8 Bit Color Images with Old Game Console Colors Photoshop

For this Tutorial, we are using some images to convert into an 8-Bit console style artwork and the screenshot of a Game to make the “Color Palette”.

1 - In Photoshop, open the game screenshot you have made. It should have the colors you want to use.

2 - Go to File > Export > Save For Web (Legacy) (Option/Alt + Shift + Command/Control + S), and in the “Color Table” menu select “Save Color Table”, name it as you like and save it (choose a location you will remember easily). Close you’re the image and open the one you plan to use as your artwork.

3 - Open the image you want to use. (In this occasion, we are using several images to illustrate some variations in the process).

4 - Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels (Command/Control + L) and play with the levers a bit to get a nice contrast.

5 - Go to Filter > Pixelate > Mosaic and choose a “Cell Size” of 10 square.

6 - Go to Image > Mode > Indexed Color and choose “Custom” in the “Palette” menu. Click “Load” in the “Color Table” window and navigate to where you saved your “Color Table” to select it, then click OK. In “Options” use the “Diffusion” option for “Dither” and an “Amount” of 15%.

7 - You can experiment with the “Options” to see some different results, like using “Pattern” instead of “Diffusion” as “Dither”.

8 - Now we will use the same process in another image, and explore a different way to “Pixelate” it. Open your image, check if you need to adjust the contrast and tweak the “Levels” if it is the case. Go to Image > Mode > Indexed Color and choose “Local (Perceptual)”, in the “Palette” menu (20 in “Colors” and “None” in “Forced”), use “Diffusion”, 20% and check the “Preserve Exact Colors” box in the “Options” section. (If your original image is in “Grayscale” you will need to make it “RGB Color” first and then “Indexed Color”).

9 - Open the “Image Size” dialog (Option/Alt + Command/Control + I) and reduce the image a lot (The “With” and “Height” were 1800 Pixels). Then, go back to the “Image Size” window, change the “Pixels” to “Percent” and resize it again to make it bigger (use multiples to have a better result).

10 - Head back to the “Image” menu. You will have to turn your image “Mode” to “RGB Color” first and then go to “Indexed Color” and apply “Step 6” or “Step 7” to achieve your look.

11 - Finally, you can apply the look to a portrait or other image with a higher resolution. Use the method you prefer to “Pixelate” your image, (we used the “Mosaic” filter but used a 30 “Square” Cell Size). In the “Indexed Color” Options, we used a “Pattern Dither”.

12 - Check your images:

by @lornacane