Pixel Joint Forum: Color Palette Restrictions

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   Hey, I am using Pro Motion v.65. I admit, all my pixel art in the past has been done using MS Paint, and Im a little overwhelmed with options.

When I painted in Paint, I had unlimited colors to choose from. When I wanted darker, I just lowered the brightness. When I wanted it more grey, I lowered the Saturation. However, now, in Pro Motion, whenever I change these things, anything I've already painted changes color too. Do I have to constantly change the color in the palette? Or is there a way to disable this auto update of the picture when I edit the palette?

Anyone information will be appreciated :)

Thanks, happy painting!

Author	Message
Stealsteel Seaman Joined: 26 February 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Topic: Color Palette Restrictions Posted: 26 February 2015 at 3:46am
	Hey, I am using Pro Motion v.65. I admit, all my pixel art in the past has been done using MS Paint, and Im a little overwhelmed with options. When I painted in Paint, I had unlimited colors to choose from. When I wanted darker, I just lowered the brightness. When I wanted it more grey, I lowered the Saturation. However, now, in Pro Motion, whenever I change these things, anything I've already painted changes color too. Do I have to constantly change the color in the palette? Or is there a way to disable this auto update of the picture when I edit the palette? Anyone information will be appreciated :) Thanks, happy painting!
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neota Commander Joined: 27 November 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 158	Posted: 26 February 2015 at 5:23am
	This is how Pro Motion, GrafX2, and other 'indexed' paint programs work. Your image is drawn using a color palette, which contains up to 256 different colors. You can pick between those colors. The image doesn't contain any color values, it only references particular slots (indices) in that palette. What you seem to be doing presently is asking Pro Motion to edit the color at the current palette index. Naturally, since the image pixels already refer to that index, this causes the colors in your image to change. So yes, you do need to select an unused palette index before you then change the color assigned to it and paint with it. Edited by neota - 26 February 2015 at 5:23am
	absolutely.
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Stealsteel Seaman Joined: 26 February 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Posted: 26 February 2015 at 5:28am
	Ah yes, I do see what you mean. It's a shame, I do prefer the idea of just being able to select a color out of a window and use it, as opposed to having a palette. I am pretty sure I know the answer, but theres no way to turn off a palette is there? And just use any color I want at any given time?
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neota Commander Joined: 27 November 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 158	Posted: 26 February 2015 at 6:14am
	Not in Pro Motion AFAIK -- it is designed around the assumption that this is what you want to do (which is usually correct for pixel art) and has various tools that are only possible with indexed images. I guess it's worth mentioning: are you aware you can move through the palette (ie change the palette index you are drawing with) with keyboard shortcuts? This is one reason that drawing with a palette can be very fast. There are other tools you can use, of course. For example, I occasionally use GIMP to pixel out something quickly when I can't be bothered with palette management. However, I do not use it for substantial projects, because dedicated pixel art programs like Pro Motion and GrafX2 make many tasks much easier.
	absolutely.
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Stealsteel Seaman Joined: 26 February 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Posted: 27 February 2015 at 1:38am
	I am aware, thank you for mentioning it though. So if someone wanted to do a large, multicolored picture in Pro Motion, they essentially couldnt? Im talking using all sorts of colors, a rainbow style artwork.
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neota Commander Joined: 27 November 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 158	Posted: 27 February 2015 at 4:54am
	Well, 256 palette slots are available -- how many do you need?
	absolutely.
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yrizoud Commander Joined: 03 May 2021 Location: France Online Status: Offline Posts: 343	Posted: 27 February 2015 at 11:59am
	Yes, if you try using an indexed color mode, you'll realize that you don't need so many different colors to do something detailed and smooth. For example, this old little thing : consists of 16 colors. I kid you not.
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