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Gorgeous Random Color Scheme Gradient Generator for Photoshop

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Want some simply gorgeous random color scheme inspiration? This is the script for you!

I’m working on a new ebook about color combinations to be released later this year. Part of the work for that book entails some very cool Photoshop and Illustrator scripting. One of the scripts, the intriguing one I’m sharing with you today, takes four random colors and creates a stunningly beautiful gradient from them.

What is so great about a gradient of random colors?

There are a lot of great color scheme generator tools online, a few really great color scheme generator apps, but not a lot of them deal with creating complex gradients, primarily because it complicates software and is generally hard to do. If you put two dissimilar colors on a gradient spectrum and then move the colors towards each other, unexpected harmonies occur. The secret? The gradient acts on the colors by averaging them as they move toward each other, creating more and more harmony until they reach a single color at the midpoint. When the two colors are randomly chosen you are are bound to get some happy color combination accidents. Well, what happens if you put four colors in a gradient? You get all kinds of potential happy accidents and a fluid continuum of color harmonies for you to explore.

This is a huge time saver if you are looking for as many color ideas as possible in the least amount of time.

If you generate an interesting gradient, simply save it and explore it with the eye dropper, saving the color chips that inspire you the most.

How to use the Random Color Scheme Gradient Generator script

  1. Download the script and save it to your computer
  2. Open Photoshop and go into File > Scripts > Browse
  3. Locate the script you save in step 1 and click
  4. Photoshop will create a new 500 x 500 document
  5. Close out the document if you don’t like the random colors
  6. Keep the document open if you like the random colors or hit Save so you don’t lose it
  7. Repeat as many times as you want
  8. Explore the gradient with the eye dropper to get the colors you like most

HINT: Assign a new keyboard shortcut to the “Browse” option to speed up the process of generating as many color scheme gradients as you want.

Yo, Font-Addict! Make sure to check out The Big Book of Font Combinations. Go grab a copy from Amazon or B&N and stare at all 350+ examples of informative font combinations for web and print. You know you want to!

An example of color scheme possibilities

Using the eyedropper, I selected 3 sets of 3 colors that would each work as a color scheme. Can you see the possibilities?

24 Random Color Scheme Gradients

Yo, Font-Addict! Make sure to check out The Big Book of Font Combinations. Go grab a copy from Amazon or B&N and stare at all 350+ examples of informative font combinations for web and print. You know you want to!

Comments

  1. hi carrie i *love* the name of your blog!!! nice colros looks more rust here w/ red/orangeish posted by carrie . and the font is small but totally readable and fine (not *small* like some blogs out there!). so that’s two cents from someone you never knew before!

  2. Hehe…the design is getting long in the tooth and is a tad small. Check out my newest blog at thebiglistoflists.org where I carry the same branding idea forward a bit. I’ll be migrating this blog to that custom design with it’s own twist, and much larger type, hopefully before years end. There, now I said it, and now I have to do it!!

  5. Prince S.: Uncanny! I might make another script that lets you pick specific colors and corners, as well as dimensions. It’s in the “fun” category 🙂