NES color palette
All usable NES (Famicom) colours as hex codes, the 4-colours-per-sprite rule explained, plus GPL, HEX and PNG downloads for Aseprite, Photoshop and PixelMint.
Click a swatch to copy its hex code.
Limits you’re designing around
Each 8×8 sprite tile uses one sub-palette of 3 colours plus transparency. The console holds 4 sprite and 4 background sub-palettes at once (25 on-screen colours at most, including the shared backdrop). Up to 64 sprites, and only 8 per scanline before flicker.
About the NES palette
The NES picture processing unit (Ricoh 2C02) generates colour as an NTSC video signal rather than from RGB values, so there is no single "official" RGB palette. Emulators such as FCEUX and Mesen each ship their own measured approximation; the values here are the widely used classic set.
Of the 64 entries in the hardware table, around 54 are distinct usable colours. Several entries are duplicate blacks, and one ($0D) produces a "blacker than black" signal that can upset some TVs, so artists avoid it.
There is no true bright yellow-green or deep orange; that is why so many NES games lean on blues, browns and skin tones built from the $x7 and $x8 columns.
Draw with it now in the pixel art editor, or convert a picture to these colours.
Hex codes
| # | Colour | Hex | RGB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | #7C7C7C | 124, 124, 124 | |
| 1 | #0000FC | 0, 0, 252 | |
| 2 | #0000BC | 0, 0, 188 | |
| 3 | #4428BC | 68, 40, 188 | |
| 4 | #940084 | 148, 0, 132 | |
| 5 | #A80020 | 168, 0, 32 | |
| 6 | #A81000 | 168, 16, 0 | |
| 7 | #881400 | 136, 20, 0 | |
| 8 | #503000 | 80, 48, 0 | |
| 9 | #007800 | 0, 120, 0 | |
| 10 | #006800 | 0, 104, 0 | |
| 11 | #005800 | 0, 88, 0 | |
| 12 | #004058 | 0, 64, 88 | |
| 13 | #000000 | 0, 0, 0 | |
| 14 | #BCBCBC | 188, 188, 188 | |
| 15 | #0078F8 | 0, 120, 248 | |
| 16 | #0058F8 | 0, 88, 248 | |
| 17 | #6844FC | 104, 68, 252 | |
| 18 | #D800CC | 216, 0, 204 | |
| 19 | #E40058 | 228, 0, 88 | |
| 20 | #F83800 | 248, 56, 0 | |
| 21 | #E45C10 | 228, 92, 16 | |
| 22 | #AC7C00 | 172, 124, 0 | |
| 23 | #00B800 | 0, 184, 0 | |
| 24 | #00A800 | 0, 168, 0 | |
| 25 | #00A844 | 0, 168, 68 | |
| 26 | #008888 | 0, 136, 136 | |
| 27 | #F8F8F8 | 248, 248, 248 | |
| 28 | #3CBCFC | 60, 188, 252 | |
| 29 | #6888FC | 104, 136, 252 | |
| 30 | #9878F8 | 152, 120, 248 | |
| 31 | #F878F8 | 248, 120, 248 | |
| 32 | #F85898 | 248, 88, 152 | |
| 33 | #F87858 | 248, 120, 88 | |
| 34 | #FCA044 | 252, 160, 68 | |
| 35 | #F8B800 | 248, 184, 0 | |
| 36 | #B8F818 | 184, 248, 24 | |
| 37 | #58D854 | 88, 216, 84 | |
| 38 | #58F898 | 88, 248, 152 | |
| 39 | #00E8D8 | 0, 232, 216 | |
| 40 | #787878 | 120, 120, 120 | |
| 41 | #FCFCFC | 252, 252, 252 | |
| 42 | #A4E4FC | 164, 228, 252 | |
| 43 | #B8B8F8 | 184, 184, 248 | |
| 44 | #D8B8F8 | 216, 184, 248 | |
| 45 | #F8B8F8 | 248, 184, 248 | |
| 46 | #F8A4C0 | 248, 164, 192 | |
| 47 | #F0D0B0 | 240, 208, 176 | |
| 48 | #FCE0A8 | 252, 224, 168 | |
| 49 | #F8D878 | 248, 216, 120 | |
| 50 | #D8F878 | 216, 248, 120 | |
| 51 | #B8F8B8 | 184, 248, 184 | |
| 52 | #B8F8D8 | 184, 248, 216 | |
| 53 | #00FCFC | 0, 252, 252 | |
| 54 | #F8D8F8 | 248, 216, 248 |
Other palettes
Frequently asked questions
How many colours are in the NES palette?
This version has 55 colours. Each 8×8 sprite tile uses one sub-palette of 3 colours plus transparency. The console holds 4 sprite and 4 background sub-palettes at once (25 on-screen colours at most, including the shared backdrop). Up to 64 sprites, and only 8 per scanline before flicker.
How do I use the NES palette in PixelMint?
Open the editor and pick “NES” from the palette menu beside the canvas. To convert an existing picture to these colours, choose NES in the image to pixel art converter.
Which file should I download?
GPL for Aseprite, GIMP, Krita and Inkscape; HEX for Lospec-compatible tools and quick copy-paste; PNG for anything else (and for loading as a palette image in Aseprite or Pyxel Edit).