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.

39 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

Sepia 8

8 colors

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

MagicPixel

monochrome
warm
retro

Retro CRT

8 colors

Phosphor greens for terminal screens, scanline overlays, and CRT UI.

MagicPixel

retro
green
monochrome

Retro CRT Amber

8 colors

The amber monitor variant: warm monochrome for old computers and consoles.

MagicPixel

retro
warm
monochrome

Vaporwave

10 colors

Sunset pinks against pool cyan: 80s aesthetic backdrops and title screens.

MagicPixel

cyberpunk
pastel
pink

Synthwave

12 colors

Grid-horizon purples with hot pink and turquoise for synthwave scenes.

MagicPixel

cyberpunk
dark
pink

Game Boy Light

4 colors

The teal-lit four shades of the backlit Game Boy Light: cooler and cleaner than the DMG greens.

Nintendo (hardware)

console
gameboy
retro

Amstrad CPC Sampler

16 colors

Sixteen of the Amstrad CPC’s 27 firm-hued colors: blunt primaries with just enough mid tones to shade.

Amstrad (hardware)

console
retro
high-contrast

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

Teletext

8 colors

The eight pure teletext colors: black, white, and full-blast RGB corners. Brutally readable.

Broadcast standard (hardware)

retro
high-contrast
bright

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

Master System Sampler

16 colors

A 16-color slice of the Master System VDP: two-bit-per-channel steps, arcade-bright.

Sega (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

PC-98 Sampler

16 colors

The lilac-and-rose 16 that Japanese PC-98 art is remembered for: soft, painterly, unmistakable.

NEC (hardware)

retro
16-color
pastel

Atari ST

16 colors

The default Atari ST 16: full-strength hues plus their halves, the classic demo-scene starting point.

Atari (hardware)

retro
16-color
high-contrast

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

Thomson MO5

16 colors

France’s school-computer palette: saturated primaries with a handful of pastel softeners.

Thomson (hardware)

retro
16-color
bright

Sharp X68000 Sampler

16 colors

A 16-color slice in the X68000 arcade-port idiom: deep blues, hot reds, crisp highlights.

Sharp (hardware)

retro
16-color
illustration

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

Terminal Green

8 colors

Phosphor green from near-black to bloom: CRT terminals and hacking screens.

MagicPixel

terminal
retro
green

Terminal Blue

8 colors

A cold single-hue ramp for terminals, blueprints, and diagnostic overlays.

MagicPixel

terminal
retro
blue

Monochrome Amber

6 colors

A warm amber ramp for lamplight studies, sepia scenes, and CRT-amber mockups.

MagicPixel

monochrome
warm
low-color

Two-Bit Sepia

4 colors

Four aged-paper values: the Game Boy exercise in a warm, old-photograph key.

MagicPixel

low-color
monochrome
retro

Arcade Carpet

7 colors

Loud pattern colors for arcades, party stages and toy packaging.

MagicPixel

retro
vibrant
city

Motel Sign

7 colors

Roadside neon warmth for desert motels and highway diners.

MagicPixel

retro
sunset
night

Polaroid Fade

7 colors

Faded photo neutrals for nostalgic scenes and aged UI frames.

MagicPixel

retro
muted
warm

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.