Color Palette - Aseprite

Overview

The Color Palette panel displays all available colors for your sprite. Palettes are especially important when working in Indexed color mode, where your sprite is limited to a specific set of colors.

While RGBA sprites can use any color, having a defined palette helps maintain visual consistency and makes color management easier.

Color modes and palettes

Palettes behave differently depending on your sprite’s color mode:

RGBA Mode
Indexed Mode
Grayscale Mode

Full color mode with millions of colors available.

Palette serves as a suggestion/reference
Can draw with any color, not limited to palette
Palette helps organize frequently used colors
Color picker shows palette for quick access

Choose Indexed mode when creating art for classic consoles (NES, Game Boy) or when you need GIF compatibility with specific palette constraints.

Palette panel anatomy

The Color Palette panel contains several elements:

Color grid

Displays all colors in the current palette

Current colors

Shows foreground (left) and background (right) colors

Palette selector

Dropdown menu to switch between saved palettes

Color operations

Buttons for adding, removing, and organizing colors

Selecting colors

Multiple ways to choose colors from the palette:

Basic selection

Left-click: Set foreground color
Right-click: Set background color
Middle-click: Swap foreground and background colors
X key: Swap foreground and background colors

Multiple selection

Ctrl+Click: Add color to selection (Windows/Linux)
Cmd+Click: Add color to selection (macOS)
Shift+Click: Select a range of colors
Drag: Select multiple adjacent colors

Selected colors (white outline) can be batch-edited, rearranged, or exported together.

Adding colors to palette

Expand your palette with new colors:

From current color
From canvas
Color shades
From selection

Choose a color with the color picker
Click the Add color button (+) in the palette panel
The current foreground color is added to the palette

In Indexed mode, you’re limited to 256 colors total. Adding more colors requires removing existing ones or converting to RGBA mode.

Editing colors

Modify existing palette colors:

Single color editing

Double-click color

Double-click any color in the palette to open the color editor.

Adjust color

Use the color wheel, sliders, or hex input to change the color.

Apply changes

Click OK to update the palette color.

In Indexed mode, changing a palette color updates ALL pixels using that color index throughout the entire sprite and all frames.

Batch editing

Remap colors

Change multiple colors at once:

Select colors in the palette
Right-click → Remap Colors
Choose replacement colors
All instances update throughout the sprite

Sort colors

Organize palette by hue, saturation, brightness, or luminance:

Select colors to sort
Right-click → Sort Colors
Choose sorting method

Adjust HSV

Shift hue, saturation, or value for multiple colors:

Select colors
Edit → Adjustments → Hue/Saturation
Adjust sliders to affect all selected colors

Color shades

The Color Shades panel generates tints, shades, and gradients:

Accessing color shades

Select a color in the palette
The Color Shades panel automatically generates variations
Click a shade to use it as foreground/background color
Right-click to add the shade to the palette

Shade generation modes

Tints & Shades
Spectrum
Gradient
Custom

Generates lighter tints (toward white) and darker shades (toward black) of the selected color.

Use Color Shades to quickly build cohesive color ramps for shading and lighting effects.

Palette operations

Managing palette entries

Add color

Click the + button or right-click → Add Colors

Remove color

Select color(s) and press Delete or click - button

Rearrange colors

Drag colors to reorder them in the palette

Clear palette

Right-click → Clear Palette to remove all colors

Resizing palettes

Adjust the number of palette entries:

Right-click in the palette panel
Select Palette Size
Enter the new size (1-256 colors)
Choose whether to truncate or pad with empty entries

Reducing palette size below the number of used colors will cause data loss in Indexed mode. Aseprite will warn you before proceeding.

Preset palettes

Aseprite includes several built-in palettes:

System palettes

DB16

DawnBringer’s 16-color palette, popular for retro-style pixel art.

DB32

DawnBringer’s 32-color palette with expanded color range.

Pico-8

The official 16-color palette from the Pico-8 fantasy console.

Game Boy

Classic 4-shade green palette from the original Game Boy.

