Palette Grid — Stylized art. 10× faster.

Gradient texturing is the technique. Palette Grid is the tool that makes it practical.

Compact palette textures with organized gradient strips let you simulate lighting, shadow, and color transitions at a fraction of the memory cost. The problem has never been the technique. It is the setup: building palettes in Photoshop, re-exporting PNGs, manually lining up UV islands row by row. Palette Grid eliminates that entire loop.

Four steps. Zero export-import tax.

1. Create: Build flat-color and gradient palette textures directly in Blender. Organize strips, pick sizes, and set up the color layout without touching an external editor.
2. Edit: Drag gradient stops, tune colors, see the texture update live. No export-reimport cycle every time you change a shade.
3. Apply: Snap UVs to strips, project from view, place radial gradients, or draw paths. The core UV work that takes minutes by hand takes seconds.
4. Ship: Tiny textures, fewer draw calls, cleaner iteration. Production stays fast because the workflow never left Blender.

Manual workflow vs. Palette Grid

• Palette creation: Manual = paint strips in Photoshop, export PNG, import into Blender. Palette Grid = create palettes directly inside Blender.
• Color changes: Manual = re-open editor, repaint, re-export, re-import. Palette Grid = drag gradient stops, see model update live.
• UV placement: Manual = unwrap, manually position each UV island row by row. Palette Grid = click a strip, snap UVs in one click.
• Iteration speed: Manual ~10 min per color variation. Palette Grid = seconds, never leave the scene.
• Advanced placement: Manual = painful manual UV manipulation for radials/paths. Palette Grid = view projection, radial falloff, path-based gradients.

Every UV mode. Every creative tool. One addon.

UV Snapping — Select faces. Snap to strip. Done.

Select faces, pick a strip, snap. UVs are created and positioned automatically — no manual unwrap, scale, or row-by-row alignment. Works across hundreds of faces. Auto-creates UVs if the mesh has none.

From-View Projection — Frame the angle. Project the gradient.

Frame the asset from any camera angle and project UVs directly onto the chosen gradient strip. No unwrapping, no rotating UV islands, no guessing alignment.

Path-Based Gradients — Draw a path. Map the gradient along it.

Draw a path and map a gradient strip along it. Spirals, curves, organic lines. Gradient follows the path direction and length. Ideal for organic shapes, trim sheets, and flowing details.

Radial Placement — Distance-based gradients from any point.

Place distance-based gradients from the 3D cursor. Shields, orbs, effects, stylized lighting falloff. Works on spheres, domes, and organic surfaces.

Palette Authoring — Build the palette without leaving Blender.

Create both flat-color and gradient strip textures directly inside Blender. Choose texture resolution from 32px to production sizes. No Photoshop, no Krita, no external editor round-trips.

Live Editing — Change the gradient, see it on the model. Instantly.

Updates the texture in real time as you drag stops and adjust strips. Swap entire color palettes without redoing UVs. Iterate on look-dev in seconds, not minutes.

Smart Shape Detection

Sketch a line, circle, or rectangle. The addon detects your intent and snaps to a clean geometric path you can scale, rotate, and position before applying.

PNG palettes vs. .pgridpalette packs

Free PNG palettes work everywhere — any engine, any 3D app. Paid .pgridpalette packs unlock the full Palette Grid workflow: strip metadata for snapping, one-click UV snap, live gradient editing, gradient stop positions saved, and instant palette swap.

Common questions

Is this just gradient texturing?

Gradient texturing is the underlying technique. Palette Grid is the Blender addon that makes the technique practical: palette creation, live editing, visual strip selection, one-click UV snapping, view projection, radial placement, and path-based gradient mapping. The technique is free. The speed is what you are paying for.

Do I need the addon to use the palettes?

No. PNG palette textures work in any engine or 3D app. The addon automates the most tedious parts: building the palette, snapping UVs to strips, and iterating on colors in real time.

Who is Palette Grid for?

Anyone doing stylized, low-poly, mobile-optimized, or palette-driven 3D work. Game artists, asset creators, and small studios who care about texture performance and iteration speed.