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Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker

Colours that look muddy the moment you put them side by side? Pick base colours and get shading ramps with hue shifting, then see them on a sprite before you commit.

Shading ramps and palettes for pixel art, in your browser.

Use it: 3 days for $1 Included in Gridwright with all 31 tools and every pack, $17 a month.

In your browserNothing to installYour work saved to your accountOpens on any device you sign in on

Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker at work
Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker at work in your browser.

What Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker does

Shading with only black and white added is why a palette looks muddy. The Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker turns each base colour into a ramp of 2 to 12 steps, with the lightness spaced the way the eye sees it and hue shifting built in: shadows turn cooler, toward blue, and highlights warmer, toward yellow.

Set the contrast, the saturation and its curve and watch each ramp shade a sprite as you go, or check it in greyscale to see if it reads without its colour. Lock any colour you set by hand, load a palette you already use, and save .hex, .gpl, a PNG strip and a Godot 4 Gradient for each ramp.

How it works

  1. Start from our five base colours, or load your own palette (.hex, .gpl, .pal or a PNG strip).
  2. Change a base colour or add a ramp; set the colours per ramp, the contrast and the hue shift.
  3. Pick a ramp to shade the sprites, try the greyscale check, and lock the colours you fix by hand.
  4. Download the .hex, .gpl, PNG strip and Godot gradients, or all of them as a ZIP.

What you get out

  • .hex palette
  • .gpl palette (GIMP, Aseprite, Krita)
  • PNG strip and ramp swatches
  • Godot 4 Gradient (.tres) per ramp

Packs to use it with

Top-Down CharactersCharacters & creaturesPixel MonstersCharacters & creaturesTop-Down TilesetTilesets & worldsMedieval VillageTilesets & worlds

More tools to fix every sprite

Sprite Sheet MakerOne sprite sheet from many framesSprite Sheet CutterSingle frames from a sprite sheetGIF to Sprite SheetSprite sheets and frames from animated GIFsSprite Animation PreviewerYour animation played, checked and lined upSprite Outline AdderOutlines round sprites and whole sheetsPixel Art Background RemoverTransparent sprites from a flat backgroundPixel Art UpscalerBigger pixel art without blurPixelatorPixel art from any picturePalette SwapperNew colours for any sprite or sheetColor Palette ExtractorThe palette of any picture, with pixel counts

FAQ

Is Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker free?

Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker is part of Gridwright: every tool and every asset pack for $17 a month, and you can start with 3 days for $1. It runs in your browser, with nothing to install.

Can I download Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker?

No. Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker runs inside Gridwright, in your browser, and what you make there is saved to your account, so it is on every device you sign in on. What it exports (your sprites, maps, sounds and engine files) downloads to your computer and stays yours.

What does Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker export?

Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker exports .hex palette, .gpl palette (GIMP, Aseprite, Krita), PNG strip and ramp swatches, Godot 4 Gradient (.tres) per ramp.

Does Pixel Palette & Shading Ramp Maker work with Godot?

Yes. It writes files Godot 4 opens directly.

Can I use what I make in a commercial game?

Yes. What you make with the Gridwright tools goes into free and commercial games on any platform.

Your game, looking finished

Every Gridwright asset pack, made to fit together, and all 31 tools for the fiddly work, with every new release, for $17 a month. Try it in your own game first: 3 days for $1, cancel any time.

Start for $1