Skin Tone Wheel
Spin to pick a skin tone for the character you are drawing or coloring.
No spins yet. Each pick is listed here in order.
Skin tones and fantasy colors on the wheel
Cool undertone (7)
- Fair cool
- Light cool
- Light-medium cool
- Medium cool
- Tan cool
- Deep cool
- Very deep cool
Neutral undertone (7)
- Fair neutral
- Light neutral
- Light-medium neutral
- Medium neutral
- Tan neutral
- Deep neutral
- Very deep neutral
Warm undertone (7)
- Fair warm
- Light warm
- Light-medium warm
- Medium warm
- Tan warm
- Deep warm
- Very deep warm
Fantasy colors (10)
- Sky blue
- Mint green
- Lavender
- Stone gray
- Rose pink
- Moss green
- Deep teal
- Golden yellow
- Brick red
- Midnight blue
About the skin tone wheel
This skin color wheel is a drawing aid: it picks a tone for a character you are drawing, coloring or describing. Most of its 31 entries are skin tones named by depth and undertone: seven depths (fair, light, light-medium, medium, tan, deep and very deep), each in a cool, a neutral and a warm version. The other 10 are fantasy colors for creatures and aliens, from sky blue to midnight blue.
Both the names and the shades on this skin tone wheel were chosen for this site. They are plain descriptions of a color: how light or deep it is, and whether it leans cool or warm. They are not a standard and not a makeup shade chart.
Under “Choose a list” there are 4 groups: “Cool undertone”, “Neutral undertone” and “Warm undertone” with 7 tones each, and “Fantasy colors” with 10. When a whole cast should share one undertone, choose that group first and spin once per character.
Character art uses for the skin tone wheel
- Color a finished sketch: spin, then shade the character in the tone the wheel names.
- Start a character sheet for a story or a game: spin once for skin, then decide hair and eyes to go with it.
- Design an alien or a creature: switch to “Fantasy colors” and spin for its skin.
- Practice shading: spin three tones and paint the same face in each of them.
How to use the wheel
- Type or paste your options, one per line. The wheel redraws as you type.
- Press Spin, click the wheel, or press Ctrl+Enter while you are in the list.
- Read the pick. Remove it from the wheel if nobody should be picked twice, then spin again.
How the pick is made
Before the wheel moves, your browser draws one slice at random with crypto.getRandomValues, the same generator browsers use for security keys. Every slice has the same chance. The spin you watch only plays that result out.
Nothing about the animation changes the outcome: not how hard you click, not how long the wheel turns, not the size of your screen. The pointer always stops inside a slice, never on a line.
Your list stays in your browser. A link you copy carries the list inside the link itself, so nothing is uploaded.
Questions about the skin tone wheel
- Is the color on the slice the exact shade to use?
- No. Each slice is painted in a color close to the one it names, and screens show colors differently. Treat it as a starting point and choose the final shade in your own paints, pencils or drawing app.
- What are the chances of each tone?
- With all 31 loaded, each entry has a 1 in 31 chance (3.23%). One undertone group gives 1 in 7 each (14.3%), and “Fantasy colors” gives 1 in 10 (10%).
- Can I add a tone or a color of my own?
- Yes. Type your tone or color on a new line in the list. A name the skin tone wheel does not recognize still gets a slice, painted in a color from the site’s own palette.
- How do I keep two characters from getting the same tone?
- Switch on “Remove the winner after each spin” before you start on the cast. A tone that has been picked then leaves the wheel when you close the result window.
- Can I see every tone before I spin?
- Yes. The page lists all the tones under their 4 groups, below the wheel.