libresprite.dev
v1.3

Free tool · Palette browser

Pixel art palettes

The 38 palettes that come with LibreSprite 1.3, from the NES and Game Boy to PICO-8, DawnBringer’s DB32 and Adigun Polack’s AAP-64. Click a palette to see it on our demo sprite, click a colour to copy its hex code, and download it in the format your tool reads.

Checked with LibreSprite 1.3Updated 2 min read
On this page 5 sections
  1. PICO-8
  2. Use these palettes in LibreSprite
  3. Popular choices, and what they are good for
  4. Which file should I download?
  5. FAQ

PICO-8

Download (made in your browser):

The preview maps each colour of our sprite to the nearest colour in the palette. .gpl, .pal and PNG load in LibreSprite; .hex does not.

Use these palettes in LibreSprite

You don’t need to download anything for LibreSprite: they are already built in. Click Presets above the colour bar, pick the palette and press Load. Downloads are for other programs (GIMP, Krita, Aseprite, Godot) or for sharing. More on palettes in LibreSprite, including how we tested each file format.

PaletteColoursGood for
PICO-816The fantasy console’s fixed palette: bright, friendly, great for beginners and game jams.
DB32 / DB1632 / 16DawnBringer’s general-purpose palettes with natural ramps; a long-time favourite on Pixel Joint.
AAP-6464Wide range of hues with long ramps for detailed scenes.
gameboy4The original Game Boy’s four greens: maximum restriction, instant retro look.
nes56Colours of the NES hardware. Real NES sprites used only 3 colours plus transparency each.
commodore64 / zx-spectrum / cga16Authentic 8-bit home-computer looks.
arne1616Arne Niklas Jansson’s classic 16-colour palette, balanced for characters and tiles.

Which file should I download?

  • .gpl: GIMP palette; read by GIMP, Krita, Inkscape, LibreSprite and Aseprite.
  • .pal: JASC/Paint Shop Pro palette; read by LibreSprite, Aseprite and many older tools.
  • PNG 1×: one pixel per colour, the universal fallback; any editor can pick colours from it. PNG 8× is the same, bigger.
  • .hex: plain hex codes, one per line (Lospec’s format). Fine for code and websites; LibreSprite does not load it.

FAQ

What colours are in the NES palette?

LibreSprite’s nes.gpl has 56 colours (select “nes” above to see and copy every hex code). The console could show at most 25 at once, and each sprite used 3 colours plus transparency.

What are the Game Boy palette colours?

The “gameboy” palette has four greens; click it above and then click a swatch to copy its hex code.

Can I use these palettes in a commercial game?

Colour lists are generally not protected, and these palettes are shared freely by their authors; crediting the palette author (shown under each name) is good practice.

Where can I find more palettes?

Lospec’s palette list has thousands. Download them as GPL, PAL or PNG and load them in LibreSprite (how).

Keep going

Palettes & colourLoad, edit and replace colours, colour modes and dithering.Gradients & ditheringThere is no gradient tool. Here is what works instead.Pixel art upscalerScale pixel art up without blur, and fix blurry sprites in engines.

Found something wrong or out of date? Tell us: hello@libresprite.dev. We fix mistakes within a day.