flat color
No gradient here
Flat color is color applied uniformly without gradation, shading, or texture—a single solid hue filling an area.
The term appears in graphic design, animation, and painting to describe work that deliberately avoids blending or three-dimensional effects: The poster uses flat color for a bold, graphic look.
Cell animation traditionally relies on flat color within inked outlines.
- solidFirm matter state
- matteNon-reflective surface finish
- uniformIdentical throughout
- fillMake something full
- vectorQuantity with direction
cartoon · cel · poster · pop art · opaque · bold · graphic · silhouette · block · saturated · paint · bucket · monotone · pigment · unshaded · cutout · anime · illustration
- art techniquespainting, drawing, sketching, shading, blending
- Japonismeukiyo-e, Hokusai, woodblock prints, floating world, woodblock
- Post-ImpressionismVincent van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Seurat, pointillism
- Color FieldMark Rothko, large canvas, veils, staining, large canvases
- Geometric Abstractiongeometric art, geometric shapes, geometric pattern, constructivism, suprematism
- screen printingsilkscreen, serigraphy, stencil, squeegee, mesh screen
flat colorshading
Depicting light and darkness
gradient · chiaroscuro · gradation · light and shadow · ombré
flat colorglossy finish
Lustrous surface treatment
metallic finish · pearlescent · iridescent · textured paint · satin finish
flat, flats, flatly, flatten, flattened, flattening, flattens, flatness, flatter