A free panel for Adobe Illustratorby

Colorful for Illustrator: 153 palettes, one click from your artboard.

Colorful puts a library of palettes from moths, reefs and minerals inside Illustrator. Click a color to fill a shape, or send a whole palette to Swatches.

Download free

  • Free, no account
  • macOS
  • Illustrator 2021 and later
  • Works offline

Try it

This panel is live.

Click a color to fill the word, or press + to put a whole palette on it.

Now wearing

Mantella Ember

Amphibians · Golden mantella

  • Ember orange#EF541E
  • Golden edge#F6B12A
  • Moss olive#667243
  • Earth ink#302B25
  • Linen#EEE4D0

Inside Illustrator

It sits beside your panels.

Float it or dock it. Click a color in the panel and the selected shape takes it.

Adobe Illustrator 2026 with one poster in three colorways on its artboards and a circle selected. The Colorful panel sits beside the docked panels, shows the selected fill and lists the three palettes.
Illustrator 2026, macOS

01Fill

Click a color. The selection takes it.

Switch to Stroke at the top, or Option-click. Shift-click copies the HEX.

The Colorful panel after a click on the color Jade. The fill disc at the top has turned jade, and a note at the foot reads Fill, Jade.

02Swatches

Press + and the palette lands in Swatches.

It arrives as a named color group, and every swatch keeps its palette and color name. Add all brings the whole library: 153 groups, 681 swatches.

The Colorful panel with three palettes added. The plus tiles at the end of their rows have turned into check marks.

03Search

Search a subject, a color word or a HEX.

Type green for the palettes that carry the most green. Paste a HEX for the closest match in the library.

The Colorful panel after a search for the word green. A ring marks the green in each palette.

04Flow

Flow palettes bring their gradient.

Eighteen gradients arrive as real gradient swatches, next to the color group they belong to.

The Colorful panel showing Flow palettes, each with its gradient above the colors.

The library

153 palettes. 681 named colors.

Seventy-five come from nature and materials, each beside a photograph of its subject. Sixty are clashes, four colors that should not work together and do. Eighteen are gradients.

The whole library

All 153 come with the panel.

Download free

Pick one

Every tile is one palette.

Click a tile and this page wears it.

Install

Three steps and it is docked.

  1. Download the panel.

    One small file, OSO-Colorful.zxp. No account and no email.

    Download free

  2. Drop it on ZXP Installer.

    A free installer for Adobe add-ons, made by aescripts. Quit Illustrator, open the installer and drag the file onto its window.

    Get ZXP Installer

  3. Open it in Illustrator.

    Choose Window, then Extensions, then OSO Colorful. Dock it beside Swatches and it stays there.

Price
Free
Version
1.1
Works in
Illustrator 2021 and later
Tested in
Illustrator 2026 on macOS
Internet
Not needed

Questions

Before you install.

Is it really free?

Yes. There is no account, no trial and no email to give.

Can it add a palette straight to my Creative Cloud Library?

Adobe does not let outside tools write to Libraries, so the panel does the next best thing. It puts the palette in Swatches as a color group. Select that group, click the Library button at the bottom of the Swatches panel, and it is in your Library. Every palette has three to five colors, which is what a Library color theme holds.

Does it work in CMYK documents?

Yes, in RGB and CMYK documents. The palettes are defined in sRGB, so in a CMYK document Illustrator converts each color with your own color settings.

Does it send anything anywhere?

No. Every palette and photograph is inside the panel. It works offline and collects nothing.

Are the colors measured from the photographs?

No. Each palette is a designer's reading of its subject: the animal, the mineral, the material and its setting. The photograph is there so you can see where the colors come from.

Does it run on Windows?

It has been tested on macOS only. Illustrator runs panels like this one on both systems, so it may well work, but until it is tested there this page will not promise it.

Who took the photographs?

Sixty-seven photographers who share their work under Creative Commons and similar licenses. Each photo carries its credit in the panel, and the full list with sources is below.

Photo credits75 photographs, 67 photographers

The photographs inside the panel are used under the licenses listed here. Each was resized and converted to WebP, some were cropped around the subject, and none was recolored. Photos under a share-alike license stay under that same license.

