What is a pixel art color palette?

A pixel art color palette is a fixed, deliberately small set of colors you commit to for a sprite, a tileset, or a whole game. Limiting yourself forces clearer values and keeps every asset looking like it belongs to the same world, which is why hardware palettes like the Game Boy’s four greens still produce such readable art.

How many colors should a palette have?

For a single 16×16 or 32×32 sprite, 4 to 16 colors is plenty: one dark, one mid, one light per material, plus an outline. Reach for 32 or more only when a scene needs many materials at once. Fewer colors read better at small sizes and are far faster to shade consistently.

How do I use these palettes in MagicPixel?

Browsing and copying hex codes is free, and saving a palette takes a free account. Add a palette to your account here, then open the editor and it appears in the palette picker in the color sidebar. You can also snap an existing artboard to it from the palette button beside the canvas, which remaps every pixel to the nearest color in the set.

Can I import my own palette file?

Yes. The editor imports .gpl (GIMP / Aseprite), .pal (JASC and RIFF), and .hex files, so any palette file you download from a community site or export from another tool can be loaded as a custom palette.

How do I copy the hex codes?

Every palette has its own page listing each hex code. Click a single swatch to copy that one value, or use the copy button to grab the whole palette as a newline separated list you can paste into Aseprite, GIMP, Godot, Unity, or a CSS file.

Are these palettes free to use commercially?

Yes. Hardware and community palettes listed here are factual color sets or CC0 releases, and the MagicPixel-authored palettes are free to use in any project, commercial or otherwise. Colors themselves are not copyrightable.

Pixel art color palettes

Free palettes with every hex code listed: hardware classics like Game Boy, PICO-8 and NES, plus ramps built for dungeons, characters and tilesets. 256 palettes, one click to save any of them.

Every retro color palette here lists its full hex codes. Copy them straight off any palette page, or add a palette to your account and it shows up in the pixel art editor color sidebar, ready to draw with or to snap an existing sprite onto. Already have favourites from Aseprite or another editor? MagicPixel also imports .gpl, .pal and .hex palette files. New to working inside a limited set? Start with the color palette guide.

Chasing that 8-bit and 16-bit look? pulled straight from the consoles and computers that defined them.

Popular palettes: Game Boy DMG, PICO-8, NES, Commodore 64, CGA 16, ZX Spectrum.

256 palettes

Game Boy DMG

4 colors

The four green shades of the original Game Boy screen: the strictest possible shading exercise.

Nintendo (hardware)

console
gameboy
retro

Game Boy Pocket

4 colors

Four neutral grays from the Pocket revision: ideal for reading value before you commit to color.

Nintendo (hardware)

console
gameboy
grayscale

PICO-8

16 colors

The 16 colors of the PICO-8 fantasy console: punchy, readable, and famously hard to make ugly.

Lexaloffle

console
retro
high-contrast

CGA 16

16 colors

The IBM CGA 16-color set every DOS game grew up on: harsh, saturated, unmistakably 1985.

IBM (hardware)

console
retro
high-contrast

Commodore 64

16 colors

VIC-II's 16 colors: dusty browns and mid grays that force clever dithering.

Commodore (hardware)

console
retro
muted

ZX Spectrum

15 colors

Sinclair's bright/dark pairs: pure hues at two intensities and nothing in between.

Sinclair (hardware)

console
retro
high-contrast

NES Sampler

16 colors

A working 16-color slice of the NES master palette, kept to hues the PPU can actually pair.

Nintendo (hardware)

console
retro
high-contrast

MSX1

15 colors

The soft, slightly chalky MSX1 palette: great for friendly 8-bit character work.

Texas Instruments (hardware)

console
retro
muted

Apple II

16 colors

Apple II double-hires colors: strange magentas and mint greens that read as instantly vintage.

Apple (hardware)

console
retro
16-color

Macintosh 16

16 colors

The classic Mac OS 16: clean primaries plus a proper gray ramp for interface pixel art.

Apple (system)

ui
retro
high-contrast

VGA System 16

16 colors

The default Windows/VGA sixteen: the palette of early icons, cursors, and toolbars.

IBM / Microsoft (system)

ui
retro
high-contrast

Atari 2600 Sampler

16 colors

A luma-heavy slice of the TIA table: long gray ramps with a few earthy hues.

Atari (hardware)

console
retro
muted

Virtual Boy

4 colors

Four reds from the Virtual Boy's LED display: value studies with a headache.

