Palette

Extract and display the dominant color palette from images. Perfect for design inspiration, brand color extraction, theme generation, and understanding image color composition.

Installation

Usage

Basic Usage

# Extract 5 dominant colors (default)
mediaproc image palette photo.jpg

# Extract 8 colors
mediaproc image palette image.png --colors 8

# Show detailed output with hex codes
mediaproc image palette brand-logo.jpg -c 3 -v

# Extract full 10-color palette
mediaproc image palette artwork.png --colors 10

# Preview operation
mediaproc image palette photo.jpg --dry-run

Options

Output Information

The palette command provides:

1. Primary Dominant Color: The single most prevalent color
2. Channel Analysis: RGB channel statistics
3. Average Image Tone: Overall color tendency
4. Overall Brightness: Light/dark classification (0-255)
5. Color Temperature: Warm/cool/neutral classification
6. Saturation Level: Color intensity percentage

Output Format

Examples

1. Basic Palette Extraction

Extract default 5-color palette:

mediaproc image palette photo.jpg

Result: Shows dominant color, channel analysis, and image tone.

2. Brand Color Extraction

Extract brand colors from logo:

mediaproc image palette company-logo.jpg -c 3 -v

Use Case: Get 3 main brand colors with hex codes for design work.

3. Design Inspiration

Extract color scheme from inspiring image:

mediaproc image palette inspiration.png --colors 8

Creative: 8-color palette for design project inspiration.

4. Artwork Analysis

Analyze art piece colors:

mediaproc image palette painting.jpg --colors 10 -v

Art: Full 10-color palette with detailed color information.

5. Batch Analysis

Analyze multiple images:

mediaproc image palette "photos/*.jpg"

Output: Palette for each image, one after another.

6. Product Color Matching

Extract product colors:

mediaproc image palette product-photo.jpg -c 3 -v

E-commerce: Get main product colors for descriptions or filters.

7. Theme Generation

Create color theme from photo:

mediaproc image palette landscape.jpg --colors 6

Web Design: Generate 6-color palette for website theme.

8. Minimal Palette

Extract just primary colors:

mediaproc image palette image.png -c 3

Simplicity: Clean, minimal 3-color palette.

9. Photography Analysis

Analyze photo color composition:

mediaproc image palette portrait.jpg --verbose

Photography: Understand color distribution in photograph.

10. Interior Design

Extract colors from room photo:

mediaproc image palette room-inspiration.jpg -c 5 -v

Design: Get color scheme for interior decoration.

11. Nature Photography

Extract natural color palette:

mediaproc image palette sunset.jpg --colors 7

Nature: Capture natural color harmonies.

12. Logo Analysis

Analyze competitor logo colors:

mediaproc image palette competitor-logo.png -c 3 -v

Research: Understand competitive brand colors.

13. Fashion Colors

Extract clothing colors:

mediaproc image palette outfit.jpg --colors 4

Fashion: Get color combinations from fashion photography.

14. UI Design

Extract colors from UI screenshot:

mediaproc image palette ui-design.png -c 6 -v

UX: Analyze color usage in interface design.

15. Preview Analysis

Check what would be analyzed:

mediaproc image palette photo.jpg --dry-run

Safety: Verify file path and settings.

Understanding Color Information

Dominant Color

The primary dominant color is calculated from:

• Overall image statistics
• Most prevalent color values
• Weighted by frequency

Channel Analysis

Shows average, minimum, and maximum values for:

• Red Channel: Red intensity (0-255)
• Green Channel: Green intensity (0-255)
• Blue Channel: Blue intensity (0-255)

Average Image Tone

The overall color tendency:

• Calculated from average of all RGB channels
• Represents the "mood" of the image
• Useful for understanding overall color cast

Brightness Classification

• Very Dark: 0-50
• Dark: 51-100
• Medium: 101-150
• Light: 151-200
• Very Light: 201-255

Color Temperature

• Warm: Red > Blue (warm tones, reds, oranges, yellows)
• Cool: Blue > Red (cool tones, blues, greens, purples)
• Neutral: Red ≈ Blue (balanced, grays, whites)

Saturation

Percentage of color intensity:

• 0%: Completely desaturated (grayscale)
• 1-20%: Low saturation (muted, pastel)
• 21-50%: Medium saturation (natural)
• 51-80%: High saturation (vivid)
• 81-100%: Very high saturation (intense, neon)

Use Cases

1. Brand Color Extraction

Extract colors from brand materials:

mediaproc image palette brand-photo.jpg -c 3 -v

Branding: Get hex codes for brand guidelines.

2. Website Theme

Create color scheme for website:

mediaproc image palette hero-image.jpg --colors 5 -v

Web Design: Generate complementary color palette.

3. Product Descriptions

Extract colors for product listings:

mediaproc image palette product.jpg -c 2

E-commerce: "Available in [extracted colors]"

4. Design Inspiration

Find color combinations:

mediaproc image palette inspiration/*.jpg --colors 6

Creativity: Explore color palettes from inspiring images.

5. Art Analysis

Study artwork color usage:

mediaproc image palette famous-painting.jpg --colors 10 -v

Art History: Understand artist's color choices.

6. Photography Planning

Plan photo shoot colors:

mediaproc image palette reference-photo.jpg -c 5

Photography: Match or complement color schemes.

7. Interior Design

Plan room color schemes:

mediaproc image palette room-inspo.jpg --colors 4 -v

Decoration: Get paint colors and accent colors.

