There are different ways to create random based palettes. I'm telling some for example:

1. electrikmonk has on his profile-page a great flash tool called RANDOM PALETTE GENERATOR. I don't know how it works exactly but I'm quite sure it generates Hex-sequences with some mathematic random algorithm, so you create five out of all possible colors.

2. COLOURlovers has some random functions by itself. By clicking Colors > Random in the menue you choose random colors out of all colors created at CL so far. This also should be based on some mathematic random algorithm.
Lesaint has made a hole series based on this system.

3. Choose five random palettes out of all CL palettes so far and collect one color from each of it to create a new palette.

4. Choose one color from each of the five newest palettes to create a new palette.

5. Clicking randomly on the Color Picker.

6. ...

Any suggestions?

The only other consideration I can think of is the difference between using the random features to find colours you like or wouldn't have thought of on your own, and taking the random features and forcing yourself to use what they return, whether or not it inspires you :) Haha.

I like to click on Keith's random palette generator until I find a 5-colour combo I like, then use it as-is (my Traumatizer series) but when I do my true true random palettes, I just click the Colours> Random link five times and use it, no matter how ugly the return. I just reorganize the five until they're as agreeable as I can make them.... I know this may seem like it totally voids the artistic facet of palette-building, but it forces me to attempt harmony in unexpected pairings and over time can lead to interesting realizations.

Both lead to palettes you never would have orchestrated intentionally, and can really provide some originality.

I sometimes start with a colour I find in a search - then look at the palettes other people have used it in - choose a 2nd colour from one of these - look at more palettes other people have used this colour in and so on...


I'm not yet brave enough to do the "forced" random technique of using whatever happens no matter what it looks like, but I can appreciate the challenge.

klip wrote:

I sometimes start with a colour I find in a search - then look at the palettes other people have used it in - choose a 2nd colour from one of these - look at more palettes other people have used this colour in and so on...

Believe it or not, but some time ago I've done one exactly the same way:



It just seemed too difficult to explain this system in english :) Great you explained it, klip!

I make a lot of palettes using the colours that show up down on the main page or on my main page, I try to keep the sequence if possible but also to not use two colours from the same palette, sometimes I add a new colour or a fav or mix two different 'main pages'

this palette was create using 4 colours that appeared today on the main page (all from the 28th of September and 3 by _stefan! One was even an orphan color... almost a jackpot :)

Or using only the top left or lower right - or whatever - colour that comes up in that group of "similar colours" under the colour mixer. Only in the sequence they appear.

Created using the Similar Colour group that pops up under the colour mixer - this time starting the left and working to the right - if that makes sense...

a long time ago, in a COLOURlover's forum far, far away i had posted how my randomizer works. it's just a run-of-the-mill random number generator function that creates 6 random numerical values in the range of 0-15 and then converts any value above 9 to the corresponding hex letter. it then repeats this another 4 times. each *click* (or onKeyPress'Enter') represents 30 random values being generated. :) it only took an hour or two to build and it was based it on the original CL random colour feature. i've since realized it wouldn't take much to create more harmony with algorithmic patterns and aesthetic ratios, but i haven't since had the time. besides, it would ruin the unexpected fun, veraciousness, and inspiration that it was originally purposed for.

btw, cool group _stefan - not sure why i never thought of it before. i have so many palettes generated and originated from my randomizer that i quit denoting them over a year ago.

i thought it was funny that this one got as much love as it did because i just randomly clicked the color picker out of frustration.

most of my palettes are just colors that came up and i use them whether i like them or not and in the order they came up
the exception is gradient palettes and when i'm trying to find a particular color shade

The first random palette I made was just taking the first 5 colors I got from clicking Colours>Random and trying to put them in the most pleasing (to me) order. The revised one I took the same colors and just allowed myself to change the saturation and value, but not the hue.

using the first color of five new palettes


used the second color of the most loved palettes


third color of random palettes


fouth color of top website colortrends


I took the fifth color of my top rated palettes

I've made this one just picking colours randomly having no particular idea:

This was fun, these came hitting random on the CL colours ^^

plch wrote:

this palette was create using 4 colours that appeared today on the main page (all from the 28th of September and 3 by _stefan! One was even an orphan color... almost a jackpot :)

This is similar to my Morning and Evening News palette series - I choose five of the twenty most recent colours to use in a palette, trying to use the newest possible and not repeating the combinations from new palettes, then name it morning, midday or evening news. This is very successful, but largely because I have so much control over the variables... I don't know if I consider it any real sort of "random."

electrikmonk wrote:

a long time ago, in a COLOURlover's forum far, far away i had posted how my randomizer works...

I still think it would own to be able to click any one colour and randomize just that one. I don't know anything about how hard that would be to program. Sometimes one oddball blows the whole combo, but if I manually replace just one, I feel like I tarnished the construction :)

It would take so bloody long to add all my old random palettes to this group, but all my traumatizers and a few more anyway are made were made with your app.

klip wrote:

Created using the Similar Colour group that pops up under the colour mixer - this time starting the left and working to the right - if that makes sense...

Great, very creative idea!

My 'fugazi' was quite random too - I picked random colours from the album of Marillion called "Fugazi" and put it in this order. Half-randomly.

BTW. 100 random palettes added here! :)