Nintendo (hardware)

console
monochrome
red

1-Bit

2 colors

Pure black and white. No shading, only silhouette and pattern dithering.

MagicPixel

monochrome
grayscale
high-contrast

1-Bit Ink

2 colors

A softened two-tone pair: off-black ink on warm paper for comic-style pixel art.

MagicPixel

monochrome
low-color
high-contrast

Grayscale 4

4 colors

Four evenly spaced values: the fastest way to block out light before coloring.

MagicPixel

grayscale
monochrome
low-color

Grayscale 8

8 colors

An eight-step value ramp for shading practice and readable value structure.

MagicPixel

grayscale
monochrome

Grayscale 16

16 colors

A full sixteen-step gray ramp for gradients, smoke, and metal without any hue bias.

MagicPixel

grayscale
monochrome
16-color

Sepia 8

8 colors

A single warm brown ramp: old photographs, parchment maps, and sepia flashbacks.

MagicPixel

monochrome
warm
retro

Endesga 32

32 colors

A do-everything 32-color set: full skin, foliage, metal, and sky ramps in one palette.

Endesga

general
vibrant
warm

Sweetie 16

16 colors

Sixteen balanced colors with clean dark-to-light ramps: a modern PICO-8 alternative.

GrafxKid

general
vibrant
high-contrast

Dungeon Stone

8 colors

A cold blue-gray stone ramp for corridors, block walls, and flagstone floors.

MagicPixel

dungeon
cool
grayscale

Dungeon Torchlit

12 colors

Warm torch falloff over cold stone: the classic dungeon-crawler lighting split.

MagicPixel

dungeon
warm
fire

Cave Depths

10 colors

A deep, desaturated blue ramp built for very dark interiors that still read clearly.

MagicPixel

dungeon
cool
dark

Stone & Brick

8 colors

Warm masonry tones for brick, sandstone, and mortar tiles.

MagicPixel

stone
warm
environment

Crypt Bones

10 colors

Bone whites over cold crypt grays: skeletons, ossuaries, and dusty tombs.

MagicPixel

dungeon
horror
grayscale

Mine Shaft

10 colors

Timber, dirt, and ore-flecked rock for mineshafts, tunnels, and quarry tiles.

MagicPixel

dungeon
warm
stone

Forest Canopy

12 colors

Layered leaf greens with a bark ramp: dense woodland tiles that keep depth.

MagicPixel

nature
forest
green

Autumn Woods

10 colors

Rust, amber, and ochre for fall foliage, hay, and harvest scenes.

MagicPixel

nature
warm
forest

Spring Meadow

10 colors

Fresh grass greens plus two blossom pinks for cheerful overworld tiles.

MagicPixel

nature
green
bright

Desert Dunes

8 colors

Eight sand values from shadowed dune to blown-out highlight.

MagicPixel

nature
warm
desert

Arctic Tundra

8 colors

Cold blue-grays for snowfields, frozen rock, and overcast winter light.

MagicPixel

nature
cool
ice

Glacier Ice

10 colors

Translucent glacier blues with a white break for cracks and specular hits.

MagicPixel

nature
cool
ice

Ocean Depths

12 colors

A twelve-step descent from surface teal to abyssal near-black.

MagicPixel

nature
cool
water

Coral Reef

12 colors

Tropical reef colors: teal water against hot coral pinks and oranges.

MagicPixel

nature
water
vibrant

Swamp Mire

10 colors

Murky olive greens and wet bark for bogs, moss, and stagnant water.

MagicPixel

nature
green
dark

Mushroom Grove

10 colors

Violet shade with capped pinks: fungal forests and spore-lit clearings.

MagicPixel

nature
fantasy
purple

Wood & Bark

8 colors

A single clean wood ramp for planks, crates, trunks, and furniture.

MagicPixel

nature
warm
texture

Night Sky

10 colors

Deep night blues rising to starlight: backgrounds that never fight the sprite.

MagicPixel

sky
cool
dark

Dawn Light

10 colors

Cool-to-warm sunrise gradient for morning skies and soft rim light.

MagicPixel

sky
warm
pastel

Dusk Glow

10 colors

Sunset falloff from violet shadow to burning horizon, in even steps.

MagicPixel

sky
warm
sunset

Tropical Sunset

10 colors

Hot sunset ramp with one sea-blue anchor so water still reads at dusk.

MagicPixel

sky
warm
vibrant

Water & Foam

8 colors

One tight water ramp ending in foam white: rivers, waves, and splash frames.

