many colors in draw2d



Hello,
  How do I get many different colors of simple 2d plots?

For instance, I want to plot the parabola y=x^2 for -1 <=x <=1 in colors 
such as light red, dark red, light blue, dark blue, etc.

 From the examples for paletter, etc. , I can make xpm files and read 
them in, but isn't there a simpler way?

TIA,
  -sen