Research-backed pixel pipeline
PaletteForge
Turn mixed pixel packs into one house style with visible research, pack-aware routing, and batch-safe decisions.
PaletteForge is not another generic image editor. It is an end-to-end operator surface for indie teams who need mismatched sprites, tiles, props, and UI packs to ship as one cohesive visual language.
Built-in presets
34
Batch max
500 files
Research refresh
Mar 29, 2026
Source pack
Fantasy RPG Pack
Mixed vendors
Hero sprites, environment tiles, props, and HUD fragments with inconsistent ramp spacing and outline pressure.
House-style sweep
Pack-aware ranking with explicit rollout posture
Batch-safe guidance
Gothicvania
Shadow-safe ramps for contour-heavy action sprites.
Pack leader
Signal Bloom
High-contrast accent handling for UI and VFX layers.
Verify
Field Manual
Terrain-forward palette balance for packs with repeated flats.
Watch
Research pulse
The lab and dashboard now separate the verified source-set date from the live freshness clock, so late-March research drift is visible instead of silently masked.
Editor posture
Reference packs now surface a real batch posture, not just a favorite palette, so operators can tell when a pack is safe, borderline, or not ready to roll out.
March 30, 2026 research front
The product now carries a live research pulse, not a frozen claim.
PaletteForge tracks verified primary sources, separates the corpus verification date from the live freshness clock, and pushes the newest operator-relevant work directly into the dashboard, lab, and editor posture.
Verified corpus
Mar 30, 2026
Freshest paper
0d old
Live translation
50%
Frontier pulse
7 in 7d
Highest-leverage thread
Provably Contractive and High-Quality Denoisers for Convergent Restoration
PaletteForge still routes between handcrafted production ladders and does not provide learned or provable convergence guarantees during restoration.
7 papers in 7d3 papers in 3dHottest theme Super-resolution
Late-breaking papers
The newest threads from the last week that materially change routing, evaluation, or pack-level rollout posture.
7 in 7d
3 in 3d
Provably Contractive and High-Quality Denoisers for Convergent Restoration
Mar 30, 2026
Keep new upscale defaults in verification posture when late-breaking restoration-stability work is still landing.
CREval: An Automated Interpretable Evaluation for Creative Image Manipulation under Complex Instructions
Mar 30, 2026
Treat complex-instruction evaluation movement as a cue to harden QA and critic-policy review before changing default routes.
Restore, Assess, Repeat: A Unified Framework for Iterative Image Restoration
Mar 27, 2026
Treat difficult upscale failures as assess-and-reroute loops instead of assuming the first ladder choice is final.
RealRestorer: Towards Generalizable Real-World Image Restoration with Large-Scale Image Editing Models
Mar 26, 2026
Use adaptive routing for mixed-quality source packs, then inspect late-breaking restoration candidates before standardizing a sharper default.
Why it wins
Built for one narrow pain point, not as another general-purpose editor.
PaletteForge focuses on the indie workflow that existing tools leave manual: taking mixed asset packs and forcing them into a coherent house style.
34 built-in presets
Console, fantasy, modern, and accessibility-safe palettes tuned for real game art.
Perceptual color mapping
CIE Lab and CIEDE2000 matching avoid muddy shifts and preserve intentional contrast.
Project workspaces
Group assets, lock a house palette, and keep whole packs visually consistent.
Batch conversion jobs
Process whole sprite folders or ZIP uploads with manifest-rich exports.
Developer API
Embed conversions into CI or content pipelines with API keys and usage visibility.
AI-free style analysis
Algorithmic style inspection recommends matching presets and settings without external inference.
Preset library
Console, fantasy, stylized, and accessibility-safe styles ship on day one.
Every preset pairs a curated palette with recommended conversion defaults so users do not need to learn color science before getting value.
Game Boy
retro_console
Game Boy Pocket
retro_console
NES
retro_console
SNES
retro_console
Genesis
retro_console
Commodore 64
retro_console
Pricing
A generous free tier for jams, then straightforward SaaS economics.
Free is enough to prove value. Pro and Studio add batch scale, API access, exports, and team operations.
MonthlyAnnual
Free
Perfect for trying out PaletteForge
$0 / month
50 conversions/month
10 files per batch
PNG + WebP export
3 projects
Godot export only
Normal maps only
2x upscale max
Pro
Most popular
For indie devs and serious pixel artists
$19 / month
2,000 conversions/month
500 files per batch
All 12+ export formats
All 6 dithering modes
20 projects + 2 API keys
All game engine exports
Full PBR map suite
4x upscale + auto routing
200 tileset generations/mo
No watermark
Studio
For teams and studios shipping games
$49 / month
Unlimited conversions
2,000 files per batch
10 API keys
10 team members
Unlimited projects
8x upscale max
Unlimited tileset + PBR
512x512 WFC output
50 GB storage
Priority support
15% marketplace fee