, it puts pressure on the brain. It turns out that green and red don’t go so well together? But if the background is, for example, white, then the green button will look great next to the red one:

Therefore, the answer to the question “what color goes with green” is only for those who see the whole picture.

Color wheel

First of all, I advise you to read about the color wheel in order to have an idea and be able to use it.

There are many online services on this topic. Convenient - colorscheme.ru.

It’s easy to use - you choose a color (enter a code, or just click on the appropriate one) and get matching colors. One of the features is an example of a page with selected colors. Tabs below: light page or dark.

Color Guide

Illustrator has a cool functionality that works on the principle of a color wheel and shows the combination of colors. The panel is called Color Guide.

You take a color with a pipette and the illustrator shows you all the combinations: adjacent, contrasting, triads, and so on.

Adobe Color Themes

Photoshop itself has the same functionality. Previously, these were just themes (a set of colors), and then the color wheel itself was added to them, and now the panel is called Adobe Color Themes

Over the rainbow

I myself select colors according to the “rainbow”: I drag the slider and select the color.

In the example, I selected red, purple and orange. The scale (“rainbow”) only helps to choose a color with a different shade (H = Hue) and sometimes the result is not satisfactory. So I didn’t like the dirty and dull orange and I made it clean and cool. If you need to select by saturation (S = Saturation) or brightness (B = Brightness), then simply change the scale.

Many artists use the color model H.S.B.. This mathematical model is very convenient for selecting shades and colors. Model H.S.B. based on the model RGB, but has a different coordinate system. Any color in the HSB model is determined by its color tone(shade), saturation(that is, the percentage of white paint added to the color) and brightness(percentage of black paint added). Of the three components listed, the least understood saturation. Saturation can be defined as the “liveness” of a color. The more saturated a color is, the further away from gray it is. White, black colors, all shades of gray have minimal saturation.

Look at the image. The upper sample of the spectrum has high saturation, the lower one has low saturation. In this case, the hue and brightness of the two samples are the same.



Three-channel the HSB model was named after its first letters English words Hue, Saturation And Brightness. The HSB model is universally used for color correction - in this it is indispensable. In all graphic applications this model is present in one form or another. The advantage of this model is that it was not created for monitors or printers, but for people. After all, a person intuitively perceives color, dividing it into hue, saturation and brightness.



It is convenient to represent the HSB model in the form color wheel. The color value is selected as a point on the circle (or vector, emerging from the center of the circle and pointing to a given point). The different shades are arranged in a 360 degree circle. Red corresponds to 0, yellow to 60, green to 120, turquoise to 180, blue to 240 and magenta to 300 degrees. The points on the circle itself correspond to pure (maximum saturated) colors. The point in the center corresponds to a neutral color of minimal saturation (white, gray, black - it depends on the brightness). That is, we can say that the angle of the vector determines the hue, the length of the vector determines the color saturation. Color brightness is set on a separate axis, the bottom point of which has the minimum brightness, and the top point has the maximum.


The HSB model has a fairly wide color gamut. It's not as big as Lab, but it has more CMYK coverage. In the image gray HSB model colors that go beyond the CMYK gamut are filled.