  1. Ametrine · Bolivia specimenPhoto by Ra'ike. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Ametrine Divide.
  2. Ammolite · fossil shell fragmentPhoto by David Abercrombie. CC BY-SA 2.0. Source. Palette: Fossil Fire.
  3. Anodized titanium (detail) - b.jpgPhoto by Mauro Cateb. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Titanium Tide.
  4. Azurite with malachitePhoto by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Copper Kingdom.
  5. Beta-alaniini kristallid polariseeritud valguses.jpgPhoto by Janeklass. CC BY 4.0. Source. Palette: Crystal Flare.
  6. Bismuth · laboratory-grown crystalPhoto by Alchemist-hp and Richard Bartz. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Bismuth Staircase.
  7. Black opal · polished cabochonPhoto by Daniel Mekis. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Opal After Dark.
  8. Blue dragon sea slugPhoto by Oskar Suth. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Pelagic Silver.
  9. Blue morpho butterflyPhoto by Derkarts. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Blue morpho butterfly.
  10. Blue passionflowerPhoto by PumpkinSky. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Passion Circuit.
  11. Blue poison frog · azureus formPhoto by Michael Gäbler. CC BY 3.0. Source. Palette: Azure Warning.
  12. Blue vanda orchid · pale-flowered referencePhoto by Orchi. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Vanda Velvet.
  13. Bubble-tip anemonePhoto by Nick Hobgood. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Bubble Garden.
  14. Carnation soft coralPhoto by Alexander Vasenin. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Coral Ember.
  15. Clown triggerfishPhoto by Amada44. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Spotted Carnival.
  16. Coleus · cultivated foliagePhoto by PumpkinSky. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Velvet Leaf.
  17. Copper Matte raku bowl with lid by Dan Leonette, Gotland, Sweden 1.jpgPhoto by W.carter; ceramic by Dan Leonette. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Raku Afterglow.
  18. Crocoite · Tasmania specimenPhoto by GeologMax. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Crocoite Heat.
  19. Crystals of vitamin C.jpgPhoto by Doc. RNDr. Josef Reischig, CSc.. CC BY 3.0. Source. Palette: Vitamin Ember.
  20. CSIRO ScienceImage 1483 Olivine Adcumulate.jpgPhoto by R. Hill / CSIRO. CC BY 3.0. Source. Palette: Olivine Mosaic.
  21. Dichroitisches Prisma -- 2020 -- 5121.jpgPhoto by Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Dichroic Split.
  22. Emperor angelfishPhoto by Brian Gratwicke. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Imperial Current.
  23. Eterusia aedea mothPhoto by Hsu Hong Lin. CC BY-SA 2.0. Source. Palette: Aedea Gold.
  24. Eupholus magnificus weevilPhoto by Udo Schmidt. CC BY-SA 2.0. Source. Palette: Weevil Frequency.
  25. False tiger mothPhoto by Charles Lam. CC BY-SA 2.0. Source. Palette: Tiger Voltage.
  26. Fiery-throated hummingbirdPhoto by Giles Laurent. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Fire Throat.
  27. Flamboyant cuttlefishPhoto by Jenny Huang. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Flamboyant Signal.
  28. Frog-legged leaf beetlePhoto by Sarefo. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Frog-Leg Chrome.
  29. Golden mantellaPhoto by Frank Vassen. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Mantella Ember.
  30. Gouldian finchPhoto by Charles Patrick Ewing. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Gouldian finch.
  31. Greater blue-ringed octopusPhoto by Jens Petersen. CC BY 2.5. Source. Palette: Blue-Ring Pulse.
  32. Green and purple fluoritePhoto by Tony Hisgett. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Fluorite Frequency.
  33. Green-and-black poison frogPhoto by Franz Xaver. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Mint Armor.
  34. Green-banded urania mothPhoto by Filo gèn'. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Urania Laser.
  35. Hanging lobster claw · heliconiaPhoto by Dick Culbert. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Lobster Claw.
  36. Himalayan monal · adult malePhoto by Jörg Hempel. CC BY-SA 3.0 DE. Source. Palette: Monal Spectrum.
  37. Ibuprofen-crystals-polarized-light-microscopy.jpgPhoto by Janeklass. CC BY 4.0. Source. Palette: Midnight Bloom.
