How do you choose your color palettes?

[AliensrReal]

Oh my gosh, I love it! Where did you get it?

Amazon. $27. I need something to point blank tell me what colors look good together and after looking at color wheels I got very confused.

 

[VikingChick]

Amazon.

But of course!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Oh my gosh, I love it! Where did you get it?

Lowe’s paint department

 

[not_ally]

Lowe’s paint department

You don't know how many of those combo paint strips I have from there and Home Depot, they can be a great source of soapy-ish things!

 

[BritS]

I usually let the FO guide me. Today I made a soap using golden Pear and White Rose FO, so I coloured the main part of the batch with yellow mica ('golden pear'), and then did two accent colours: white and pink. Pink because it's pretty, and white because of the white rose ( and pink also because i think the white alone would have been a bit boring with the yellow).
I made one recently called 'herb garden' which had lots of different essential oils in it - basil, mint, lavender, rose geranium, marjoram, lemongrass, etc. So I used a ton of colours - lime green, purple, yellow, dark green, teal....
View attachment 75953
I must admit I tend towards gaudy colours ( I can't help it!)

I wish I had the courage to use more colors like this. I tend to maybe use two colors aside from the natural soap color. I always worry it’s going to look terrible, but you make it look so effortless!

 

[VikingChick]

I wish I had the courage to use more colors like this. I tend to maybe use two colors aside from the natural soap color. I always worry it’s going to look terrible, but you make it look so effortless!

Make small batches - that way if it turns out ugly, you have less to use!

 

[dibbles]

One thing I forgot about and think is worth mentioning is that I often am inspired by things I see in nature. Mother Nature is more than sunsets and rainbows. Try looking at things in a different way. An artichoke, a chickadee or blue jay, or a simple banana can give a starting point. If I see something I want to remember, I take a picture.
This photo inspired the soap below

Here are a couple of others I've saved for inspiration



And just for fun and because I have been trying for decades to get a photo of a whale breaching

 

[Savage Daughter]

I usually let the FO guide me. Today I made a soap using golden Pear and White Rose FO, so I coloured the main part of the batch with yellow mica ('golden pear'), and then did two accent colours: white and pink. Pink because it's pretty, and white because of the white rose ( and pink also because i think the white alone would have been a bit boring with the yellow).
I made one recently called 'herb garden' which had lots of different essential oils in it - basil, mint, lavender, rose geranium, marjoram, lemongrass, etc. So I used a ton of colours - lime green, purple, yellow, dark green, teal....
View attachment 75953
I must admit I tend towards gaudy colours ( I can't help it!)

Considering I only use natural colorants, I don't find this gaudy at all. Love the color combination Inspiration

One thing I forgot about and think is worth mentioning is that I often am inspired by things I see in nature. Mother Nature is more than sunsets and rainbows. Try looking at things in a different way. An artichoke, a chickadee or blue jay, or a simple banana can give a starting point. If I see something I want to remember, I take a picture.
This photo inspired the soap below
View attachment 76325

View attachment 76326

Here are a couple of others I've saved for inspiration
View attachment 76327
View attachment 76328
View attachment 76329
And just for fun and because I have been trying for decades to get a photo of a whale breaching
View attachment 76330

I am with @dibbles on this....I look to nature to provide inspiration. This especially makes sense when using only essential oils & natural colorants.

For a forest-type scented soap I make, I decided to look out my front window, and at the colors I see when hiking & bushwhacking. That wasn't enough & I was really feeling anxiety about making a beautiful soap which would do the forest I love so much justice. So then I meditated & intentionally connected with the trees & asked them to assist me in choosing colors & to give me some design inspiration because I was really struggling with this one & did not want a typical boring green soap. Laugh if you choose to, but this ended up being one of the most beautiful soaps I make

The shades I ended up using for this are some rich fall orange colors, a couple of lush & more muted green shades, a rich, earthy brown, a tiny bit of black, speckles of herbs in there, a tiny bit of white...every time I look at a bar I see something different in there....a hidden fox, gorgeous ferns, beautiful green leaves, deer, mushrooms, fall leaves, you name it.

I bought these to help with my coloring. They will be arriving next week. I can’t do complimentary colors well at all, so this will help.

