Pattern Play Colour Cards – all 21 group art colour schemes with how-to cards as portable collaborative art resources

Pattern Play Colour Scheme Cards – Ideas & Inspiration

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Quick Takeaway

Pattern Play Colour Scheme Cards are printable collaborative art colour cards designed to make choosing colours for group art projects easy. They give you ready-to-use colour schemes that have been tested in real Pattern Play Collaborative Art projects, so you can spend less time deciding on colours and more time creating.

I’ve facilitated more than 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with over 2,000 participants. These cards are designed for teachers, facilitators and anyone who wants an easy way to choose a colour scheme for a group painting.

Collaborative art colour cards for easy group painting

Choosing colours for a collaborative art project can take more thought than you might expect. The Pattern Play Colour Cards take that decision off your plate.

The cards bring together 21 tested group art colour schemes, ready to print and use. Each colour scheme gives you a starting point for creating a cohesive group artwork without everyone having to decide what colours to use.

They’re especially useful if you already know a bit about colour schemes and simply want easy-to-grab colour combinations for your next collaborative art project.

The cards are different from my more detailed 7 Group Art Colour Schemes guides. The guides explore each set of seven colour schemes in more depth, while the Colour Cards are the portable, practical version: print and laminate the cards, choose a scheme, and get painting. Keep them hanging on a hook or with your art supplies so they’re ready whenever you need them.

They make preparing for a collaborative art project so much easier. The colour schemes have already been tested in real projects, so you know the colours will work together and the decision has already been made. No standing around wondering which colours to choose – pick a card and get started.

The Pattern Play Colour Cards

Want the colour schemes ready to use?

The Pattern Play Colour Cards bring all 21 group art colour schemes together as printable cards. They’re made for teachers, facilitators, community groups and anyone running collaborative art projects who wants a tested colour scheme without spending time working one out from scratch.

Each card is designed to be a practical, portable resource you can print and keep with your other group art materials.

The Colour Cards are the quick-reference resource. The 7 Group Art Colour Schemes guides go deeper into each collection of seven schemes.

Explore the Pattern Play Colour Cards

The galleries below show the colour schemes in action, with examples from real collaborative art projects.

You’ll find:

  • 21 Pattern Play colour schemes across the Colour Cards collection
  • Finished and in-progress artworks created using the colour schemes
  • Ideas for seeing how each colour combination works in a real group artwork
  • Information about the detailed 7 Group Art Colour Schemes guides
  • Sneak peeks at future colour schemes and resources

The Pattern Play Colour Cards are designed to be easy to print and keep handy when you’re planning a collaborative art project. You can choose a tested colour scheme without having to work out the colours from scratch.

Pattern Play Colour Cards – all 21 group art colour schemes with how-to cards as portable collaborative art resources

Collaborative Art Colour Scheme Galleries

Explore how each colour scheme has been used in collaborative artworks. These galleries showcase a mix of projects and ideas to spark your own creative experiments.

From 7 Group Art Colour Schemes Vol 1:

✨ Forest – Tranquil, rich, and deeply connected to nature.

Final Bling stage of a Pattern Play Collaborative Art piece in cool Forest colours, adding detailed accents and contrast.
Peer Support community art project with cool colours by 16 people of all ages and abilities
Cool-coloured collaborative painting made by 30 children in one day using the Pattern Play Collaborative Art method.

✨ Mermaid – Ocean blues with warm tropical hues, flowing and serene.

Cool pastel A6 artwork made by a family group for a charity exhibition, using the Pattern Play method.
Incognito Mermaid collaborative artwork created by a family for an inclusive art exhibition

✨Utopia – Energetic, futuristic, bold, and richly dynamic.

In-progress collaborative artwork during the Exploring stage, showing layered marks and patterns in aqua, burgundy, yellow, green, and purple
Collaborative family painting in bold colours, early messy stage of Pattern Play Collaborative Art.
Collaborative painting in its final Bling stage with highlights and accents in the Utopia palette, created over multiple sessions by a family group.

✨ Mirage – Bold and expressive feel with striking contrasts.

Myriad In Harmony collaborative artwork with warm colours over blue, created at an art exhibition
Margarita collaborative art showing the Exploring stage with warm colours over blue

✨Galaxy – Dreamy, cosmic, and evocative of infinite mysteries.

Community Mural Projects image showing a close-up of the Find Your Courage mural, created by 20 teenage girls from an Adelaide high school using a limited galaxy-themed colour scheme.
Galaxy-themed mural with finishing details by 20 teenage girls using Pattern Play Collaborative Art.
Social painting examples featuring "Find Your Courage" mural created by teenaged girls

✨ Vibrant – Bright, cheerful, vivid, and energetic.

Detail of a mobile ‘Find Your Courage’ mural in pinks, oranges, reds and yellow, with accents of burgundy – the school’s brand colour.
“Find Your Confidence” mural showing bold pink, red, orange, and yellow patterns layered over aqua and green backgrounds, created collaboratively by teenagers over five sessions using the Pattern Play Collaborative Art Process.
Team Artwork Ideas showing an artwork called the "Find Your Confidence Mural" in vibrant pinks, oranges, yellows and pops of burgundy over a cool aqua background.

✨ Lava – Fiery, intense, and bursting with dynamic heat.

Bold A6 panel artworks created by a family group using collaborative art for disability advocacy.
In action photo creating a warm-coloured collaborative painting titled 'Lava Incognito,' created by a family group of all ages and abilities.

More Pattern Play Colour Cards are coming

I’m working on more sets of 7 Group Art Colour Schemes, with new Colour Cards and Pattern Play resources to go with them.

There are some very different colour schemes in development, from neon and futuristic to soft and dreamy, cosmic, rainforest-inspired and distinctly Australian.

I’m keeping some of the details under wraps for now. New Colour Cards and guides will be released as each set is ready.

Want to know what’s coming next?

Join my email list and I’ll let you know when new colour schemes, Colour Cards and other Pattern Play resources are released.

You’ll also get my free Beginner’s Guide to Pattern Play Collaborative Art.

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