CGA

IBM CGA 16-color palette from early PC graphics.

Commodore 64

The iconic 16-color palette from the C64 computer.

Loading preset palettes

Open palette selector

Click the palette dropdown menu in the Color Palette panel.

Choose preset

Select a preset palette from the list (DB16, Pico-8, etc.).

Apply to sprite

The palette is loaded and available for use immediately.

Start with a preset palette and customize it to fit your art style. This gives you a solid foundation while maintaining cohesive colors.

Custom palettes

Create and save your own palettes:

Creating custom palettes

From scratch
From sprite
From gradient
From file

Start with an empty palette or clear existing one
Add colors one by one using the color picker
Organize colors as needed
Save the palette for future use

Saving palettes

Open palette menu

Click the palette dropdown or right-click in the palette panel.

Save palette

Select Palette → Save Palette or Save Palette As.

Choose format

Save as .ase (Aseprite), .gpl (GIMP), .pal (JASC), or other formats.

Name and save

Give your palette a descriptive name and save to disk.

Saved palettes can be loaded in any sprite and shared with other Aseprite users or compatible software.

Palette files and formats

Aseprite supports multiple palette formats:

Supported formats

Format	Extension	Description
Aseprite	`.ase`	Native format with full metadata support
GIMP Palette	`.gpl`	Text-based palette used by GIMP and Krita
JASC Palette	`.pal`	Paint Shop Pro palette format
Hexadecimal	`.hex`	Simple text file with hex color codes
Adobe Color	`.act`	Adobe Color Table format
Microsoft	`.pal`	Microsoft RIFF palette format

Importing palettes

Prepare palette file

Obtain a palette file in a supported format.

Load palette

Palette → Load Palette and select the file.

Apply to sprite

The palette replaces the current sprite’s palette.

Many pixel art communities share palettes online. Sites like Lospec.com host hundreds of community palettes in GPL format.

Exporting palettes

Share your palettes with others:

Palette → Save Palette
Choose export format (GPL for compatibility)
Share the file with collaborators or the community

Palette per frame

Animate palette changes across frames:

Enabling palette animation

Palette per frame is an advanced feature primarily used for special effects in Indexed mode.

Enable feature

Right-click palette → Enable Palette per Frame.

Edit frame palettes

Each frame can now have its own unique palette.

Animate effects

Use this for color cycling, day/night transitions, or palette swaps.

Use cases

Color cycling effects: Simulate water, fire, or animated lights
Palette swaps: Character costume changes without redrawing
Day/night cycles: Shift colors to show time passing
Fade effects: Gradual color transitions between scenes

Palette per frame significantly increases file size and complexity. Use sparingly and only when necessary.

Working with Indexed color mode

Maximize efficiency in Indexed mode:

Benefits of Indexed mode

Smaller file sizes

Pixels store indices instead of full color data

Global color edits

Change palette colors to update entire sprite

GIF compatibility

Direct export to GIF format without quantization

Retro accuracy

Match hardware limitations of classic systems

Converting to Indexed mode

Convert sprite

Sprite → Color Mode → Indexed

Choose method

Select quantization algorithm (Octree, RGB5A3, etc.)

Set colors

Choose maximum number of colors (up to 256)

Apply

Sprite converts to Indexed mode with generated palette

Convert to Indexed mode early in your workflow to ensure colors stay within palette constraints.

Color ramps

Organize colors into ramps for efficient shading:

Creating color ramps

A color ramp is a series of related colors arranged from light to dark:

Base color: The mid-tone or main color
Highlights: 1-3 lighter colors for lit areas
Shadows: 1-3 darker colors for shaded areas

Arranging ramps

Horizontal ramps
Vertical ramps

Arrange each color family in a horizontal row:

Red:    light → mid → dark
Blue:   light → mid → dark
Green:  light → mid → dark

Stack related colors vertically:

light | light | light
mid   | mid   | mid
dark  | dark  | dark
Red   | Blue  | Green

Well-organized ramps speed up shading and ensure consistent lighting across your sprite.

