Colour modes: RGBA, Indexed, Grayscale
Set the mode from Sprite ▸ Colour Mode or the MODE capsule in the Colour panel.
RGBA (default)#
Full 32-bit colour. Every pixel stores its own red, green, blue and alpha. Use this for general work and when you want free access to any colour.
Indexed#
Each pixel stores an index into the palette rather than a colour. Editing a palette swatch instantly recolours every pixel that uses it — the basis of palette swaps, biome tints and animated palettes.
- Converting **RGBA → Indexed*snaps every off-palette pixel to the nearest swatch. Ambersprite warns you first; **undo*restores the exact pixels.
- One palette entry is the **transparent index*— set it from the MODE menu.
- Returning to **RGBA*with no edits in between restores the original true-colour pixels non-destructively.
Work in RGBA while you paint and shade, then switch to Indexed near the end to lock the palette and get clean recolour variants.
Grayscale#
A single-channel mode for masks, height maps, and value studies. Converting to grayscale desaturates the sprite; converting back to RGBA restores colour if you haven't edited in between.
Which pixels are off-palette?#
Open the Histogram (Sprite ▸ Histogram) to see the colour spread, or run Palette ▸ Quantize to force everything onto the palette.