How do I put up with all that color?

A quick insight into how I chase, collect, sort out and combine color into my work.

Humans can perceive anywhere from 1 to 10 million colors. Color helps us make sense of the world, feel all the feelings, and sometimes even avoid danger (like avoiding wearing one of those really awful orange neon shirts - ever - or ok venomous crawling things). Honestly, color is awesome and one of the main reasons I do illustration.

I just love it. And I’m guessing you do too, if you’ve chosen to stick around and read this far.

So How to Choose the Right Color Out of Those 10 million Ones?

Whether it’s for a piece of art, a pattern, a logo, or just trying to throw on two-to-five pieces of clothing in the morning without looking totally ridiculous—color choices matter.

I’ve definitely looked funky from time to time walking out the door (I once discovered that I had been wearing two different shoes all day), so I’ll let you sort your own wardrobe. But since I’ve had people comment on (and sometimes even compliment!) the color choices in my work, I figured I’d share what actually goes into that part of my process.

This isn’t a deep dive into color theory—I won’t go all color wheel on you. You can find loads of that elsewhere (you know, primary, secondary, tertiary… yada yada). This is more about the shortcuts and tools I use in real life.

How It Started vs. How It’s Going

Let’s be real—when I started making art, my color choices were 100% based on whatever I liked in that moment. I’d pick a color I was into, then throw in 9 more I liked (yes, 9—no regrets). I used to use the default Illustrator color palette for my first exhibition pieces. Not because I didn’t know where to find others—but because, honestly, that palette is awesome. Have you looked at it?

But as I’ve leaned more into licensing my art, I’ve realised that it helps to know what’s trending. These days, I still go with my gut—but with a little more awareness of what’s happening in the world of color.

October is usually when trend reports start popping up for the next year, so it’s a great time to dig in. Here are my faves:

Pantone’s Color of the Year

→ Check it out

Good old Pantone. Classic, dependable, and always worth checking.

Cat Coquillette’s Trend Reporting

→ catcoq.com/trends Cat is my art idol. She also runs “The Art of Collections” (which is fantastic if you’re into art licensing). She’s spot on when it comes to what’s trending, especially for patterns.

Pinterest Predicts

→ Pinterest Predicts

Pinterest has more data than any of us could ever dream of, and they use it to forecast what’s on the rise. Their reports are more conceptual, but if you’re observant, you can spot some recurring colors in there.

WGSN Trend Reports

→ 2026: Transformative Teal

A little more future-focused, and honestly, fun to browse if you like seeing what might be coming next.

Alright, So Now You Know the Trends… What’s Next?

Honestly? I still just go with what I like.

(That said, a few of my pieces have magically aligned with Pantone’s color of the year after the fact—so I must be doing something right.)

Here’s my usual process:

·       I pick one color I’m feeling.

·       Then I build the rest of the palette around that.

Of course, I also take into account what I’m designing for:

·       Is it for a fun, loud kids’ collection?

·       A moody floral pattern for adults?

·       Something for clothing, or something that needs to work in a living room for the next five years?

All that plays into it. And then there’s the vibe I’m going for:

·       Neon party energy?

·       Muted and minimal?

·       Juicy and summery?

Once I’ve figured all that out, I jump into Procreate and just start playing. I drop in my base color, mess with the color wheel, test combos, erase, redo. Sometimes I’ll add new colors as I go—like if I’m halfway through a piece and realise I need a better color for, say, a robot or a piece of gum (ok sometimes a flower too).

No Thanks to Building From Scratch? Steal (Kind Of)

You can’t really steal a color palette. Colors belong to everyone.

So yeah, I say: get inspired. That scarf you love? A screenshot from a Netflix show? Your favorite tea cup? Grab it. Just don’t rip off someone else’s entire art style—that’s not it. But you can 100% borrow color ideas and make them your own.

I do it all the time:

·       Scroll Pinterest and save color combos I like

·       Snap pics when I’m out walking or traveling

·       Screenshot things I find online and come back to them later

It’s all fine —as long as you remix it into something that’s yours.

Ok, I have been a bit spoilt on the side of color during my time living in Asia. However, I would argue that there are colors everywhere around us that can inspire. You just have to go look for them. (Picture from the streets in Bangkok, Thailand).

Tools I Use to Grab Color on the Go

Sometimes I see a color combo I have to save—right then and there. Here’s how I do that:

Adobe Capture

A fantastic little app. You point your phone at whatever you’re looking at, and it automatically pulls a palette from it. You can tweak the colors or save them as-is.

Procreate’s Color Picker

Under your palettes tab, hit the “+” and choose “Create from Camera.” It’ll pull colors live from whatever your camera sees. The palette it gives you is generous—so if you want something more curated, you might want to trim it down.Another option is importing a photo into Procreate and just sampling colors manually using the eyedropper.

When Nothing Inspires: Pre-Made Palettes

Sometimes nothing around me feels exciting, and I need a nudge. These two sites tend to come through:

Color Hunt

→ colorhunt.co

Curated 4-color palettes you can browse by mood—pastel, vintage, neon, etc. I like combining multiple palettes or tweaking them to fit my style.

Adobe Color

→ color.adobe.com

Play with the color wheel, or upload a photo to extract a palette. It’s free and doesn’t require any subscriptions, which is a win.

Wrapping It Up

So there you go—just a few ways I find and work with color.

Sometimes it’s super intuitive. Sometimes it’s strategic. Most of the time, it’s a big old mess and that's ok too. Trust the process, it will come together.

Hope this was helpful. And hey—if you’ve got any favorite tools, resources, or weird color rituals of your own, I’d seriously love to hear about them. Drop a comment or send me a message.

Happy color hunting.