40 palettes

Pixel Art Color Palette

Press the button for a small pixel art palette: four to six colors with hex codes to copy.

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Hot coals: maroon to butter yellowMaroon shadow, red base, orange light, butter yellow highlight.#5E1626 · #D8303A · #F27A1E · #FBEC9C

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All 40 palettes

Four colors 10

Brass key: brown to cream Brown shadow, mustard base, yellow light, cream highlight.
Clay pot: dark brown to sand Dark brown shadow, rust base, tan light, sand highlight.
Evening cloud: indigo to pale pink Indigo shadow, violet base, pink light, pale pink highlight.
Grape jelly: deep purple to lavender Deep purple shadow, purple base, violet light, lavender highlight.
Gravel path: charcoal to white Charcoal shadow, gray base, silver light, white highlight.
Hot coals: maroon to butter yellow Maroon shadow, red base, orange light, butter yellow highlight.
Peach skin: plum to butter yellow Plum shadow, coral base, apricot light, butter yellow highlight.
Pond weed: forest green to pale lime Forest green shadow, green base, lime light, pale lime highlight.
Rain puddle: navy to pale blue Navy shadow, blue base, sky blue light, pale blue highlight.
Rock pool: dark teal to mint Dark teal shadow, teal base, turquoise light, mint highlight.

Show all 40 palettes (30 more)

Five colors, one ramp 10

Bubble gum: plum to white Plum shadow, hot pink, pink base, pale pink, white highlight.
Canyon wall: deep purple to white Deep purple shadow, rust, tan base, sand, white highlight.
Glacier wall: midnight blue to white Midnight blue shadow, denim blue, sky blue base, pale blue, white highlight.
Glowing log: maroon to butter yellow Maroon shadow, rust, orange base, amber, butter yellow highlight.
Honey jar: dark brown to butter yellow Dark brown shadow, mustard, gold base, yellow, butter yellow highlight.
Iris petal: navy to white Navy shadow, indigo, violet base, lavender, white highlight.
Jungle vine: navy to butter yellow Navy shadow, teal, green base, lime, butter yellow highlight.
Portrait: dark brown to cream Dark brown shadow, brown, tan base, peach, cream highlight.
Steel pipe: black to white Black shadow, charcoal, denim blue base, silver, white highlight.
Swimming hole: navy to mint Navy shadow, teal, turquoise base, aqua, mint highlight.

Six colors, two ramps 10

Brass and velvet: gold and purple Mustard, gold and butter yellow for the brass; deep purple, purple and lavender for the velvet.
Brick and ivy: red and green Maroon, red and salmon for the brick; forest green, green and lime for the ivy.
Dune and tide: tan and blue Brown, tan and sand for the dune; navy, blue and sky blue for the tide.
Face and scarf: tan and violet Brown, tan and peach for the face; indigo, violet and lavender for the scarf.
Fire and smoke: orange and gray Rust, orange and yellow for the fire; charcoal, gray and silver for the smoke.
Hill and cloud: avocado and sky blue Olive, avocado and pale lime for the hill; denim blue, sky blue and pale blue for the cloud.
Mint and berry: turquoise and hot pink Dark teal, turquoise and aqua for the mint; plum, hot pink and pale pink for the berry.
Night and lamp: denim blue and amber Midnight blue, denim blue and pale blue for the night; rust, amber and cream for the lamp.
Petal and stem: coral and green Red, coral and pale pink for the petal; forest green, green and mint for the stem.
Stone and moss: gray and avocado Charcoal, gray and white for the stone; olive, avocado and lime for the moss.