8. Fashion Styling

Match clothing colors:

mediaproc image palette outfit-inspo.jpg -c 3

Fashion: Create coordinated looks.

9. UI/UX Design

Analyze interface colors:

mediaproc image palette app-screenshot.png --colors 6 -v

Design System: Create or analyze color systems.

10. Social Media

Create cohesive feed:

mediaproc image palette "instagram/*.jpg" -c 5

Social: Maintain consistent brand colors.

Combining with Other Commands

Resize + Palette

Analyze large images faster:

# Resize first for faster processing
mediaproc image resize huge-image.jpg -w 1000 -o temp.jpg

# Extract palette
mediaproc image palette temp.jpg -c 5 -v

Efficiency: Faster analysis of very large images.

Auto-Enhance + Palette

Analyze enhanced version:

# Enhance image
mediaproc image auto-enhance dull-photo.jpg -o enhanced.jpg

# Extract palette from enhanced
mediaproc image palette enhanced.jpg

Improved: Get colors from optimized version.

Batch Analysis Workflow

Process and analyze:

# Process images
mediaproc image optimize "raw/*.jpg"

# Analyze palettes
mediaproc image palette "raw/*-optimized.jpg" --colors 5

Workflow: Complete processing with color analysis.

Color Theory Applications

Complementary Colors

Find opposite colors on color wheel:

• Red (RGB 255,0,0) ↔ Cyan (RGB 0,255,255)
• Green (RGB 0,255,0) ↔ Magenta (RGB 255,0,255)
• Blue (RGB 0,0,255) ↔ Yellow (RGB 255,255,0)

Analogous Colors

Colors next to each other on wheel:

• Example: Red, Orange, Yellow (warm palette)
• Example: Blue, Blue-Green, Green (cool palette)

Monochromatic Scheme

Variations of single hue:

• Different brightness levels
• Different saturation levels
• Same base color

Technical Details

Color Extraction Algorithm

1. Statistics Calculation: Analyzes all pixels
2. Dominant Color: Most frequent color values
3. Channel Analysis: Per-channel statistics
4. Average Calculation: Mean RGB values
5. Classification: Brightness, temperature, saturation

Color Space

Analysis performed in RGB color space:

• R: Red (0-255)
• G: Green (0-255)
• B: Blue (0-255)

Hex Code Format

Colors displayed as hex codes:

• Format: #RRGGBB
• Example: #8EA8C3
• R = 8E (142), G = A8 (168), B = C3 (195)

Performance

• Small images (less than 1MP): ~50-100ms
• Medium images (5MP): ~200-300ms
• Large images (greater than 10MP): ~500ms-1s
• No output file created (analysis only)

Best Practices

1. Use Verbose Mode for Design

Always use -v when extracting for design:

mediaproc image palette design-ref.jpg -c 5 -v

Get hex codes for direct use in design tools.

2. Fewer Colors for Cleaner Palettes

Start with 3-5 colors:

# Clean, focused palette
mediaproc image palette photo.jpg -c 3

More colors can be overwhelming.

3. Consider Image Content

• Logos: 2-3 colors
• Photos: 5-7 colors
• Complex art: 8-10 colors

4. Test on Representative Images

# Test on sample
mediaproc image palette sample.jpg -c 5

# If good, analyze all
mediaproc image palette "all/*.jpg" -c 5

5. Use for Consistent Branding

Extract from brand photos:

mediaproc image palette "brand-photos/*.jpg" -c 3 -v

Find recurring brand colors.

6. Copy Hex Codes

Verbose mode shows hex codes:

mediaproc image palette logo.jpg -c 3 -v
# Output: #8EA8C3
# Copy directly to design tools

7. Analyze Different Resolutions

Same colors at different sizes:

# Full size
mediaproc image palette full-size.jpg -c 5

# Thumbnail (faster, same colors)
mediaproc image palette thumb.jpg -c 5

Troubleshooting

Issue: Colors Not What Expected

Problem: Extracted colors don't match visual perception

Cause: Algorithm extracts most prevalent, not most noticeable

Solution: This is expected. Visual prominence ≠ statistical dominance.

Issue: Too Many Similar Colors

Problem: Multiple extracted colors look similar

Cause: Image has limited color variation

Solution: Use fewer colors:

# Instead of
mediaproc image palette photo.jpg -c 10

# Use
mediaproc image palette photo.jpg -c 3

Issue: Grayscale Image

Problem: All colors are shades of gray

Cause: Image is actually grayscale

Solution: This is correct. Low saturation indicates grayscale image.

Issue: Batch Output Too Long

Problem: Too much output when processing many files

Solution: Process specific files or redirect output:

mediaproc image palette "photos/*.jpg" > palette-results.txt

Related Commands

• dominant-color - Extract single dominant color
• stats - Detailed image statistics
• metadata - Image metadata information

Design Tool Integration

CSS Usage

/* Use extracted hex codes directly */
:root {
  --primary: #8ea8c3;
  --secondary: #c39e8e;
  --accent: #8ec3a8;
}

Design Software

Copy hex codes to:

• Photoshop: Color Picker
• Figma: Fill color
• Sketch: Color panel
• Illustrator: Swatches

Web Development

// Use in JavaScript
const colors = {
  primary: "#8EA8C3",
  secondary: "#C39E8E",
  accent: "#8EC3A8",
};

Further Reading

• Color Theory
• RGB Color Model
• Hex Color Codes
• Color Schemes