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Pixel & Palette

Interactive Lab · ~20 MIN · FREE · LOCAL ONLY

Colour, form and constraint in pixel graphics: why a small palette reads better than a large one, and how to keep a tiny image legible.

Draw a readable pixel study inside a strict four-colour palette.

  • limited palettes
  • readability at small sizes
  • silhouette and contrast
  • dithering as a value tool
  • clusters, not confetti

Lessons

  1. Why a limited palette helps

    A small palette forces every colour to carry a job: darkest for shadow, brightest for the one thing you want seen. Fewer choices make an image read faster, which is exactly what a big screen needs.

    TRY THIS BELOW · Paint a few pixels with the brightest colour and watch the preview report how much of the image your accent covers.

  2. Silhouette first

    If the shape does not read as a black blob, no amount of shading fixes it. Block the silhouette, check it squinting, then add interior values.

    TRY THIS BELOW · Use Silhouette Check after blocking your main shape and see whether it still reads as one form.

  3. Clusters over noise

    Pixels grouped into clean clusters read as form. Scattered single pixels read as dirt. Dithering is only useful when it makes a deliberate gradient between two of your four colours.

    TRY THIS BELOW · Add one stray pixel far from your shape and watch the cluster count in the preview rise.

Four-colour pixel study

Choose a palette, then paint a 12×12 study. Use at least 24 pixels and never more than four colours.

Palette

Choose a palette to start painting.

Canvas

Click a square to fill it. Click again to cycle colours and clear.

See what changed

The preview is generated from your choices above.

Active colours ·
0/1
Painted pixels ·
0
Clusters ·
0

Result preview: 0 painted pixels using 0 colours in 0 clusters.

WHAT CHANGED · Nothing is painted yet. Silhouette Check flattens every painted pixel to one colour, so it will only tell you something once a shape exists.

0/4 REQUIREMENTS MET

  • A palette is selected
  • At least 24 pixels painted
  • No more than four colours used
  • Title and focal point written

COMPLETION RULE · Pick a palette, paint at least 24 pixels using at most four colours, and describe the focal point.

Your plan

Everything above stays on this device. Take a copy with you.

Pixel & Palette — SceneStart

Piece title: —
What should a viewer notice first?: —

Completion: 0/4 — Pick a palette, paint at least 24 pixels using at most four colours, and describe the focal point.

SceneStart is not affiliated with any demoparty and cannot certify compliance. The party's published rules always take precedence.

Where to do the real work

  • Aseprite ↗The pixel editor most sceners use. Paid, with a free source build.
  • GrafX2 ↗Free, deliberately oldskool, strong palette control.
  • Libresprite ↗Free fork of an older Aseprite release.

SCOPE · The grid and preview here are a teaching lab, not a pixel editor. There are no layers, brushes or export formats — the point is palette discipline and readability before you open a real editor.

FREE FOREVER · A future paid tier could add longer critique exercises and reference sets. Everything on this page stays free.