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How to use indexation

This tutorial explains how to use indexation, how to create and manage indexation palettes, and how to use Match indexation to get consistent and clean results.

Indexation

To enable indexation:

  1. Turn on Indexation
  2. Add an Indexation palette

A palette can be:

  • created manually
  • imported from an image file
  • generated from the current layer

Once enabled, PixelOver replaces each pixel color in the layer with the nearest color from the palette.

Create palette

For the best results, it is recommended to generate a palette automatically.

You can choose the number of colors, and PixelOver will generate a palette based on the current layer.

Once the palette is generated, click Import and manage to edit it.

Generate palette

Editing the palette

  • Changing the color order in the palette does not affect the indexation result.
  • Changing a color value will affect the result, since pixels will be remapped to the nearest available color.

In the example below, the pink color is not used because it is never the nearest color for any pixel in the layer.

Replace palette

If your color placement looks correct but the palette colors are not ideal, the best workflow is to use Match indexation.

Match indexation

Match indexation replaces colors based on their palette index, instead of using nearest-color matching.

This means:

  • if color n°1 in the indexation palette is red
  • and color n°1 in the match palette is blue
  • then red pixels will become blue

Match colors

This is useful to replace a palette with a better-looking one (for example, a pixel art palette), while keeping the same color distribution.

Workflow: replace your palette using Match indexation

  1. Sort the original palette so it is easier to understand and edit.

Sort colors

  1. In the match palette, move colors using drag and drop so they match the same positions as the original palette.

Place colors

  1. Delete any unused colors from the match palette.

Delete others

Color cycling

You can also use the Shift value to offset the color positions in the match palette.

This makes it possible to create color cycling animations.
(An example project is available with the PixelOver download.)

Color cycling preview