Color Palette Help?

[Melted Dog 161]

So this is a new OC I've been working on for ever. Her name's Spicky Spann and she's a mechanic.
Problem is, I have no idea what to make the color scheme, Can anypony help?

Current Spicky:

[Odyssey 5,716]

Hello ,

 

Just letting you know that I have moved your topic to a more appropriate section -- Original Character Help.

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

A good way to see which colours work together on an OC is to use the pony creator. I know a lot of people bash it, but it's a good way to work out a pallette and see what colour goes with which. For example, you might be craving a red and blue mane and tail but find that next to your OC's fur colour, it clashes too much. So you change the red to purple and make the blue darker.

 

For your OC, maybe keep the fur colour the same but add a spiffy mane and tail instead of the black? Maybe a shade of blue or green would do. Don't forget that colour doesn't make any difference as far as a job goes; a pony can have a physical job and be bright coloured.

[-Octavia- 1,176]

Spicky Spann the Mechanic, I do enjoy a good bit of irony. Not that all mechanics are grease monkeys, of course, but it does seem to be an image people most often associate with them.

 

Colour palette...well, I'm biased for that coat colour of yours, having used a similar colour for my OC. It seems to be on the range of colours we associate with human skin tones, which is perhaps why some people favour it. Now personally I see little wrong with the palette. You have already done a great job of not using saturated colours, which is perhaps my biggest pet peeve above all else when it comes to OCs. The muted tones, to me, suggest a more reserved, controlled character rather than the boldness and excitability one might associate with brighter ones. Of course, Fluttershy seems to invalidate that argument...ah well.

 

Perhaps you might consider more of a steel hue for either the mane/tail or body. Or perhaps you might want to imitate the popular jumpsuit/overall colour of a mechanic: blue. Or, if you keep the colors she has now, perhaps she is always wearing a jumpsuit/overalls to add some pop without actually changing her colour scheme? Just an idea...doesn't exactly fit the criteria. 

 

Well, I personally like the scheme, but there is one aspect that keeps tugging at me just a bit: her eyes. I'm not quite sure what it is about the colour, but it doesn't seem to mesh or pop. It sort of just...is. Of course that is just me, and perhaps someone feels the colour works quite well. I am beginning to realize this rambling probably has not been helpful at all, but hopefully you have some things upon which to think. Pripyat's advice about the OC generator is pretty solid, as well.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Wubtavia

[Blique 211]

I recommend Paletton.com for trying out color schemes. If you're going to go with a brown base, I recommend adding some blue since it's complementary to orange/brown (see Dr. Whooves and Cranky Doodle for reference).

 

Consider trying out schemes like triadic, tetrad, analogous with complement, or split complement. If you're going to go with a monochrome scheme, make sure to have some other aspect of strong contrast; to compare, Luna is monochrome but her dark blue base color contrasts with her white accents.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Blique