Colour Blending - Joe the Echidnafox

Please note that this Tutorial requires you to have basic Maths knowledge of addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and number rounding. If possible please have a calculator at hand and something to write on (a notepad document will do).

Blending colors in sprites isn't too hard or easy. A plus is that you have less colors to work with, but then you also have less space to work with, making it a little harder. We'll be making this tutorial with GraphicsGale, where it is somewhat easier to do since the palette with color values is shown at all times.

First, make a small shape using the first color, and another one for the second color. Due to the size of the sprites we'll be using, we only need one color that is used for blending in one shade. To do so, select one of the colors, and have your cursor over the other, where the color values of it shown on the bottom of the screen. Starting with the Red value, subtract the lower value from the higher value, divide the answer by 2, and add the result to the lower value from earlier. That will be the median value for the original 2 values. Place a pixel with the new value next to the pixels with the original values, and then repeat the process for the Green and Blue values. I recommend using a calculator, such as the one built into Windows computers.

Once you have the new value place the two original colors where you would like them, and where the colors seperate, use the new color on those pixels, and you will have a blended color. Now, repeat the whole process for the rest of the shades, and it will be perfect.