Creating Character Variants with Palette Swapping

One of the most powerful uses of palette swapping is creating character variants. Whether you need alternate costumes for a fighting game, team colors for multiplayer, or enemy recolors, this technique lets you multiply your character designs without redrawing.

Planning Your Character for Variants

The best character variants start with intentional planning. Before you begin, consider how your base sprite's colors are organized.

Identify Color Groups

Most characters can be broken into logical color groups:

• Skin tones: 2-4 colors for flesh, including highlights and shadows
• Primary clothing: The main outfit color ramp (3-4 colors)
• Secondary clothing: Accent pieces like belts, boots, trim
• Hair: Usually 2-3 colors
• Special elements: Weapons, armor, magic effects

Keep Groups Separate

If your character's shirt and pants share the exact same colors, swapping one will change both. Unless that's intentional, use distinct colors for elements you want to swap independently.

Creating Your First Variant

Step 1: Upload Your Base Sprite

Load your character animation into PixelPaletteSwap. If you have a walk cycle, idle, and attack animation, process each one separately or combine them into a single sprite sheet.

Step 2: Plan the New Palette

Before touching the tool, sketch out what colors you want for your variant. Ask yourself:

• What mood should this variant convey?
• Does it need to be instantly distinguishable from the original?
• Are there any colors to keep consistent (like skin tones)?

Step 3: Swap Colors Systematically

Work through each color group methodically. For the clothing ramp, swap the darkest shade first, then the midtone, then the highlight. Keep the value relationships consistent—your new dark color should still read as a shadow.

Step 4: Test in Context

If possible, test your variant against game backgrounds. Some color combinations that look great in the editor may disappear against certain environments or clash with UI elements.

Common Variant Types

Team/Player Colors

For multiplayer games, create clearly distinguishable variants using contrasting colors. Classic combinations include red vs. blue, orange vs. purple, or yellow vs. green. Ensure silhouettes remain readable from a distance.

Power-Up States

Show character upgrades through color changes. Common conventions:

• Fire power-up: Shift reds and oranges, add yellow highlights
• Ice power-up: Blues and whites, with cyan accents
• Electric: Yellows with white/blue lightning tints
• Powered-down: Desaturated or grayed-out version

Enemy Tiers

Use color to indicate enemy difficulty:

• Basic: Cool or neutral colors (green, blue, gray)
• Medium: Warmer colors (yellow, orange)
• Dangerous: Hot colors (red, magenta)
• Elite/Boss: Special treatment (gold accents, purple/black)

Unlockable Skins

For progression rewards, create progressively more elaborate or desirable variants. Early unlocks might be simple hue shifts; later rewards could feature dramatic color schemes or tie-ins to game lore.

Advanced Techniques

Partial Swaps

Sometimes you only want to swap part of a character—like giving them a new shirt but keeping the same pants. Use the selection tools to mask areas, then swap only the colors in your selection.

Saving Presets for Consistency

When creating a variant, export the color mapping as a preset. Then apply that same preset to all animations of that character (walk, run, attack, etc.) to ensure perfect consistency.

Building a Variant Library

Consider your naming convention:

• knight_blue_walk.gif
• knight_red_walk.gif
• knight_gold_walk.gif

Consistent naming makes asset management much easier as your project grows.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Swapping outline colors inconsistently: If your base uses dark blue outlines, ensure all variants maintain the same outline treatment.
• Breaking value structure: Swapping a dark color to a light one can eliminate important shading information.
• Forgetting secondary elements: Eyes, weapons, and accessories often get overlooked but need to work with the new palette.
• Too-similar variants: If variants are hard to tell apart at a glance, exaggerate the color differences.