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.

48 palettes

Commodore 64

16 colors

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

Commodore (hardware)

console
retro
muted

MSX1

15 colors

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

Texas Instruments (hardware)

console
retro
muted

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

Swamp Mire

10 colors

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

MagicPixel

nature
green
dark

Alchemy Lab

10 colors

Warm workbench neutrals with two reagent accents for lab and shop interiors.

MagicPixel

items
fantasy
muted

Muted Storybook

12 colors

Desaturated storybook tones: quiet scenes that never fight the linework.

MagicPixel

muted
cozy
general

EGA 64 Sampler

16 colors

A workable 16 from the EGA 64: the extra mid tones CGA never had, still unmistakably DOS.

IBM (hardware)

console
retro
16-color

MSX2 Sampler

16 colors

Sixteen evenly stepped MSX2 tones: three-value ramps per hue, exactly how 8-bit shading works.

Yamaha / ASCII (hardware)

console
retro
16-color

Game Gear Sampler

16 colors

Sixteen slightly hazy Game Gear tones: the softer, screen-washed cousin of the Master System set.

Sega (hardware)

console
retro
16-color

Commodore Plus/4 Sampler

16 colors

The TED chip’s luminance-heavy character: many grays, earthy hues, and gentle contrast steps.

Commodore (hardware)

retro
16-color
muted

Neo Geo Pocket Sampler

16 colors

Sixteen mild handheld tones: value-first, with just enough hue to separate materials.

SNK (hardware)

console
retro
16-color

WonderSwan Sampler

16 colors

A near-neutral handheld set with warm and cool tints layered over a gray spine.

Bandai (hardware)

console
retro
16-color

Bamboo Grove

8 colors

A single calm yellow-green ramp: bamboo, tall grass, and quiet Japanese-garden tiles.

MagicPixel

environment
nature
green

Ashen Wasteland

10 colors

Dead gray ash with rusted warms: burnt-out fields, ruined cities, post-eruption ground.

MagicPixel

environment
dark
muted

Mountain Pass

10 colors

Cool granite values with two greens for hardy alpine growth: cliffs, scree, and ridge lines.

MagicPixel

environment
stone
cool

Undead Pallor

11 colors

Bloodless gray-greens with bruised purples: zombies, revenants, and plague victims.

MagicPixel

characters
monsters
horror

Assassin

10 colors

Near-black blues that still separate at low light, with dried-blood reds and a cloth highlight.

MagicPixel

characters
dark
cool

Mossbound Druid

11 colors

Moss and bark tones for nature casters, treefolk, and overgrown armor.

MagicPixel

characters
nature
green

Skin Tones Cool

8 colors

A cool-leaning flesh ramp for pale, undead, or moonlit characters without going gray.

MagicPixel

skin
characters
cool

Apothecary Shelf

12 colors

Warm wood shadow with three distinct bottle hues: herbs, tinctures, and shop clutter.

MagicPixel

interior
items
muted

Temple Marble

10 colors

Warm-gray marble steps with gilt trim: shrines, halls, and boss arenas.

MagicPixel

interior
stone
gold

Cloth & Linen

8 colors

Undyed fabric values: tunics, sails, bandages, and anything that should look woven.

MagicPixel

texture
muted
warm

Monochrome Green

6 colors

Six steps of one green: value studies, foliage passes, and single-hue mockups.

MagicPixel

monochrome
green
low-color

Four-Color Forest

4 colors

A four-value woodland set: the minimum that still separates canopy, trunk, and ground.

MagicPixel

low-color
green
nature

Salt Flats

6 colors

Cracked pale mineral crust for sun-bleached flats and dry lakebeds.

MagicPixel

environment
desert
muted

Stormcloud Grey

7 colors

Neutral cloud ramp for overcast skies and rain-soaked backdrops.

MagicPixel

environment
sky
cool

Harbor Morning

7 colors

Soft dockside blues and warm haze for early-morning port scenes.

MagicPixel

environment
water
town

Moss and Ruin

7 colors

Overgrown masonry greens for crumbling walls and forgotten roads.

MagicPixel

environment
stone
forest

Geyser Basin

7 colors

Mineral terrace neutrals with steam-pale tops for thermal ground.

MagicPixel

environment
stone
warm

Terraformer

7 colors

Half-seeded world greens for colony domes and reclaimed soil.

MagicPixel

sci-fi
nature
green

Dropship Olive

7 colors

Military transport olives for hulls, crates and field gear.

MagicPixel

sci-fi
armor
muted

Bog Troll

7 colors

Warty swamp greens for large brutes and mud-caked hides.

MagicPixel

monsters
fantasy
green

Harpy Plume

7 colors

Feathered brown-rose ramp for beast-folk plumage and talons.

MagicPixel

monsters
fantasy
warm

Beast Fur

7 colors

Neutral fur browns that layer cleanly under any accent color.

MagicPixel

characters
monsters
warm

Noble Court

7 colors

Royal violets for courtly dress, drapes and throne rooms.

MagicPixel

fantasy
purple
characters

Sellsword Grit

7 colors

Worn traveling-gear neutrals for mercenaries and road-weary kit.

MagicPixel

characters
armor
muted

Desert Nomad

7 colors

Sun-worn cloth browns for wraps, tents and caravan gear.

MagicPixel

characters
desert
warm

Laundry Line

7 colors

Soft washed-fabric tones for tenement alleys and hanging linen.

MagicPixel

town
muted
cozy

Fishing Village

7 colors

Damp timber and sea-grey tones for wharf houses and nets.

MagicPixel

town
water
muted

Train Platform

7 colors

Soot-stained concrete greys for stations, tracks and shelters.

MagicPixel

city
industrial
muted

Smog Skyline

7 colors

Hazy brown air for polluted skylines and distant tower fades.

MagicPixel

city
industrial
muted

Polaroid Fade

7 colors

Faded photo neutrals for nostalgic scenes and aged UI frames.

MagicPixel

retro
muted
warm

Chalkboard Slate

7 colors

Dusty slate greens for classrooms, menus and hand-lettered signs.

MagicPixel

interior
muted
green

Porcelain Tea

7 colors

Quiet ceramic neutrals for tea sets, tiles and calm interiors.

MagicPixel

interior
pastel
muted

Scroll and Ink

7 colors

Parchment and iron-gall ink for maps, notes and quest logs.

MagicPixel

items
ui
warm

Wind VFX

7 colors

Low-contrast streak tones for gusts, dust trails and slashes.

MagicPixel

vfx
effects
cool

Dust and Debris

7 colors

Neutral particle browns for impacts, footfalls and crumbling walls.

MagicPixel

vfx
texture
muted

UI Warm Paper

7 colors

Warm light-mode neutrals for readable panels and printed styling.

MagicPixel

ui
warm
muted

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.