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LETTERING & COLOR

Three Colors, Different Amounts

Test color proportions in three thumbnails, then repeat the chosen jobs in an entry.

Words by Tiny Systems Co.3 min read4 things to tryUpdated September 5, 2026

The three swatches look good together. On the page, the rust has taken over and the blue has almost disappeared. How much of each color did you use?

Try the colors in three little page sketches. Give one a broad area, another a smaller detail, and the last a few marks, then choose the version you'd like to make at full size.

TRY THIS FIRSTAbout 20 minutes, plus wet-swatch drying

Choose three color jobs you can carry onto a real page.

  1. Look at a scrap, ticket, photograph, or object you already like, and choose three approximate matches from the supplies you have.
  2. Swatch in the intended application and label roles: muted blue broad accent, rust smaller heading detail, ochre tiny marks. Let wet samples dry.
  3. Draw three 30 × 45 mm page thumbnails. Try blue band/rust line/three ochre marks; swap blue and rust in the second; halve the original broad band in the third.
  4. Add gray lines for writing. Choose the version with useful balance, then repeat its roles in an actual entry without mechanically enlarging every mark.
Walk through it with us
Reduce the broad area while retaining the original color roles
Reduce the broad area while retaining the original color roles Open the diagram

READING PATH · STEP 3 OF 3

I want more confident marks

  1. Monoline letter rhythm
  2. Optical letter spacing
  3. Three color journal palettes
See the whole path
In this guide
Gather a few things See what you’ll need
  • Three existing colors
  • Paper scraps
  • Pencil and ruler
  • A retained visual reference
  • Usual writing pen
Choose an exercise 4 things to try as you read

Borrow a color relationship from something nearby

Choose a scrap, ticket, photograph, or familiar object with a color relationship you like. Select three approximate pencil or marker matches from existing supplies. Journal palette discussions seek workable starting points, and Tombow begins with inspiration then actual swatches. Keep the reference nearby without reproducing every color. Three colors form a useful limit for this exercise rather than a rule for all pages.

Compare the optionsAssign the colors different jobs
Compare the options

Assign the colors different jobs

Swap roles, then change area while holding the colors fixed.

Blue gets the broad area; rust is smaller; ochre repeats in tiny marks

Blue gets the broad area; rust is smaller; ochre repeats in tiny marks

Blue has the broad role, rust the smaller mark, and ochre the tiny repeated detail.

Now try it on your paper.

For the example, use muted blue for the broadest accent, rust for a smaller heading detail, and ochre for tiny repeated marks. Write those jobs beside the swatches. Your ordinary dark writing is a separate practical tool, not a fourth decorative role you must somehow exclude. Think in areas: a blue patch 40 mm wide occupies far more visual space than three ochre dots. Equal-size swatches are useful for identifying colors, but they don't predict the balance of an arrangement where the colors have different jobs.

ONE WORKED EXAMPLE

A train ticket brings its own orange

You have planned muted blue, rust, and ochre accents for a travel page. A saved train ticket introduces a brighter orange that was not in your original swatches.

Before

You begin repeating the ticket’s orange in every corner, and the small three-color recipe loses the quiet balance you chose in the thumbnails.

After

The ticket keeps its orange as part of the record. Added marks stay with the chosen jobs: a narrower blue band, a rust date, and three ochre dots. Dark handwriting carries the sentence beside the ticket without adding another decorative role.

What changed—and what to check

The palette organizes the marks you add. Letting the saved object retain its own colors prevents one exception from multiplying across the page.

Try this check. Point to each added accent and name its job without counting the printed colors on the ticket.

Give each accent a different amount of work

Give muted blue the broad accent, rust the smaller heading detail, and ochre a few marks. Label those jobs beside the swatches; ordinary dark writing remains separate. A large blue band and three ochre dots do very different work even when their test squares are equal. Judge the planned areas, not just whether three colors look pleasant in a row.

“Three colors form a useful limit for this exercise rather than a rule for all pages.”

Swatch the way you intend to draw

Swatch the intended application: light pencil for a pale accent or diluted marker on suitable paper for a palette wash. Tombow recommends matching swatch technique because water can change appearance. Let wet samples dry and identify tools beside them. A reproducible modest combination is more useful than colors sampled densely when you intend to use them lightly on the actual page.

