How to use the Color Reducer
- Drop an image or try the sunset sample.
- Choose 'auto' and set the number of colors, or pick a fixed palette like PICO-8 or Endesga 32.
- Add dithering if gradients look banded.
- Flip between result and original to compare.
- Download the PNG and, if you like, the palette as .hex, .gpl, .pal or .ase.
What you get
- PNG using only the chosen colors (alpha kept)
- The generated palette as .hex, .gpl, JASC .pal, .ase, Paint.NET .txt, CSS or PNG swatch
Tips from making games with it
- Pixel art usually needs fewer colors than you think. Try 8 and 16 before going higher.
- If a small but important detail (eyes, a gem) disappears, raise the count by one or two. K-means favours large areas.
- Ordered (Bayer) dithering looks like classic console art and stays stable in animation. Error diffusion looks smoother in stills but flickers between frames.
- For a whole game, reduce one key image, export the palette, then use Palette Transfer to put every other sprite on it.
Use cases
- Fitting art into a hardware-style limit (4, 16 or 32 colors)
- Cleaning AI or photo-based sprites that have hundreds of near-duplicate colors
- Making GIFs smaller
- Finding a starting palette for a new project
FAQ
How are the colors chosen?
With weighted k-means in OKLab, a color space where distance matches how different colors look. Frequent colors weigh more. The result is deterministic, so the same image and count always give the same palette.
What's the difference between auto and a fixed palette?
Auto finds the best N colors for this image. A fixed palette like PICO-8 keeps the exact retro colors and maps each pixel to its nearest one.
Should I use dithering?
Use it for gradients, skies and photos. Skip it for flat-shaded sprites and UI where it only adds noise.
Is transparency kept?
Yes. Transparent pixels stay transparent and aren't counted as a color.
Is there a size limit?
Images up to about one megapixel are processed. Larger images should be scaled down first. Pixel art rarely needs more.
Do you upload the image?
No. All processing happens on your device.