Simple algorithm and color space to generate diverse skin tones
Hello HN! I found that picking out plausible but diverse skin tones for my digital art and game development projects was kind of difficult, and I got curious about if there was a way to define a color space that made it easy. I've built a color picker and procedural generation algorithm based on the space as well as a bunch of other fun js features and demos throughout the page that use the equations. If you find it interesting, I have lots of explanations of how I built it and what properties the space has. The methodology might be a bit shaky, but hopefully the result is as helpful for…
Simple algorithm and color space to generate diverse skin tones launched on August 4, 2026 with 627 votes, #4 of 23,274 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches.
In plain words
This tool provides a color picker and procedural generation algorithm designed to help digital artists and game developers select and create diverse, plausible skin tones. It uses a custom color space specifically engineered to make skin tone selection intuitive and varied. The website includes interactive demos, JavaScript features, and detailed explanations of how the color space works and its properties, along with documentation of potential future improvements.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Simple equations and a color picker to inclusively select simplified skin tones in a custom color space for digital art or game development.
If you're just looking for the results, below is a custom color picker based on the color space written in Javascript and a sample procedural generation algorithm in Python (Javascript equivalents are in the page source) - feel free to take this math and go have fun depicting our diverse world! The goal of this project was to define a color space that makes it easier to build inclusive color tools for a variety of contexts - such as character creators or digital art. If you see something here that sparks your curiosity, I would love for you to stick around and read below this section to learn more! What is each direction on the picker adjusting? Jump to that explanation here . # Plug the…from toneyalexander.github.io
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hello HN! I found that picking out plausible but diverse skin tones for my digital art and game development projects was kind of difficult, and I got curious about if there was a way to define a color space that made it easy. I've built a color picker and procedural generation algorithm based on the space as well as…
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