Creative Resident Aiko Fukuda Teams Up With Pantone for MerMay

Artwork created by Aiko Fukuda.

Aiko Fukuda, an Adobe Creative Resident, is a Japanese illustrator, mixed media artist… and a huge fan of Pantone.

Struck by the monthly trending theme “Mermay” (Mermaid art in May), Aiko collaborated with Pantone to create an illustration based on Pantone’s New 294 Pantone Matching System® colors.

Color helps with storytelling. As Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2020 is Classic Blue, it was the perfect fit for the underwater theme. The 294 new colors in the Pantone Formula Guide inspired Aiko as she looked for colors that fit her Mermay vision. She ended up finding a wide variety of colors that fit her design aesthetic, from subtle, neutral colors to bold, eye-catching colors.

Once Aiko had an idea of which colors she wanted to explore, she used the Pantone Solid Chips to visualize different palette options using all the colors she was interested in to see how certain colors work together. With the perforated color chips she was able to narrow down her choices and create the perfect Mermay palette.

Aiko used Pantone Connect (Pantone’s extension for Adobe Creative Cloud that is available in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign) to create a color palette to express her underwater story. The color palette is available to share in the Libraries here. Learn how to use Aiko’s color palette to create your own underwater illustration or come up with your own color palette to share via Libraries below!

1. Once Aiko finished the drawing, she used Pantone Connect. It can be downloaded here!

2. In Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign, go to Window > Extensions > Pantone.

It’s time to pick the colors! All of the PANTONE color books are inside. Aiko used the Formula Guide Coated for her drawing. You can move the cursor on the color, and drop it to New Palette Space on the bottom (see left picture). Or you can type in the color number and search it (see right picture).

(If you want to remove the colors, click the three dots (Menu) on the color and select “Remove Color from Bar”.)

4. Once your color palette is complete, click the three dots (Menu) on the color and click “Add Color to Swatch”, so that the color goes to your CC Libraries automatically.

5. Your library can be found here,.

6. To use Aiko’s pallet, select Mermay_color_palette, and click the three dots on the right and choose Share > Get link.

7. Once you click it, click Copy Link and share it to your friends. You can do this with your own color palettes, as well!

Pantone Connect enables you to create your own Pantone color palette with the most updated Pantone Colors. Once you share your color palette in the Libraries to your friends and the community, people can play around with it in their own illustrations! It’s the perfect time to release your creative energy. Copy the Mermay color palette to your Creative Cloud and join in on the challenge to create an underwater themed illustration. Tag your artwork with #AdobeDrawing_Water on Instagram for a chance to be featured on the Adobe Drawing Instagram!