Palette-shifting
Encyclopedia
Color cycling, also known as palette shifting, is a technique used in computer graphics
in which colors are changed in order to give the impression of animation
. This technique was mainly used in early computer games
, as storing one image and changing its palette
required less memory and processor power than storing the animation as several frames.
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
in which colors are changed in order to give the impression of animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
. This technique was mainly used in early computer games
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
, as storing one image and changing its palette
Palette (computing)
In computer graphics, a palette is either a given, finite set of colors for the management of digital images , or a small on-screen graphical element for choosing from a limited set of choices, not necessarily colors .Depending on the context In computer graphics, a palette is either a given,...
required less memory and processor power than storing the animation as several frames.
Examples of use
- The famous AmigaAmigaThe Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
Boing Ball cycled the ball's checkerboard pattern between red and white to create the illusion of the ball rotating. - SimCity 2000SimCity 2000SimCity 2000 is a simulation/city building video game and the second installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 2000 was first released by Maxis in 1994 for computers running Apple Macintosh Operating System...
made extensive use of this technique: every building with animation had its animation provided by color cycling. This was used to provide effects such as blinking lights, cars moving on roads, and even four frames of animation displaying on a tiny movie screen in a drive-in theater. - A gallery featuring the color cycling effect through HTML 5 also shows how this effect is produced.