See the differenceMove beyond equal squares
See the difference

Move beyond equal squares

Move the reveal control to inspect this specific change.

Equal swatches do not show the final area balanceSwatches identify color only.
Read the words in this example

Equal swatches only

  • Swatches identify color only.

Equal swatches only

Equal swatches identify hues without showing their page roles.

Now try it on your paper.

Scale the chosen arrangement to the actual page without enlarging every accent mechanically. A small group of dots may remain small while the heading band gets longer. Put the palette reference beside the notebook and repeat the assigned jobs consistently across the entry. If a saved ticket introduces another hue, let it remain part of the ticket instead of automatically adding that hue to every new detail. The recipe organizes your own marks; it doesn't require the entire world recorded on the page to obey a strict color count.

Arrange a small page recipe

Draw three thumbnails, each 30 mm wide and 45 mm high. First: broad blue heading band, short rust line, three ochre marks. Second: swap blue and rust without changing shapes. Third: retain original roles but halve the broad band’s area. Add gray lines for body writing. Compare together and choose the third here if it preserves color while leaving more useful writing space.

Use the recipe on a real entry

Transfer the chosen arrangement without scaling every accent mechanically: dots may stay small while a band lengthens. Keep your reference beside the notebook and repeat the assigned roles. If a ticket introduces another hue, leave it part of the ticket rather than repeating it everywhere. This recipe organizes your added marks; recorded objects do not need to obey its decorative color count.

Write your versionWrite your color roles
Write your version

Write your color roles

Your usual writing pen remains a practical separate tool.

AN EXAMPLE — MAKE IT YOURS

Broad accent:Muted blue heading band

Smaller accent:Rust date line

Tiny repeated detail:Ochre dots

Your words have a place now.

Your usual writing pen remains a practical separate tool.

Words on this card
16
Now try it on your paper.

Use this completed note beside the worked example. Draw three page thumbnails, each 30 mm wide and 45 mm high. In the first, make a broad blue heading band, a short rust line, and three small ochre marks. In the second, swap blue and rust while leaving the shapes unchanged. In the third, keep the original roles but halve the broad band's area. Add a few gray pencil lines to stand for ordinary writing. Compare the thumbnails at once. For this example, choose the third if it keeps the color present while leaving the entry's writing area more open.

GO A LITTLE FURTHERQuiet a color by changing its role

Quiet a color by changing its role

When rust takes over, reduce its area before abandoning the whole palette. When ochre disappears, try a slightly larger mark on a spare piece, or keep it for decoration rather than essential words. These are different problems: one color has too much area, while the other lacks enough visible contrast or size for its job.

Try a what-ifThe dried swatch changed
Try a what-if

The dried swatch changed

Consider this page before choosing your next move.

A SITUATION TO THINK THROUGH

You chose a palette from wet marker samples, but its broad accent dries much paler on your journal paper than it appeared in the test.

Compare the three choices

What comparison would help before the final page?

  1. Judge the colors from the marker caps.

    Caps help identify tools but do not show this paper or your chosen amount of water and ink.

  2. Add another accent color to fill the gap.

    A new hue may change the palette without explaining why the original application looked different after drying.

  3. Make matching application swatches and let them dry.

    Use the same paper and technique you intend for the page. The dry samples show the appearance you will actually arrange.

Choose color roles from samples made the way the finished marks will be used.

What would you try?

Choose an option to see what it would do. You can explore all three.

Now try it on your paper.

Make one actual-size accent on spare matching paper and compare it only after it has dried.

GO A LITTLE FURTHERName a recipe you can recognize

Name a recipe you can recognize

Save the chosen miniature beside the actual dried swatches and name its jobs: “blue band, rust date, ochre dots.” Add the tool names if they matter to repeating it. On your next page, begin with that recipe and change only the part the new entry needs; a different ticket does not require a new palette.

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Where this idea began

The method references explain the underlying ideas. Community links show the questions and experiences that helped shape this guide; they are not a popularity ranking. The worked examples here are our own.

  • Background mention — search excerpt onlycolor palatte

    This link provides background context. The full discussion was not reviewed, so it is not evidence that this exact method is popular or effective.

  • Method referenceCreate Custom Color Palettes Using Dual Brush Pens

    Recommends choosing inspiration and swatching with the same application method intended for the final work.

Guides that lead here 4