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Palette Manager Pro - Color Palette System

by NovaStrikes·Workflow

Images © NovaStrikes. Used for product review; image policy.

Why we like it

Earns its place by giving Blender a persistent, named palette system where none exists natively — colors save inside the .blend file and, in higher tiers, travel between projects as JSON. A free version is available under a GPL v3 license.

What is Palette Manager Pro - Color Palette System?

Blender has no built-in color palette system, so artists re-enter the same hex codes every session. Palette Manager Pro adds a persistent, named palette system inside the Material tab's Properties panel: select a mesh, scroll down, and create named palettes with named colors instead of raw hex codes. Apply to Object sets the material base color in one click without opening the shader editor, an eyedropper samples a color from an object into a palette slot, and palettes save automatically with the .blend file.

Higher tiers add HEX code display per color and JSON export/import, letting you carry a palette into any project with its color names intact. Lite ships with 50 built-in premium palettes across eight categories — Nature, Urban, Interior, Exterior, Game & Stylized, Art Styles, Materials and Mood — with a preview popup showing hex codes and a category filter.

Pro adds extraction of dominant colors from an image into a ready-to-use palette, batch apply to a selection, and a random palette generator built on color theory: Analogous, Triadic, Complementary, Split-Complementary or Synthwave. It works with EEVEE and Cycles on Blender 4.0+ and 5.1, across Windows, Mac and Linux.

Who is Palette Manager Pro - Color Palette System best for?

Palette Manager Pro - Color Palette System is best for blender artists who want a persistent, named color palette system for setting material base colors and reusing palettes across projects.

How much does Palette Manager Pro - Color Palette System cost?

Palette Manager Pro - Color Palette System is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Named palette system inside the Material tab's Properties panel, with named colors instead of raw hex codes
  • Apply to Object sets the material base color in one click, with no shader editor needed
  • Eyedropper samples a color from an object into a palette slot, and palettes save automatically with the .blend file
  • JSON export/import moves palettes between projects with color names intact, plus HEX code display per color
  • 50 built-in premium palettes across eight categories, with a preview popup showing hex codes and a category filter
  • Extract dominant colors from an image into a ready-to-use palette, and batch apply a color across a selection
  • Random palette generator using color theory: Analogous, Triadic, Complementary, Split-Complementary or Synthwave

Tags

#Blender#color palette#material#swatches#color management#workflow#EEVEE#Cycles

Frequently asked questions

Does Palette Manager Pro work with EEVEE and Cycles?

Palette Manager Pro works with both EEVEE and Cycles, and supports Blender 4.0+ through 5.1. It lives in the Material tab's Properties panel, so you select a mesh, scroll down, and the palette tools are ready. Applying a color sets the object's material base color in one click, with no trip to the shader editor. Because Apply to Object sets the material base color directly, the same palette works whether you render in EEVEE or Cycles, and palettes save automatically inside your .blend file.

Does Palette Manager Pro run on Mac and Linux?

Palette Manager Pro runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, so the addon isn't tied to a single operating system. It installs into Blender and works within the Material tab, and palettes are stored inside your .blend file, which means a project can move between machines with the file itself. The free version is distributed under a GPL v3 license and doesn't require an account to download. For current licensing across the higher tiers, check the developer's page.

Where does Palette Manager Pro keep saved palettes?

Palette Manager Pro stores palettes directly inside your .blend file and saves them automatically, so reopening a project brings your named colors back with no manual step. Everything sits in the Material tab's Properties panel — select a mesh, scroll down, and your palettes are there. In the free tier, palettes stay per .blend file, so a new project starts fresh. The higher tiers add JSON export and import, letting a palette load into any project with its color names intact.

Is Palette Manager Pro free?

Palette Manager Pro is listed as free in this catalog, and a free version is available under a GPL v3 license with no account required to download. That free version covers up to two named palettes with six colors each, one-click apply to object, the eyedropper, and automatic saving inside the .blend file. Paid Lite and Pro tiers add more palettes and colors, JSON portability, built-in premium palettes and image color extraction. For current pricing and licensing details, check the developer's page.

How do I move palettes between Blender projects with Palette Manager Pro?

Palette Manager Pro moves palettes between projects through JSON export and import, available in the Lite and Pro tiers. You save any palette as a .json file, then open a different project and import it to load the whole palette with its color names intact. In the free tier, palettes stay inside a single .blend file, so a new project starts fresh. The JSON route makes your colors portable across projects and across machines.

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