MagicPixel

water
cool
texture

Fire & Embers

8 colors

A dedicated flame ramp for torches, explosions, and ember particles.

MagicPixel

fire
warm
effects

Smoke & Fog

8 colors

Neutral gray steps tuned for smoke puffs, dust clouds, and fog layers.

MagicPixel

effects
vfx
grayscale

Volcano Ash

10 colors

Ashen grays warmed by cooling rock: volcanic slopes and burnt ground.

MagicPixel

environment
warm
dark

Lava Forge

10 colors

Black rock cracking into molten orange: lava tiles and forge interiors.

MagicPixel

fire
warm
dark

Slime Green

8 colors

A gooey green ramp for slimes, poison, ooze, and toxic pools.

MagicPixel

green
monsters
vibrant

Skin Tones 12

12 colors

A broad twelve-step skin ramp covering deep to light tones on one continuous curve.

MagicPixel

characters
skin
warm

Hair Colors 12

12 colors

Black, brown, blonde, ginger, and gray hair ramps compressed into one palette.

MagicPixel

characters
warm
general

Knight & Squire

12 colors

Steel plate with tabard reds and leather browns: ready-made knight sprites.

MagicPixel

characters
fantasy
metal

Ranger Leathers

10 colors

Forest greens over worn leather for rangers, hunters, and scouts.

MagicPixel

characters
fantasy
green

Wizard Robes

10 colors

Arcane purples with gold trim: robes, spell circles, and enchanted cloth.

MagicPixel

characters
fantasy
purple

Necromancer

16 colors

Deathly greens and violet shadow with a blood accent for undead-themed sprites.

MagicPixel

characters
fantasy
horror

Ghost Veil

8 colors

Pale, cold translucency for spirits, mist forms, and phase-out frames.

MagicPixel

characters
horror
cool

Blood Moon

8 colors

A single crimson ramp for horror lighting, cursed skies, and vampire scenes.

MagicPixel

horror
warm
dark

Haunted Manor

12 colors

Dusty violets and old wood for gothic interiors, cobwebs, and candlelight.

MagicPixel

horror
dark
purple

Gold & Gems

12 colors

A full gold ramp plus sapphire and ruby accents for loot and inventory icons.

MagicPixel

items
fantasy
gold

Treasure Hoard

12 colors

Piled coins and jeweled goblets: warm metals lifted by violet gem light.

MagicPixel

items
fantasy
gold

Potion Shelf

12 colors

Distinct liquid hues on one neutral glass base so every potion reads at 16px.

MagicPixel

items
fantasy
vibrant

Loading more palettes…

Provenance and licensing. Hardware and system palettes here (Game Boy, PICO-8, CGA, C64, ZX Spectrum, NES and friends) are factual color sets from the machines themselves, credited on each card. Community palettes are included only when released CC0, credited to their authors. Every other palette is authored by MagicPixel. All of them are free to use in your projects, commercial work included, and color values themselves are not copyrightable.

Pixel art color palettes, explained

What is a pixel art color palette?: A pixel art color palette is a fixed, deliberately small set of colors you commit to for a sprite, a tileset, or a whole game. Limiting yourself forces clearer values and keeps every asset looking like it belongs to the same world, which is why hardware palettes like the Game Boy’s four greens still produce such readable art.
How many colors should a palette have?: For a single 16×16 or 32×32 sprite, 4 to 16 colors is plenty: one dark, one mid, one light per material, plus an outline. Reach for 32 or more only when a scene needs many materials at once. Fewer colors read better at small sizes and are far faster to shade consistently.
How do I use these palettes in MagicPixel?: Browsing and copying hex codes is free, and saving a palette takes a free account. Add a palette to your account here, then open the editor and it appears in the palette picker in the color sidebar. You can also snap an existing artboard to it from the palette button beside the canvas, which remaps every pixel to the nearest color in the set.
Can I import my own palette file?: Yes. The editor imports .gpl (GIMP / Aseprite), .pal (JASC and RIFF), and .hex files, so any palette file you download from a community site or export from another tool can be loaded as a custom palette.
How do I copy the hex codes?: Every palette has its own page listing each hex code. Click a single swatch to copy that one value, or use the copy button to grab the whole palette as a newline separated list you can paste into Aseprite, GIMP, Godot, Unity, or a CSS file.
Are these palettes free to use commercially?: Yes. Hardware and community palettes listed here are factual color sets or CC0 releases, and the MagicPixel-authored palettes are free to use in any project, commercial or otherwise. Colors themselves are not copyrightable.