Finding the right color combination can be one of the biggest obstacles to starting a new project.
That’s why I started creating my popular color palettes – to help other creatives and colorists find beautiful color combinations for their craft projects, coloring pages, or creative businesses.
These color palettes have been shared on social media thousands of times and have been seen by millions on Pinterest, with people using them for adult coloring books, crafts, art projects, graphic design, fashion trends, knitting, scrapbooking, web design, branding and more.
So, I took it a step further and created an incredibly useful resource, The Color Catalog – with 250 color palettes in an interactive format that you can use on your tablet or mobile device for instant access to a library of color inspiration.
In this video, I want to give you a full walkthrough on how to use The Color Catalog, including:
- How to order and download The Color Catalog. (00:30)
- How to save the interactive version on your iPad. (02:00)
- How to find the perfect color palette by color, keyword or collection. (03:25)
- How to use the hex, RGB & CMYK codes and the coloring boxes. (05:55)
- How to match your pencil colors to the colors in your favorite color palette. (07:05)
- Bonus tips: 2 recommended 3rd party apps to unlock extra features of The Color Catalog. (08:30)
Below the video, I’ve asked customers to share how they are using The Color Catalog, so you can get inspired and see how easy it is to use these color palettes in your own projects.
If you haven’t already purchased The Color Catalog, you can find out more here.
Let’s watch the video! 👇
How to Use The Color Catalog
Extra Tips from Baylee Jae on Choosing Colors
Have you heard of @BayleeJaeArt? Baylee is an amazing artist, with hundreds of helpful videos on Youtube – so I was tickled pink when she said YES to checking out The Color Catalog! 💖
Not only did she use it on one of her pages, but she gave some great tips on saving paper when printing it out, tips for matching the right colors from your markers or pencils… and her coloring of my anchor page from the Maritime Collection was AMAZING!
Check out her video below…
How Other Creatives are Using Color Palettes
Even if you can’t afford The Color Catalog right now, you can find my color palettes on my blog, Instagram and Pinterest to help you choose colors that work together.
Here’s a look at how others have been using these color palettes.
As you would have seen in Baylee Jae’s video above, she chose to print out her favorite palette from The Color Catalog and matched up her Copic Markers using the boxes provided. Even though the colors printed differently to how they displayed on the screen, the end result was amazing. In her example, she avoided the temptation to add other colors and chose to stick to the 5 colors in the palette.
“You can find websites out there that have pictures and swatches like this, but this is just so handy because it’s ONE PDF… Everything’s right here and it’s interactive… I just like this! I’d never go back to those palette websites… this is just so much more convenient!” – Baylee Jae
Emma Turnbull has been one of my colorists and a good friend since I started making coloring books. She regularly uses color palettes from @dailycolorpalettes on Instagram and The Color Catalog to help her choose colors for her pattern coloring pages.
Kellie uses my color palettes as inspiration for her handmade polymer clay jewelry that she sells in her Etsy shop. She showcases her process and inspiration on her Instagram page, @studio_1405.
My Facebook group members have worked on some color palette challenges – using a specific color palette to color their next coloring page. Here are some of the results (from top left) by: Kerri Taylor, Chelsea Jacobs, Anna Weaver Hurtt, Christine Dittman, Emma Turnbull and Rachael Dickson.
Color palettes aren’t just useful for crafts and coloring. Here’s a snapshot of some of the design elements and product images from my website and Instagram. As you can see, I’ve used a color palette to create a consistent theme throughout my branding and photos.
These are just some ideas to get you started, but there are so many other ways you can use color palettes like those in The Color Catalog. Here are some other ideas and comments from customers:
“This is an extremely helpful tool for finding good color combinations for many different purposes, not only coloring, but also quilting, interior design or web pages. It’s interactive and really very easy to use. It will help me a lot.” – Kerstin
“The Color Catalog is one of the best compilations of Color Charts I’ve come across and its uses go way beyond coloring. It is a good reference for painters, beaders and jewelry makers, fiber artists, paper crafters, mixed media artists and much much more. I was watching a YouTube video of an Acrylic Paint Pouring artist that I follow who found some of Sarah’s color charts on Pinterest and used one particular color combo for one of his acrylic pours. He was amazed at the results using the color combo and has inspired many of his paint pouring followers to search Pinterest for new color combos. Kudos to Sarah for creating such a beautiful reference!” – Pamela C
“Love this. Will be very useful as I chose fabrics for my quilts as well colors for my card making and coloring. So glad to have found this.” – Sandra
You can see other raving reviews from customers who have purchased The Color Catalog in the “Reviews” tab on the product page.
