Automating Color Ramp Detection and Modification to Enhance Pixel Art

Bachelor Thesis (2025)
Author(s)

L. Hake (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)

Contributor(s)

E. Eisemann – Mentor (TU Delft - Computer Graphics and Visualisation)

P. Kellnhofer – Mentor (TU Delft - Computer Graphics and Visualisation)

M. Molenaar – Mentor (TU Delft - Computer Graphics and Visualisation)

Joana Goncalves – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics)

Faculty
Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
More Info
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Publication Year
2025
Language
English
Graduation Date
26-06-2025
Awarding Institution
Delft University of Technology
Project
['CSE3000 Research Project']
Programme
['Computer Science and Engineering']
Faculty
Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
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Abstract

Pixel art relies on carefully constructed color ramps to simulate shading and depth within limited palettes. However, editing these ramps remains a tedious and error-prone manual process. This research introduces a semi-automatic tool that supports the detection and modification of color ramps in pixel art. The system builds a graph to model relationships between image colors based on perceptual similarity and spatial adjacency, then extracts and validates color ramps using customizable criteria. Afterwards, if a user edits a color, changes propagate consistently along the defined ramps, preserving their visual structure. The method streamlines palette editing while respecting artistic intent, offering both automation and control.

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