How to Use Advanced Color Tools in Photoshop

Picking colors that go well together doesn’t have to mean guessing, and Photoshop’s Adobe Color Themes panel can calculate complementary colors directly from a sample already in an image. This tutorial sets up the panels needed for color work, samples a color and generates matching palettes from it, saves those colors to a library, and applies them instantly across multiple text and fill layers at once.

Understanding Complementary Colors on the Color Wheel

Complementary colors sit across from each other on the color wheel, and combinations like these are the ones that tend to look genuinely good together, even though figuring out the exact matching shade by eye is difficult.

1. Recognize That Opposite Colors on the Wheel Complement Each Other

   Understand that colors positioned opposite one another around the color wheel, such as blue and orange, are considered complementary and tend to look great combined.

Setting Up the Libraries, Color Themes, and Color Panels

Three panels working together, Libraries, Adobe Color Themes, and Color, make it possible to sample, generate, and apply color palettes without leaving the workspace.

2. Open the Libraries Panel

   Go to Window > Libraries to open the Libraries panel.

3. Open Adobe Color Themes

   Go to Window > Extensions > Adobe Color Themes to open the color theme generator panel.

4. Open the Color Panel

   Go to Window > Color to open the standard Color panel.

5. Arrange the Three Panels Together

   Drag the panels into a convenient group on screen so all three are visible at once while working.

Sampling a Color Directly From the Image

The Eyedropper tool pulls an exact color straight from the photo, such as a subject’s skin tone, and sets it as the active foreground color to build a palette around.

6. Select the Eyedropper Tool

   Press I to switch to the Eyedropper tool.

7. Click to Sample a Color From the Image

   Click directly on an area of the image, such as the subject’s skin, to sample that exact color as the new foreground color.

Generating a Matching Color Theme From the Sample

Loading the sampled color into Adobe Color Themes automatically calculates complementary, triad, monochromatic, and other coordinated palettes built directly from it.

8. Set the Sampled Color as the Active Theme Color

   In the Adobe Color Themes panel, click the button below the color wheel that sets the selected color from the active foreground color.

9. Choose a Harmony Rule Like Complementary or Triad

   Select a harmony option such as Complementary, Triad, Analogous, Monochromatic, or Compound to generate a coordinated set of colors built from the sampled color.

10. Compare Different Harmony Options

    Switch between the different harmony rules to compare which generated set of colors feels like the best fit for the image.

Why Sampling From the Image Matters More Than Picking a Random Color

Choosing a color out of thin air risks clashing with everything already present in the photo, since there’s no guarantee an arbitrary color relates to the image’s existing tones at all. Sampling directly from the image first means every generated palette is mathematically built to complement a color that’s already there, so the results are far more likely to feel intentional rather than random.

Saving the Generated Colors to a Library

Adding a generated color theme to the Libraries panel turns a temporary set of calculated colors into a permanent, reusable swatch collection.

11. Click Add to Swatches

    In the Adobe Color Themes panel, click the Add to Swatches button to save the current set of generated colors.

12. Confirm the Colors Appear in the Library

    Check the Libraries panel to confirm the newly generated colors, such as a brown, a green, and a tan, are now saved there. They are added to the Swatches panel (Window > Swatches) as well.

Applying a Library Color to a Single Text Layer

With colors saved to the library, changing a text layer’s color is as simple as clicking the layer and then clicking a swatch, without ever opening the Type tool or a color picker.

13. Select a Text Layer

    Click directly on a text layer, such as one containing the word “Before,” in the Layers panel.

14. Click a Library Color to Apply It

    Click any saved color swatch in the Libraries panel, and the selected text layer’s color changes to that swatch instantly.

Applying a Library Color to Multiple Layers at Once

Selecting several text and fill layers together before clicking a swatch recolors every one of them simultaneously, rather than one at a time.

15. Shift-Click to Select Multiple Layers

    Hold Shift and click to select several layers together, including text layers and a color fill layer.

16. Click a Library Color to Recolor All of Them

    Click a saved color swatch in the Libraries panel, and every selected layer changes to that color at the same time.

Why Multi-Layer Recoloring Speeds Up Design Work

Recoloring several layers one at a time, opening each one individually and applying a color picker, would turn a quick color adjustment into a slow, repetitive chore. Selecting multiple layers together and clicking a single library swatch changes all of them instantly, making it realistic to try out several different color combinations across an entire design in just a few clicks.

Why Saving a Custom Workspace Is Worth the Extra Step

Rebuilding the same Libraries, Color Themes, and Color panel arrangement from scratch every time a new project needs this color workflow wastes time that could go toward the actual design work. Saving it as a named workspace once means that exact layout can be recalled instantly at any point in the future, no matter what other panels or workspaces have been used in between.

Saving the Panel Layout as a Custom Workspace

Saving the arranged Libraries, Color Themes, and Color panels as a named workspace makes it possible to bring the exact same layout back at any time, even after switching to other work.

17. Go to New Workspace

    Go to Window > Workspace > New Workspace to save the current panel layout.

18. Name and Save the Workspace

    Give the workspace a memorable name and click Save.

19. Reset the Workspace When Needed Later

    Return to Window > Workspace, choose the saved workspace, and select Reset to bring every panel back to exactly where it was saved.

Why This Approach Works

Sampling a color directly from the image, rather than guessing at a matching shade, gives Adobe Color Themes a real starting point to calculate genuinely coordinated palettes from. Saving those generated colors into a library turns a one-time calculation into a reusable set of swatches that can recolor any layer with a single click, long after the original color wheel has been closed. Selecting multiple layers before applying a swatch is what turns color experimentation from a slow, one-layer-at-a-time process into something that can be tried across an entire design almost instantly.

Final Thoughts

Color theory can feel intimidating when it’s left as an abstract idea, but sampling directly from an image and letting Photoshop calculate the matching palette turns it into a fast, practical part of everyday design work. Saving a custom workspace for this color setup means it only has to be built once, ready to call back up any time a new project needs the same complementary color workflow.

Quick Reference: Keys, Menus and Settings

• Open the panelsWindow > Libraries; Window > Extensions > Adobe Color Themes; Window > Color
• Sample a colorI for the Eyedropper, click the skin tone
• Build a themeAdobe Color Themes: Set selected color from active color, then a rule such as Triad or Complementary
• Save the colorsAdd to Swatches (they also show in Window > Swatches)
• Recolor layersShift-click the layers, click a color in the Libraries panel
• Hide the panelsTab
• Save the layoutWindow > Workspace > New Workspace; Reset brings it back