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Color palettes

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Dither straight to a fixed set of colors. Every preview below is the same sample image, rendered by the editor’s own engine with Floyd–Steinberg. The strip at the bottom shows how each palette covers a gray ramp and the full spectrum.

The sample image at 136 by 91 pixels, PICO-8 palette, 2×2 Bayer pattern
136 × 91 px, shown enlarged

Pixel art in one click

The editor’s Pixel art preset shrinks any image to about 128 × 96 pixels’ worth of detail, whatever its shape, and applies PICO-8 with a 2×2 Bayer pattern. Save it at ×4 or ×8 and every pixel stays a crisp block.

Try the pixel art preset

Consoles & computers

Hardware palettes, with hex values from each system’s reference.

  • The sample image dithered with the Game Boy palette

    Game Boy

    4 colors

    The four greens of the original 1989 handheld’s screen. Matches by brightness, so any image stays readable.

    • #0f380f
    • #306230
    • #8bac0f
    • #9bbc0f
    Matches by brightnessUse in the editor: Game Boy
  • The sample image dithered with the PICO-8 palette

    PICO-8

    16 colors

    The 16 colors of the PICO-8 fantasy console, a staple of indie pixel art.

    • #000000
    • #1d2b53
    • #7e2553
    • #008751
    • #ab5236
    • #5f574f
    • #c2c3c7
    • #fff1e8
    • #ff004d
    • #ffa300
    • #ffec27
    • #00e436
    • #29adff
    • #83769c
    • #ff77a8
    • #ffccaa
    Matches by colorUse in the editor: PICO-8
  • The sample image dithered with the CGA cyan/magenta palette

    CGA cyan/magenta

    4 colors

    IBM PC CGA palette 1 at high intensity (1981): the look of early DOS games.

    • #000000
    • #55ffff
    • #ff55ff
    • #ffffff
    Matches by colorUse in the editor: CGA cyan/magenta
  • The sample image dithered with the CGA green/red palette

    CGA green/red

    4 colors

    CGA palette 0 at high intensity: green, red and yellow on black.

    • #000000
    • #55ff55
    • #ff5555
    • #ffff55
    Matches by colorUse in the editor: CGA green/red
  • The sample image dithered with the EGA palette

    EGA

    16 colors

    The 16 default colors of the IBM EGA adapter (1984).

    • #000000
    • #0000aa
    • #00aa00
    • #00aaaa
    • #aa0000
    • #aa00aa
    • #aa5500
    • #aaaaaa
    • #555555
    • #5555ff
    • #55ff55
    • #55ffff
    • #ff5555
    • #ff55ff
    • #ffff55
    • #ffffff
    Matches by colorUse in the editor: EGA
  • The sample image dithered with the ZX Spectrum palette

    ZX Spectrum

    15 colors

    The Sinclair ZX Spectrum’s 8 normal and 7 bright colors (black appears once).

    • #000000
    • #0000d7
    • #d70000
    • #d700d7
    • #00d700
    • #00d7d7
    • #d7d700
    • #d7d7d7
    • #0000ff
    • #ff0000
    • #ff00ff
    • #00ff00
    • #00ffff
    • #ffff00
    • #ffffff
    Matches by colorUse in the editor: ZX Spectrum
  • The sample image dithered with the Commodore 64 palette

    Commodore 64

    16 colors

    The Commodore 64’s 16 colors in the “Pepto” calibration most emulators use.

    • #000000
    • #ffffff
    • #68372b
    • #70a4b2
    • #6f3d86
    • #588d43
    • #352879
    • #b8c76f
    • #6f4f25
    • #433900
    • #9a6759
    • #444444
    • #6c6c6c
    • #9ad284
    • #6c5eb5
    • #959595
    Matches by colorUse in the editor: Commodore 64

Print & photo

Inks and photographic processes. Single-hue, so they match by brightness.

  • The sample image dithered with the Grayscale 4 palette

    Grayscale 4

    4 colors

    Black, two grays and white: the next step after 1-bit.

    • #000000
    • #555555
    • #aaaaaa
    • #ffffff
    Matches by brightnessUse in the editor: Grayscale 4
  • The sample image dithered with the Newsprint palette

    Newsprint

    2 colors

    Ink on yellowed newsprint. Still 1-bit, without pure black or white.

    • #1c1a17
    • #efe6d2
    Matches by brightnessUse in the editor: Newsprint
  • The sample image dithered with the Sepia palette

    Sepia

    4 colors

    Four tones of darkroom sepia toning, from deep brown to paper.

    • #2b1d14
    • #6b4a2f
    • #b08a5f
    • #efe3cf
    Matches by brightnessUse in the editor: Sepia
  • The sample image dithered with the Cyanotype palette

    Cyanotype

    4 colors

    Prussian blue on paper, from the photographic process of 1842.

    • #0e2a47
    • #1f4e79
    • #6f9fc8
    • #e8eef2
    Matches by brightnessUse in the editor: Cyanotype
  • The sample image dithered with the Riso pink & blue palette

    Riso pink & blue

    4 colors

    Official Riso Fluorescent Pink and Blue inks plus black, printed on paper.

    • #f2ede4
    • #ff48b0
    • #0078bf
    • #000000
    Matches by brightnessUse in the editor: Riso pink & blue

PixelSynth

The colors of this site.

  • The sample image dithered with the Darkroom palette

    Darkroom

    3 colors

    PixelSynth’s own colors: darkroom black, safelight red and paper.

    • #120d0c
    • #ee5140
    • #ece4d6
    Matches by brightnessUse in the editor: Darkroom

Your own colors

Two palettes that aren’t fixed: one is taken from the image you load, the other is yours to build.

  • The sample image dithered with the From image palette

    From image

    8 colors

    Picks the 8 most representative colors of your image (2 to 32, median cut). These are the ones found in the sample.

    • #1f224d
    • #2e3377
    • #475188
    • #417635
    • #965357
    • #7e568f
    • #a98b5b
    • #cfab9e
    Matches by colorUse in the editor: From image

  • Custom

    Build a palette of 2 to 32 colors with the color picker, or start from any palette above with “Edit colors”. It is saved in your browser. Use it for brand colors or for systems not listed here, like the NES.

    Build one in the editor