The paint sections of hardware stores, as well as stores dedicated to paints would also have color swatch cards. It's been a while since I bought paints, but I assume they would still have those for free? They might also be getting rid of old 'books' of these, the ones on a metal ring which people can flip through.

 

[AliensrReal]

The paint sections of hardware stores, as well as stores dedicated to paints would also have color swatch cards. It's been a while since I bought paints, but I assume they would still have those for free? They might also be getting rid of old 'books' of these, the ones on a metal ring which people can flip through.

I like what’s on the other of the cards though. It has helped me pair colors that I wouldn’t have thought would look good together.

 

[Savage Daughter]

I like what’s on the other of the cards though. It has helped me pair colors that I wouldn’t have thought would look good together.

Fair enough, but someone else might like to save that money, or may not have a lot of extra cash at the moment, so FREE is always a good option

 

[VikingChick]

I am with @dibbles on this....I look to nature to provide inspiration. This especially makes sense when using only essential oils & natural colorants.

For a forest-type scented soap I make, I decided to look out my front window, and at the colors I see when hiking & bushwhacking. That wasn't enough & I was really feeling anxiety about making a beautiful soap which would do the forest I love so much justice. So then I meditated & intentionally connected with the trees & asked them to assist me in choosing colors & to give me some design inspiration because I was really struggling with this one & did not want a typical boring green soap. Laugh if you choose to, but this ended up being one of the most beautiful soaps I make

The shades I ended up using for this are some rich fall orange colors, a couple of lush & more muted green shades, a rich, earthy brown, a tiny bit of black, speckles of herbs in there, a tiny bit of white...every time I look at a bar I see something different in there....a hidden fox, gorgeous ferns, beautiful green leaves, deer, mushrooms, fall leaves, you name it.

I’d love to see a picture if you care to share. It sounds beautiful!

One thing I forgot about and think is worth mentioning is that I often am inspired by things I see in nature. Mother Nature is more than sunsets and rainbows. Try looking at things in a different way. An artichoke, a chickadee or blue jay, or a simple banana can give a starting point. If I see something I want to remember, I take a picture.

I love this idea! I’ve got several photos on my phone that I took just because I loved what I was looking at. I really should go back through and see what inspires me…..

 

[Savage Daughter]

I’d love to see a picture if you care to share. It sounds beautiful!

If you happen to visit where I live, I will be happy to take you to see my soaps They are beautiful, and I love them. A lot. Other people seem to as well. They're probably my most beautiful soap so far, which was unexpected.

Back to the pine tar I am making at 2:53AM & which I believe I already screwed up LOL Good thing it's a test batch

 

[VikingChick]

If you happen to visit where I live, I will be happy to take you to see my soaps

Careful what you wish for…..I travel a lot for work; I just might find you!!!!!!

 

[Savage Daughter]

Careful what you wish for…..I travel a lot for work; I just might find you!!!!!!

Bring it on! LOL A Viking Chick & a Savage Daughter just may get along very well haha

 

[VikingChick]

Bring it on! LOL A Viking Chick & a Savage Daughter just may get along very well haha

Oh heck yeah!

 

[The_Emerald_Chicken]

One way I pick color palettes is by googling for pre-made palettes (e.g. "three color combination" or "four color palette"). This helps guide me toward palettes that actually look good design-wise. Here are a two examples of soaps that I based on online color palettes:

Sometimes, especially when making a sculpted soap design, I'll make a colored-pencil sketch of what I want. Here's a recent example of that method:

 

[Savage Daughter]

One way I pick color palettes is by googling for pre-made palettes (e.g. "three color combination" or "four color palette"). This helps guide me toward palettes that actually look good design-wise. Here are a two examples of soaps that I based on online color palettes:

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View attachment 76352

Sometimes, especially when making a sculpted soap design, I'll make a colored-pencil sketch of what I want. Here's a recent example of that method:
View attachment 76353

Beautiful, and all doable with natural colorants, lucky for me

And now I need to make myself some soap sculpting tools....because I don't have nearly enough to do as of yet! LOL Need to sow my lettuce seedlings indoors too so they're ready to go ASAP

 

[Zing]

Oh heck yeah!

Um, something's different. New haircut? Contacts? Anyway, likin' the new look!

 

[VikingChick]

Um, something's different. New haircut? Contacts? Anyway, likin' the new look!

Thanks! This is me wishing I was actually a Viking! #skol