  38. Jade vinePhoto by Franni. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Jade Cascade.
  39. Japanese jewel beetlePhoto by OpenCage. CC BY-SA 2.5. Source. Palette: Japanese jewel beetle.
  40. Labradorite · museum specimenPhoto by Mike Beauregard. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Labrador Light.
  41. Lilac-breasted rollerPhoto by Adam John Bourke. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Lilac-breasted roller.
  42. Loch’s chromodorisPhoto by Richard Ling. CC BY-SA 2.0. Source. Palette: Porcelain Current.
  43. Madagascan sunset moth, dorsal sidePhoto by Didier Descouens. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Madagascan sunset moth.
  44. Mandarin duckPhoto by Henrique S. Ruzzon. Unsplash License. Source. Palette: Mandarin duck.
  45. MandarinfishPhoto by Llez. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Mandarin Maze.
  46. Milionia basalis mothPhoto by Rohit Naniwadekar. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Cobalt Ember.
  47. Native sulfur · Sicily specimenPhoto by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Sulfur Signal.
  48. Nicobar pigeonPhoto by Quartl. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Nicobar Metal.
  49. Orchid mantisPhoto by Luc Viatour. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Orchid mantis.
  50. Painted handmaiden mothPhoto by Sandeep Gangadharan. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Wasp-Moth Signal.
  51. Paradise tanagerPhoto by Kaldari. CC0 1.0. Source. Palette: Paradise Signal.
  52. Peacock mantis shrimpPhoto by Thierry Peres. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Peacock Armor.
  53. Periander metalmark butterflyPhoto by Geoff Gallice. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Metalmark Pulse.
  54. Purple sea urchinPhoto by Minette Layne. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Urchin Velvet.
  55. Purple-breasted cotinga · malePhoto by Hector Bottai. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Cotinga Voltage.
  56. Rainbow eucalyptus · barkPhoto by Paxson Woelber. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Rainbow Bark.
  57. Rainbow grasshopperPhoto by Alejandro Santillana / Insects Unlocked. CC0 1.0. Source. Palette: Desert Arcade.
  58. Red-eyed tree frogPhoto by Brian Gratwicke. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Canopy Signal.
  59. Red-speckled jewel beetlePhoto by Ben Sale. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Ivory Jewel.
  60. Rhodochrosite · crystal clusterPhoto by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Rhodo Rose.
  61. Rosy maple mothPhoto by Mike Lewinski. Unsplash License. Source. Palette: Rosy maple moth.
  62. Rough turquoise · ArizonaPhoto by W.carter / Ann-Sophie Qvarnström. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Turquoise Terrain.
  63. Ruby-tailed waspPhoto by Arnstein Staverløkk, Norsk institutt for naturforskning. CC BY 3.0. Source. Palette: Ruby Shock.
  64. Soap film 3.jpgPhoto by Umberto Salvagnin. CC BY 2.0. Source. Palette: Film Frequency.
  65. Spanish moon moth, adult femalePhoto by Shawn Hanrahan. CC BY-SA 2.5. Source. Palette: Spanish moon moth.
  66. Strawberry poison frogPhoto by Clinton & Charles Robertson. CC BY-SA 2.0. Source. Palette: Strawberry Voltage.
  67. Superb starlingPhoto by Quartl. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Starling Copper.
  68. Tempering colors in steel.jpgPhoto by Zaereth. CC0 1.0. Source. Palette: Temper Spectrum.
  69. Urea in polarized light.jpgPhoto by Radix2010. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source. Palette: Urea Ultraviolet.
  70. Variable neon slugPhoto by Nick Hobgood. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Reef Circuit.
  71. Verdigris Gruenspan vert-de-gris.jpgPhoto by Patchy. Public domain. Source. Palette: Verdigris Nocturne.
  72. Watermelon tourmaline with albitePhoto by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. Palette: Tourmaline Orchard.
  73. Yellow-banded poison frogPhoto by Holger Krisp. CC BY 3.0. Source. Palette: Yellow Alert.
  74. Zitronensäure im Mikroskop mit Polfilter orig.jpgPhoto by Jan Homann. Public domain. Source. Palette: Citric Electric.
  75. Zodiac mothPhoto by CSIRO. CC BY 3.0. Source. Palette: Zodiac Prism.