Split-Complementary Palette Generator
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The split-complementary palette generator returns three colors: the base plus the two hues 150° and 210° away, the neighbours of the base's complement. It is the softer cousin of the complementary pair.
What is Split-Complementary Palette Generator?
A split complementary palette generator takes the base and derives the two hues that sit either side of its opposite, at 150 and 210 degrees. In other words it is the base plus two neighbors of its complement, which gives a split complementary color scheme its characteristic tension: the same pull as a complementary pair, resolved into two supporting hues instead of one. The tool returns exactly three swatches, base first and the two derived hues after it, all at the base's own lightness and chroma. The count follows from the rule, and the 150 and 210 degree harmony is what sets it apart from its blunter relative.
The rotation happens in OKLCH, and hue is the only coordinate that moves. Lightness and chroma are read from the base, so every swatch shares one weight and the set differs only by hue. That shared weight is what keeps the two derived hues reading as support rather than as competition. Because OKLCH is perceptually even, the shoulders of the complement land where the eye expects them, so the scheme reads as a deliberate softening of the opposite rather than as three near-arbitrary hues.
- The angles are fixed at 150 and 210 degrees. There is no control for widening or narrowing the split.
- The count is fixed at three. There is no count control and no fourth hue.
- No contrast check. The three hues sit at one lightness and usually need adjusting before they carry text.
- No ordering or sorting: the strip keeps derivation order, base then plus 150 then plus 210.
- No lightness or chroma controls, so the base is the only input and tonal work happens afterwards in the tints and shades tools.
Reach for the split when the pure complement feels too loud but a single hue feels too plain. It suits a base plus two accents that must feel related to the opposite side of the wheel without shouting, such as a primary colour with two companion accents or a headline hue with two quieter supports. Assign the base the largest area and let the derived hues share the accent work, because three equal-weight hues compete for the same space. Where all three must carry text, split one of them into a lightness ramp first.
The practical difference from a complementary pair is one of temperature and of volume. A complementary set is a duel between two colours; a split-complementary set is a base with a warm and a cool supporter, which is easier to place into a layout because the accent responsibility is divided. Keep a record of the base, since the whole trio is reproducible from that single value and the rule.
The two supporters are usually one warm and one cool, because they sit on opposite sides of the complement. That gives a split complementary color scheme a built-in temperature range that a single accent cannot provide, which is why the rule works well for editorial layouts where a headline colour needs both a highlight and a quieter counterpoint. As with every rule here the trio is deterministic, so a settled set can be regenerated for a token file rather than copied by hand.
How to use Split-Complementary Palette Generator
- Set the base color with the picker or by typing a hex value.
- Read the three swatches: base, +150°, +210°.
- Copy the hex value of any swatch.
When to use Split-Complementary Palette Generator vs related tools
Use the split-complementary generator when a base needs two softer supporters rather than one decisive opposite. The complementary generator is the pure pair and is blunter, the triadic generator is a fully balanced three, and the analogous generator keeps everything on one side of the wheel. Check any text pair with the contrast checker, and use the palette sorters if the three hues need an order.
Privacy & Security
This tool runs entirely in your browser — no data ever leaves your device. There is no server round-trip, no upload, no logging, and no account required. Your input is processed locally using client-side JavaScript and is never stored, transmitted, or accessible to anyone else. When you close the tab, everything disappears.