A Blender addon for generating beautiful color palettes directly in the shader editor using color theory rules.
Spectrum Palette is a shader node that generates visually appealing color schemes using the Spectrum Engine - a color palette generator based on established color theory rules. Whether you're stuck on colors or want to quickly explore different palettes, this addon helps you create beautiful material color schemes without leaving Blender.
Generate palettes using proven color theory:
- Monochromatic - Same hue with varying saturation and brightness
- Analogous - Colors adjacent on the color wheel
- Complementary - Opposite colors on the color wheel
- Triadic - Three colors forming an equilateral triangle on the color wheel
- Custom Rules - Special schemes including:
- Vibrant - Two vibrant colors with black/white shades
- Gradient - Fixed hue with gradual saturation/value changes
- Pop Out - Minimal scheme with one color and grayscale
- Random - Completely random color generation
- Global Controls - Adjust hue, saturation, and value across the entire palette
- Custom Base Color - Start from a specific color you have in mind
- Save & Load Palettes - Build your own library of favorite palettes
- Palette History - Navigate through previously generated palettes
- Shuffle & Invert - Quickly reorganize your palette colors
- ColorRamp Integration - Link directly to Blender's ColorRamp nodes
The Spectrum node is global - generate a palette once and it updates across all materials in your scene simultaneously. No need to update links or materials individually.
- Download the latest release ZIP from Releases
- In Blender:
Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > Install - Select the downloaded ZIP file
- Enable "Spectrum Palette Generator"
- Open the Shader Editor
- Press
Shift + Ato add a new node - Select Spectrum Palette
- The node outputs 5 colors - connect them to your material
- Click Refresh Palette to generate a new palette
- Select a Rule from the dropdown (Monochromatic, Analogous, etc.)
- Optionally enable Use Custom Base Color to start from a specific color
- Click Refresh Palette to generate
- Use Global Controls to fine-tune the entire palette
- Generate a palette you like
- Click the save icon (📄)
- Name your palette
- Load it later from the Saved Palettes dropdown
- Shift + Click Refresh button - Updates online palettes list (when using online sources)
- Organize Toggle - Sorts colors by brightness/saturation
- Shuffle - Randomize color order (Shift + Click to undo)
- Invert - Reverse the color order
- ColorRamp Link - Assign palette to a ColorRamp node automatically
- Use Monochromatic for subtle, cohesive looks
- Try Complementary for high-contrast, bold materials
- Enable Organize to get colors sorted light-to-dark
- Save your favorite palettes to build a personal library
- The Random Rule option cycles through different rules - great for exploration!
Original Author: Akash Hamirwasia
Updated for Blender 5.0+: kenwud
Based on the original Kaleidoscope addon.
This addon is licensed under the GPL-3.0 License.
You are free to use Spectrum Palette Generator for all your projects without restrictions.
- Issues: GitHub Issues
- Original Project: Blender Skool
- Updated for Blender 5.0+ compatibility
- Removed deprecated nodeitems_utils
- Fixed cross-platform compatibility issues
- Streamlined to focus on Spectrum Palette functionality
- Updated documentation and branding
- Original release by Akash Hamirwasia
- Support for Blender 2.81+