Color Extractor

What is Color Extractor?

Color Extractor is a free online tool that automatically extracts the main color palette from images. Analyze what colors are used in photos or design work and get color codes in HEX, RGB, and HSL formats.

It’s useful when you need a color palette for web design, graphic design, branding, interior design, and various other fields. Extract colors from inspiring images and apply them to your projects.

Who Is This For?

• Web/App Designers – Extract color palettes from reference images to build design systems
• Brand Designers – Analyze and extract brand colors from logos or product images
• Graphic Designers – Find harmonious color combinations that capture the mood of photos
• Interior Designers – Generate color palettes from inspiring space photos
• Illustrators – Analyze the color tones of reference images for your work
• Social Media Content Creators – Analyze colors to maintain consistent feed color tones
• Fashion Designers – Extract seasonal colors from trend images

Key Features

• 8 Main Colors Extraction – Automatically extracts the 8 most representative colors from images. Similar colors are grouped to provide diverse color palettes.
• Color Percentage Display – Shows the percentage each color occupies in the image. This helps you understand the composition of main and secondary colors.
• Multiple Color Formats – Check color codes in three formats: HEX, RGB, and HSL. Click the tabs to switch to your preferred format.
• Color Name Display – Shows the closest standard color name for each color. Intuitive names like ‘Coral’, ‘Navy’, ‘Gold’ make colors easier to understand.
• One-Click Copy – Click a color card to copy that color code to your clipboard.
• CSS Variables Copy – Copy all extracted colors at once in CSS custom properties (variables) format.
• Palette Image Download – Download the extracted color palette as a PNG image to share or keep.
• Drag and Drop – Drag an image and drop it in the upload area to start color extraction immediately.

Understanding Color Formats

Let’s learn about the three color formats supported by this tool.

HEX (Hexadecimal)

HEX uses hexadecimal numbers to represent colors. In #RRGGBB format, each pair of digits represents Red (R), Green (G), and Blue (B) values from 00 to FF.

• #FF0000 – Red
• #00FF00 – Green
• #0000FF – Blue
• #FFFFFF – White
• #000000 – Black

It’s the most widely used format in web development and can be used directly in CSS.

RGB

RGB represents colors using combinations of Red, Green, and Blue. Each color channel has values from 0 to 255.

• rgb(255, 0, 0) – Red
• rgb(0, 255, 0) – Green
• rgb(128, 128, 128) – Gray

When transparency is needed, you can add an alpha value like rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.5).

HSL

HSL represents colors using Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. It’s intuitive as it’s similar to how humans perceive colors.

• H (Hue): 0°–360° angle on the color wheel (0°=Red, 120°=Green, 240°=Blue)
• S (Saturation): 0%–100% saturation (0%=Gray, 100%=Vivid color)
• L (Lightness): 0%–100% lightness (0%=Black, 50%=Pure color, 100%=White)

Example: hsl(0, 100%, 50%) is pure red.

Color Extraction Algorithm

This tool extracts colors from images through the following process:

1. Image Sampling – Reduces image size appropriately for performance optimization.
2. Color Quantization – Groups similar colors and extracts representative colors.
3. Frequency Analysis – Calculates pixel counts for each color group and sorts by frequency.
4. Diversity Assurance – Excludes colors that are too similar and selects diverse colors.
5. Color Matching – Matches each color with the closest standard color name.

Usage Tips

• Use High-Quality Images – More accurate colors can be extracted from clear images with diverse colors.
• Use Full Images – Images that capture the overall atmosphere are better than cropped partial shots.
• Utilize CSS Variables – Copy extracted CSS variables to your project’s root stylesheet to build a consistent color system.
• Save Palettes – Download palettes you like as images and keep them in your project folder.
• Compare Multiple Images – Extract colors from various reference images and compare them to find the optimal palette.

Using Colors in Design

Let’s learn how to effectively use extracted color palettes.

60-30-10 Rule

A widely used color distribution rule in interior and design:

• 60% – Main Color: Base color used for backgrounds and main areas
• 30% – Secondary Color: Second color that complements the main color
• 10% – Accent Color: Point color that catches the eye

Color Harmony

• Complementary: Combination of colors on opposite sides of the color wheel. Creates strong contrast.
• Analogous: Combination of neighboring colors on the color wheel. Harmonious and comfortable feel.
• Triadic: Three colors forming an equilateral triangle on the color wheel. Balanced diversity.

How to Use

1. Upload Image – Click the Choose File button or drag and drop an image to upload.
2. Auto Analysis – Color analysis starts automatically when an image is uploaded.
3. Select Format – Click the HEX, RGB, or HSL tabs to select your preferred color format.
4. Copy Colors – Click a color card to copy that color code to your clipboard.
5. Copy CSS – Click the copy button in the ‘CSS Variables’ area to copy all colors in CSS format.
6. Download Palette – Click the ‘Download Palette’ button to save as a PNG image.