First, learn about color theory. Then follow the noob tutorials on this site. Google is your friend when it comes to this.

First realize that colors are 3-dimensional data (R,G & B), any 2-dimensional representation requires an information reduction. As such, two or more colors may want to occupy the same slot in your diagram. So simply put; the appearance of a ramp-chart (like your example) is largely arbitrary, and there's (usually) no one correct or perfect solution. So you're free to experiment with different arrangements.

Commonly the ramps are divided into Hues and exapand over Brightness. Colors that are neutral or multi-purpose acts as hubs or cross-roads. However your current palette is pretty much a uniform spectrum, and there's little to gain from trying to map ramps with these colors. Also, the ten brightest and darkest colors are so similar that they can be fused to one color each.

I get the sense you might be thinking about constructing the actual palette by expanding a ramp-diagram. While I won't say this is impossible...it's a bit like trying to build a house from a picture, rather than building a house and taking pictures of it.

Anyways, here's a variation of diagrams for the DB32 palette.


Edited by DawnBringer - 16 June 2013 at 12:21pm

Okay, so, another question.



That's the color picker for Paint Shop Pro (my image editor of choice). As you can see, the HSL stuff probably doesn't work the same as other editors you guys might use.

So, my question goes like this: when editing colors, what directions should I go in regarding HSL to achieve specific effects (hue shifting, "dull"/"flat" colors, etc.)?

I apologize if that question sounds odd or dumb. I have a hard time with phrasing when it comes to asking questions about things I don't generally "get".

I understand how the HSL stuff technically functions (it's one of the few things I do understand about all this!), but I suppose I meant to ask "how far should I go" when editing colors for a palette/piece of pixel art?

What directions (and how far in those directions) would I go to create, say, a "bright" or "dull" color ramp?

That's one of the few things I don't understand.

Because I don't claim credit for anyone else's work: the sprite on the left comes from Scrollboss' website.

I recolored it using knowledge gained from general dicking around in both PSP and The GIMP (which I've begun to lean towards for my pixel art needs based on its HSV color picker) as well as reading tutorials on hue shifting and whatnot to create the sprite on the right.

I'd love some feedback on my color choices and any advice for creating specific types of color ramps (e.g. skin colors, metal).

(NOTE: Please don't think I'd ever consider submitting this to the PJ gallery. I did this purely as color palette/color editing practice and wanted to get some feedback on the color choices alone so that I can improve my own works in that area.)