How to Create a Custom Color Palette in GIMP

Creating a custom color palette in GIMP is a straightforward process that allows you to save and reuse specific hex codes for digital art, web design, or branding projects. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to build, edit, and export your own color palettes using GIMP’s built-in Palettes dialog and standard tools.

Step 1: Open the Palettes Dialog

To start managing your colors, you need to access the Palettes dockable dialog. Navigate to the top menu and select Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Palettes. This will open a window displaying all the default color collections pre-installed in GIMP.

Step 2: Create a New Blank Palette

At the bottom of the Palettes dialog, click on the Create a new palette icon (represented by a blank page). Alternatively, you can right-click anywhere inside the Palettes list and choose New Palette. A new, empty palette file will open in the Palette Editor tab, usually named “Untitled”.

Step 3: Add Colors to Your Palette

You can populate your new palette with specific colors using two main methods:

• Using the Foreground Color: Set your desired color as the current Foreground color in your main toolbox. In the Palette Editor, click the Create a new entry from the foreground color icon at the bottom.
• Using the Eyedropper Tool: If you have an image open with colors you want to copy, select the Color Picker Tool (Eyedropper) from your toolbox. Click on the color in your image, then click the new entry icon in the Palette Editor to save it.

Step 4: Name and Save Your Palette

In the Palette Editor, type a memorable name in the Name field at the top to replace “Untitled”. GIMP automatically saves your custom palettes to your user profile folder as .gpl files, meaning your new color scheme will remain available every time you open the software.