I hope you’ve found this video useful, and I’d love to hear how you use color palettes in the comments!
Can’t afford the volumes or bundles, but I hope to glean what I can from your tips and instructions.
Hi, I don’t use colored pencils, I do use watercolor pencils and watercolor paints. Can these companion guides be used for this?
Hi Sarah
Can I use this catalogue on my iPhone if I have an abode reader app installed
Hello! Are there any cross references for Copic markers? I see in the video where it will tell you what color of pencil is a match. Thank you!
Hi Valerie, there is a Color Catalog Companion for the Copic Sketch Alcohol Markers available for purchase. :) Kristen – Team Sarah
Sarah, I’m 70,and unfamiliar with the technology of the day.
I plan o buy the cubes. Can I buy the companion volumes as a physical book?
I do have several sets of colour pencils and I can see how useful they can be.
Now that the Boomers have retired I’m sure you would have many customers who don’t have technical skills.
Please help us out
Hi Siobhan, thanks for reaching out. The Color Companion is a digital file and not available as a hard copy. Having said that, when you buy it, you do get a printable file that you can print at home or take to your local print ship :) – Kristen (Team Sarah)
Hi, Sarah,
I would like to ask if I buy these that are downloads for my pc and then get another laptop later, can I move the software to another device – Or do I have to buy again?
Hi Cindy, You absolutely can. We allow multiple downloads of the same file so you can put it on up to ten devices.
Sarah, I would like to ask, the Color Cubes can be used on their own, or I need to have the Color Catalog(s) also? I don’t have the Catalogs and wasn’t planning on buying them now, although the bundle is a good deal. Also what exactly is the Companion about?
Thank you
Hi Judith!
The Color Companion contains physical pencil numbers that match colors in the palette so its really helpful if you own the pencils and want to closely match them. The Cubes and Catalogs contain the same palettes, one in an interactive digital format the you can download onto any device, and the other in a beautiful hardcopy / card format. Hope this helps!
Hi, perhaps it is faster to ask you here, because I simply cannot find the comment which I saw couple days ago before I made my purchase. Could you please share what palettes are in Catalog #1 and which are in #2? For example: landscapes, flowers, beach etc. Just to help me decide which catalog to reach out for? Thank you so much!
Color Catalog Volume 1:
Beautiful Landscapes
Winter
Autumn
Summer
Pantone Fall Color Trends
Pantone Spring Color Trends
Christmas
Valentine’s Day
Beautiful Food
Color Catalog Volume 2:
Ocean Life
Spectacular Skies
Festive & Bright
Animals
Pantone Fall/Winter Color Trends
Pantone Spring/Summer Color Trends
Cityscapes
Almost Monotone
Can this be used for drawing portraits in colored pencils?
This looks really good for choosing colours for acrylic pours. You could get some really great colours. I love it but at the moment l can’t get it as l have an 18year old cat that’s in need of vetting.
I’d love to get this but just can’t afford it right now. Just took all my money to pay for my sisters funeral. Hopefully soon I can get it. It looks like a great thing to have
Hi, I would like to purchase the color catalog, but it says for personal use only. i want to use it to find color combinations for printing gifts for my store – does that disqualify me from purchasing it?
Hi Kim! That’s totally fine to use it for that. The license applies to the use of the actual photos and palettes together – but you can use the color combinations themselves on any project you’d like. Sorry for the confusion!
awesome, I will be purchasing shortly!
I don’t own an iPad. But would enjoy having the catalog to aide my coloring hobby. Could I still download and save the catalog to my PC which runs on Windows 10?
Yes, The Color Catalog is a PDF, so it works on any computer that reads PDF files. If you don’t have a PDF program, you can download Adobe Reader online for free.
I love this. A must to own