Hi, I´m making a game using pixel art assets and I wanted to keep the color pallet consistent throughout the game but it seems there´s always some involuntary color variations popping up here and there by mistake.
Is there a way to check what colors are being used in all layers of the document in Photoshop CS6? And is there a way to replace all instances of a certain color in all layers of a document?
It would be great to have something like a color swatch that would show only the colors used in that document and that by changing a color on that swatch it would update all pixels with that color on the document...

If you know how to do this in PS it would be great but other softwares or plugins suggestions for this would also be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Dan

Thanks Alex! That macro should do the trick (once I find the colors I want to change)! Is there no other way to show those slight color variations in Photoshop? Maybe It´s a bit of an OCD trying to find color variations that are so subtle that I cant see the difference but it would be nice to be able to have a plugin or something to do that. Also I wanted to organize my pallet in the swatches but PS does not allow me to change color positions or values, do I have to erase all of them and start over in the right order? How do you guys store update and organize your pallets in PS? Am I using the wrong software for pixel art? (These features seem so important for pixel art that there must be a more appropriate software for that right?)

Thanks again for you answer!

Thanks, will do that! The color variation is really bugging me, it must be some tool setup problem that is creating anti-aliasing in some level or some opacity setting.
Thanks again! I'm surprised this community is so active and helpful, I'll probably learn a lot in here.

Yes. What you're looking for is an editor that edits directly in Indexed colors mode.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_raster_graphics_editors#Color_spaces



Edited by yrizoud - 30 October 2013 at 2:45am

PSD is Photoshop's format and incorporates every new version's changes, so I wouldn't count on being able to edit the same files with a second program in addition to Photoshop. You could lose your adjustment layers, layer hierarchy, "dynamic effects" (I don't remember the name), etc.

Did you notice Photoshop itself already has an "indexed colors" mode ?
http://courses.washington.edu/dmwork/ps_1_lesson_3.html
It's there, though I think it can look quirky because the program is not originally made for it.
Some programs have better palette management functions in general (more functions like reorganize palette as you want, darken or tint a specific range etc.).
"Game assets" is broad, but if you're working with tiles and sprite sheets, a program that can display a not-too-obvious overlay grid can be helpful, and also a snap-to-grid when you want to move tiles/sprites around.

It's difficult to recommend a specific program... Be sure to try one of the free ones to get an idea of the ergonomics of working with indexed colors.
Edit: The list I linked on Wikipedia is actually not very relevant... here's ui's list of pixel art software.
Edit2: Also a 2011 list of software on AGS forums : It's very relevant because this game engine is internally 8-bit indexed-colored, so it's a major concern for game creators there. (But list is outdated because I implemented animation in Grafx2 since then )



Edited by yrizoud - 30 October 2013 at 8:17am

Some reasons :
1) Consequence of artistic choice. If the piece is best in 16 well-chosen colors, indexed colors mode will let you fine-tune those 16 colors even after pixelling.
2) Programming tricks : palette swaps for re-coloring a character, illusions of animations by cycling palette entries...
3) No choice for doing tiny animations : animated GIF still rules the web, and it's an indexed color format.

I can probably help you set it up, but you'd have to give specifics on what is causing you the problems.
The only other thing I can think of at the moment is make sure the "Feather" is set to 0px for all your selection tools.

no problem!