To try this technique out, you will need to select a digital photo that contains a range of colors that you find pleasing. The following steps show you how to use this simple method yourself so that you can produce your own GIMP color palette from an image.
Open a Digital Photo
This technique builds a palette based on colors contained within a photo, so pick a photo that contains a pleasing range of colors. GIMP’s Import a New Palette can only use open images and can’t import an image from a file path. To open your selected photo, go to File > Open and then navigate to your photo and click the Open button. If you are happy with the mix of colors throughout your photo you can proceed to the next step. However, if you want to base your palette on the colors contained in a particular area of the photo, you can draw a selection around this area using one of the selection tools.
Index the Image
Converting the image to indexed colors stores the color data from the image as a custom palette. This process enables you to select the maximum number of colors or use a web-optimized palette, if you prefer.
Use Your New Palette
Once your palette is imported, you can easily use it by double-clicking on the icon that represents it. This opens the Palette Editor and here you can edit and name individual colors within a palette if desired. You can also use this dialog to select colors for use within a GIMP document. Clicking on a color will set it as the Foreground color while holding the Ctrl key and clicking a color will set it as the background color. Importing a palette from an image in GIMP can be an easy way to produce a new color scheme and also ensure consistent colors are used within a document.
