I know there's forums telling you what they are, but not how to construct one. I'm trying really hard to figure out how make my colors close enough to allow the colors to easily flow from one to another, but spread out enough to allow a high change in value. I just can't seem to get it right!

Can anyone help me out? What have you done to fix your palettes?

Edited by AirStyle - 25 August 2011 at 6:55pm

It's probably the hardest part of pixel art for me, and I'm still learning.
You learn to choose the right colors for your image the same way you learn to draw- through practice, but there are some cheat sheets.





I've found color theory to be especially important in pixel art because of the limited pallete. You can use it to figure out what colors will look good in a pallete.

Color theory will help your overall image look better, but it doesn't resolve the issue of AA in pixel art. You can first choose your hues by means of color theory, then you get to tweak these base colors to work for pixel art.

Understanding the visual difference in color terminology can help:
(quote form this thread: http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12771 I recommend you read it!)
These all refer to very different aspects of color, and if you understand them then it will help you troubleshoot issues with your pallete.

For example, You can create contrast in multiple ways. You can change the hue to make the colors complementary on the color wheel, you can change the values of light and dark, or you can change the vibrancy by making one color more saturated than the other. In order to make these two colors work with the others in your pallete, you'll have to see which change will disrupt the rest of your colors the least. It works the same with choosing colors that blend.
While blending remember that colors which sit together in order of the rainbow will blend together most easily: blue and green will blend better than blue and orange, etc.
Computers work on an RBG color scale (Red, Blue, Green)and increasing or decreasing the amount of each individually can help bring colors closer together.


In the end, you'll just have to develop an eye for color matches before it gets easy.

Btw, a lot of the difficulty in palletes aren't actually in the colors, but in pixel placement. You just gotta learn which colors should go beside each other the hard way through practice. Try working with pre-made palletes to see why/how they work. Maybe enter a weekly challenge with a mandatory pallete, like this week's. :)

Edited by Sooba - 26 August 2011 at 7:20pm

That is EXACTLY what I mean! I've been for someone to get it. I believe I've tried this method, but I just didn't like the results. So the next step for me is WIP. I'll let some other people take a look at my stuff. Thanks again for replying.

It would also help if you learned hex or used color selectors in programs like Photoshop or GIMP. Just make sure, if you do that, ONLY use the pencil tool to make your art if you want to do pixel art.

I can never understand why this takes many a long time to comprehend. Not just colors but anything in pixelart is a 'tweak and refine' process that happens continuosly as you work.

Making palettes is extremely easy in GIMP and Photoshop. I've used both, but I can't even afford to buy Elements 9, so I use GIMP. As you can see on this color picker, it is beyond easy to make palettes.


And a way to make a nice color ramp is to select the two extremes, (edge colors) select an area, and use the gradient tool to make the color ramp, like so:


And you can always get rid of unneeded colors and form it into your own palette.