Palette shortcuts

Speed up color management:

Action	Shortcut
Swap FG/BG colors	`X`
Reset to default colors	`D`
Copy color as hex	Right-click → Copy
Add current color	Click + button
Remove color	Select + `Delete`
Sort colors	Right-click → Sort

Best practices

Plan your palette

Design color ramps before starting to draw for cohesive results

Use limited palettes

Constraint breeds creativity—try 8, 16, or 32 color limits

Organize ramps

Keep related colors together for faster access while drawing

Save custom palettes

Build a library of palettes for different projects and styles

Test readability

Ensure sufficient contrast between colors for clarity

Consider accessibility

Check palettes with colorblind simulation tools

Scripting with palettes

Automate palette operations with Lua:

local sprite = app.activeSprite
local palette = sprite.palettes[1]

-- Add a new color to the palette
palette:resize(palette:len() + 1)
palette:setColor(palette:len() - 1, Color{ r=255, g=128, b=64 })

-- Iterate through palette colors
for i = 0, palette:len() - 1 do
  local color = palette:getColor(i)
  print("Color " .. i .. ": RGB(" .. color.red .. ", " .. color.green .. ", " .. color.blue .. ")")
end

-- Load an external palette
app.command.LoadPalette{ filename="/path/to/palette.gpl" }

-- Create gradient in palette
local startColor = Color{ r=255, g=0, b=0 }
local endColor = Color{ r=0, g=0, b=255 }
for i = 0, 15 do
  local t = i / 15
  local r = math.floor(startColor.red * (1-t) + endColor.red * t)
  local g = math.floor(startColor.green * (1-t) + endColor.green * t)
  local b = math.floor(startColor.blue * (1-t) + endColor.blue * t)
  palette:setColor(i, Color{ r=r, g=g, b=b })
end

Learn more in the Palette API documentation.

Color Modes

Understand RGBA, Indexed, and Grayscale modes

Color Picker

Learn about color selection tools

GIF Export

Export with optimized palettes

Get Started

Core Concepts

Drawing Tools

Advanced Features

Workspace

Import & Export

​Overview

​Color modes and palettes

​Palette panel anatomy

Color grid

Current colors

Palette selector

Color operations

​Selecting colors

​Basic selection

​Multiple selection

​Adding colors to palette

​Editing colors

​Single color editing

​Batch editing

​Color shades

​Accessing color shades

​Shade generation modes

​Palette operations

​Managing palette entries

Add color

Remove color

Rearrange colors

Clear palette

​Resizing palettes

​Preset palettes

​System palettes

​Loading preset palettes

​Custom palettes

​Creating custom palettes

​Saving palettes

​Palette files and formats

​Supported formats

​Importing palettes

​Exporting palettes

​Palette per frame

​Enabling palette animation

​Use cases

​Working with Indexed color mode

​Benefits of Indexed mode

Smaller file sizes

Global color edits

GIF compatibility

Retro accuracy

​Converting to Indexed mode

​Color ramps

​Creating color ramps

​Arranging ramps

​Palette shortcuts

​Best practices

Plan your palette

Use limited palettes

Organize ramps

Save custom palettes

Test readability

Consider accessibility

​Scripting with palettes

​Related topics

Color Modes

Color Picker

GIF Export

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Color modes and palettes

Palette panel anatomy

Selecting colors

Basic selection

Multiple selection

Adding colors to palette

Editing colors

Single color editing

Batch editing

Color shades

Accessing color shades

Shade generation modes

Palette operations

Managing palette entries

Resizing palettes

Preset palettes

System palettes

Loading preset palettes

Custom palettes

Creating custom palettes

Saving palettes

Palette files and formats

Supported formats

Importing palettes

Exporting palettes

Palette per frame

Enabling palette animation

Use cases

Working with Indexed color mode

Benefits of Indexed mode

Converting to Indexed mode

Color ramps

Creating color ramps

Arranging ramps

Palette shortcuts

Best practices

Scripting with palettes

Related topics