Skin, sky and grass 10

Ball game: lime under blue Navy outline, tan skin, orange shirt, lime grass, blue sky, white lines.
Drizzle walk: teal under gray Charcoal outline, tan skin, yellow raincoat, teal grass, gray sky, pale blue rain.
Dry field: mustard under denim blue Maroon outline, peach skin, rust coat, mustard grass, denim blue sky, cream clouds.
Farm morning: avocado under pale blue Black outline, brown skin, yellow hat, avocado grass, pale blue sky, cream clouds.
Hilltop hero: avocado under aqua Indigo outline, sand skin, red cape, avocado grass, aqua sky, white clouds.
Meadow walk: green under pale blue Black outline, peach skin, red shirt, green grass, pale blue sky, white clouds.
Park at dusk: olive under violet Deep purple outline, tan skin, mustard coat, olive grass, violet sky, pale pink clouds.
Sprinkler run: lime under pale blue Plum outline, apricot skin, hot pink shirt, lime grass, pale blue sky, butter yellow sun.
Tent at night: olive under indigo Black outline, apricot skin, amber fire, olive grass, indigo sky, butter yellow stars.
Windy hill: green under aqua Black outline, brown skin, hot pink kite, green grass, aqua sky, white clouds.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-08: small palettes for pixel art in four sizes (four colors; five colors in one ramp; six colors in two ramps of three; six colors for a figure on grass under a sky). Every palette, name, color word, hex code and line is our own; none is taken from a console, a computer, a game or a published palette. Ramp is our word for a run of colors from dark to light, used to shade one thing. How a strip is ordered: a ramp runs from its shadow to its highlight; a two-ramp palette gives the first ramp, then the second, each dark to light; a Skin, sky and grass palette is outline, skin, a third thing, grass, sky and a sixth thing. Our own tests, not a standard: every step of a ramp is lighter than the one before (WCAG relative luminance, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html) and 12 or more from it in CIE Lab; the shadow and the highlight of a four-color or five-color ramp contrast by 4.5 to 1 or more; the two base colors of a two-ramp palette are 25 or more apart; an outline is the darkest color of its palette and contrasts with the skin by 3 to 1 or more; skin, grass and sky are 20 or more apart; the skin tones of the group run from light to deep; no two palettes share four codes. Facts in the page copy, checked on 2026-10-08 against English Wikipedia, Pixel art, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_art: resolution and palette are the two most common restrictions of pixel art; older pixel art tends to use smaller palettes, and some games were made with just two colors; dithering uses a repeating pattern such as a checkerboard that reads as a third color from far off. Color names are plain English words with no paint maker, pencil brand or color-matching system, and one word is one code everywhere on this list. Checked on 2026-10-08: every code is #RRGGBB, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, no palette, name or line repeats, and no palette is on another palette list of this site or of its sister sites. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint or pencils, take the nearest color. Licence: own work

How it works

A pixel art color palette here is small, and most are built from ramps: runs of color from a dark shadow to a light highlight. The list is sorted by size.

Read the full guide

Pick a size first

Four colors is a single ramp from shadow to highlight. Five colors is the same with one more step, so the base sits in the middle. Six colors is two ramps of three, one for each main thing in the picture, as in Brick and ivy. Skin, sky and grass gives six colors a job each, starting with the outline.

Why a pixel color palette stays small

Palette is one of the two usual limits of pixel art; the other is resolution. With few colors, dithering does the blending: two colors set in a checkerboard read as a third from a distance.

Questions and answers

How many colors should a pixel art palette have?

There is no fixed number. Older pixel art tends to use smaller palettes, and some games were made with just two colors. The lists here stop at six: enough for two ramps, and few enough to keep in your head.

What is a ramp in pixel art color palettes?

Here, a run of colors from dark to light for shading one thing. In Hot coals the ramp is maroon, red, orange and butter yellow: the color moves toward yellow as the steps get lighter.

Are these pixel art palettes taken from old consoles?

No. Every palette is our own, checked so that each step of a ramp is clearly lighter than the one before. None is copied from a console, a computer or a game.

Which palette suits a character sprite?

One from Skin, sky and grass. Each starts with a dark outline, then a skin tone, a third thing such as a shirt or a kite, then grass, sky and one more. The skin tones run from sand and peach to brown.