Best Color Palettes for Pixel Art
Choosing the right color palette can make or break your pixel art. A well-designed palette provides harmony, readability, and a cohesive aesthetic. This guide covers the most popular palettes used by pixel artists worldwide.
Why Use Established Palettes?
Popular palettes have been refined by thousands of artists. The colors are proven to work well together, ensuring consistency across larger projects and teams.
Classic Console Palettes
GameBoy (4 colors)
The iconic green-tinted monochrome display used just four shades. Perfect for minimalist pixel art or achieving that authentic 1989 handheld aesthetic. Mastering this palette teaches fundamental value contrast skills.
NES (54 colors)
The Nintendo Entertainment System's palette has characteristic muted tones that give artwork an instantly recognizable 8-bit feel. Many games used far fewer colors simultaneously due to hardware restrictions.
Modern Curated Palettes
PICO-8 (16 colors)
Perhaps the most popular choice for pixel artists today. Its 16 carefully selected colors cover a wide range of hues while maintaining a harmonious, slightly desaturated appearance. Includes black, dark blue, dark purple, dark green, brown, grays, white, red, orange, yellow, green, sky blue, lavender, pink, and peach.
Best for: General-purpose pixel art, game jams, beginners learning color relationships.
PICO-8 includes a "secret" additional 16 colors that many artists incorporate, giving you 32 colors while maintaining the same aesthetic.
Endesga 32 (32 colors)
Created by artist Endesga, this palette features carefully selected hue shifts between dark and light values. Colors shift hue as they become brighter, creating vibrant, dynamic artwork instead of flat shading.
Best for: Projects needing more variety than PICO-8, organic subjects like characters and nature scenes.
DawnBringer 16 and 32
Designed specifically for pixel art with attention to how colors work at low resolutions. The color choices prioritize readability and anti-aliasing possibilities. Considered by many the gold standard for game sprite work.
AAP-64 and AAP-Splendor128
Adigun Polack's palettes are designed for ambitious projects. AAP-64 offers comprehensive coverage, while AAP-Splendor128 provides 128 colors for highly detailed work like elaborate backgrounds and complex scenes.
Specialized Palettes
Nyx8 (8 colors)
An extremely limited palette proving you can create compelling art with minimal colors. Popular for game jams with restrictions or artists seeking a creative challenge.
Sweetie 16
A bright, cheerful palette with candy-like saturation. Perfect for cute or whimsical pixel art, children's games, or any project needing an upbeat, energetic feel.
How to Choose the Right Palette
Consider Your Project's Mood
- Muted palettes (GameBoy, Oil 6) create atmospheric, serious, or nostalgic moods
- Saturated palettes (Sweetie 16) feel energetic, playful, and modern
- Balanced palettes (PICO-8, Endesga) are versatile for various tones
Consider Your Skill Level
Smaller palettes (4-16 colors) are often better for learning because limitations force you to understand value relationships deeply. As you advance, larger palettes give you more options.
Consider Your Subject Matter
- Characters: Need good skin tones and clothing variety (Endesga 32, PICO-8)
- Landscapes: Need atmospheric and environmental variety (AAP-64)
- Minimalist: Work well with smaller palettes (Nyx8, Oil 6)
Using Palettes with PixelPaletteSwap
- Create a palette reference image containing all colors from your chosen palette
- Import as palette source using "Import Palette from Image"
- Swap colors from your artwork to colors from the imported palette