diff --git a/src/odl_renderer/__init__.py b/src/odl_renderer/__init__.py
index e2a86f8..8b378c9 100644
--- a/src/odl_renderer/__init__.py
+++ b/src/odl_renderer/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,19 @@
 """Drawcustom - Pure image rendering from drawing instructions."""
 
-from .colors import BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, HALF_BLACK, HALF_RED, HALF_YELLOW, RED, WHITE, YELLOW, ColorResolver
+from .colors import (
+    BLACK,
+    BLUE,
+    DARK_GRAY,
+    GREEN,
+    HALF_BLACK,
+    HALF_RED,
+    HALF_YELLOW,
+    LIGHT_GRAY,
+    RED,
+    WHITE,
+    YELLOW,
+    ColorResolver,
+)
 from .coordinates import CoordinateParser
 from .core import generate_image, should_show_element
 from .fonts import FontManager
@@ -26,6 +39,8 @@
     "HALF_BLACK",
     "HALF_RED",
     "HALF_YELLOW",
+    "DARK_GRAY",
+    "LIGHT_GRAY",
     "BLUE",
     "GREEN",
 ]
diff --git a/src/odl_renderer/colors.py b/src/odl_renderer/colors.py
index 5128984..d9a200c 100644
--- a/src/odl_renderer/colors.py
+++ b/src/odl_renderer/colors.py
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 WHITE = (255, 255, 255, 255)
 BLACK = (0, 0, 0, 255)
 HALF_BLACK = (127, 127, 127, 255)
+DARK_GRAY = (64, 64, 64, 255)
+LIGHT_GRAY = (191, 191, 191, 255)
 RED = (255, 0, 0, 255)
 HALF_RED = (255, 127, 127, 255)
 YELLOW = (255, 255, 0, 255)
@@ -9,6 +11,59 @@
 BLUE = (0, 0, 255, 255)
 GREEN = (0, 255, 0, 255)
 
+# Single source of truth for statically-resolvable named colors.
+# Add new named colors here only: the resolver and the inline text-markup
+# allowlist are both derived from this mapping.
+NAMED_COLORS: dict[str, tuple[int, int, int, int]] = {
+    "black": BLACK,
+    "b": BLACK,
+    "white": WHITE,
+    "w": WHITE,
+    "dark_gray": DARK_GRAY,
+    "darkgray": DARK_GRAY,
+    "dkgray": DARK_GRAY,
+    "half_black": HALF_BLACK,
+    "hb": HALF_BLACK,
+    "gray": HALF_BLACK,
+    "grey": HALF_BLACK,
+    "light_gray": LIGHT_GRAY,
+    "lightgray": LIGHT_GRAY,
+    "ltgray": LIGHT_GRAY,
+    "half_white": LIGHT_GRAY,
+    "hw": LIGHT_GRAY,
+    "red": RED,
+    "r": RED,
+    "half_red": HALF_RED,
+    "hr": HALF_RED,
+    "yellow": YELLOW,
+    "y": YELLOW,
+    "half_yellow": HALF_YELLOW,
+    "hy": HALF_YELLOW,
+    "blue": BLUE,
+    "bl": BLUE,
+    "green": GREEN,
+    "gr": GREEN,
+    "g": GREEN,
+}
+
+# Accent aliases resolve dynamically from the configured accent color,
+# so they are valid tokens but resolved separately from NAMED_COLORS.
+ACCENT_ALIASES: tuple[str, ...] = ("accent", "a", "half_accent", "ha")
+
+# Hex token forms accepted as colors (longest-first for unambiguous matching).
+_HEX_TOKENS: tuple[str, ...] = (
+    r"#[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}",
+    r"#[0-9A-Fa-f]{6}",
+    r"#[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}",
+    r"#[0-9A-Fa-f]{3}",
+)
+
+# Regex alternation of every valid color token (named + accent + hex).
+# Named tokens are sorted longest-first so aliases like "grey" match before
+# "gr". Derived once and shared by inline text markup so adding a color in
+# NAMED_COLORS automatically extends the markup allowlist too.
+COLOR_TOKEN_PATTERN: str = "|".join(sorted([*NAMED_COLORS, *ACCENT_ALIASES], key=len, reverse=True) + list(_HEX_TOKENS))
+
 
 class ColorResolver:
     """Resolves color inputs to RGBA tuples."""
@@ -21,9 +76,9 @@ def resolve(self, color: str | None) -> tuple[int, int, int, int] | None:
         if color is None:
             return None
 
-        color_str = str(color).lower()
+        color_str = str(color).strip().lower()
 
-        # Hex color support: #RGB or #RRGGBB
+        # Hex color support: #RGB, #RGBA, #RRGGBB, or #RRGGBBAA
         if color_str.startswith("#"):
             return self._parse_hex(color_str[1:])
 
@@ -31,44 +86,49 @@ def resolve(self, color: str | None) -> tuple[int, int, int, int] | None:
 
     @staticmethod
     def _parse_hex(hex_val: str) -> tuple[int, int, int, int]:
-        """Parse hex color string to RGBA tuple."""
+        """Parse hex color string to RGBA tuple.
+
+        Supports #RGB and #RGBA shorthand (each nibble doubled) and the
+        full #RRGGBB and #RRGGBBAA forms. Alpha defaults to fully opaque
+        when not provided. Invalid length or content falls back to white.
+        """
+        hex_val = hex_val.strip()
         try:
             if len(hex_val) == 3:
                 r = int(hex_val[0] * 2, 16)
                 g = int(hex_val[1] * 2, 16)
                 b = int(hex_val[2] * 2, 16)
+                a = 255
+            elif len(hex_val) == 4:
+                r = int(hex_val[0] * 2, 16)
+                g = int(hex_val[1] * 2, 16)
+                b = int(hex_val[2] * 2, 16)
+                a = int(hex_val[3] * 2, 16)
             elif len(hex_val) == 6:
                 r = int(hex_val[0:2], 16)
                 g = int(hex_val[2:4], 16)
                 b = int(hex_val[4:6], 16)
+                a = 255
+            elif len(hex_val) == 8:
+                r = int(hex_val[0:2], 16)
+                g = int(hex_val[2:4], 16)
+                b = int(hex_val[4:6], 16)
+                a = int(hex_val[6:8], 16)
             else:
                 return WHITE
         except ValueError:
             return WHITE
-        return r, g, b, 255
+        return r, g, b, a
 
     def _resolve_named(self, color_str: str) -> tuple[int, int, int, int]:
-        """Resolve named color to RGBA tuple."""
-        if color_str in ("black", "b"):
-            return BLACK
-        if color_str in ("white", "w"):
-            return WHITE
-        if color_str in ("half_black", "hb", "gray", "grey", "half_white", "hw"):
-            return HALF_BLACK
+        """Resolve named color to RGBA tuple.
+
+        Accent aliases resolve dynamically from the configured accent color;
+        all other names are looked up in NAMED_COLORS. Unknown names fall
+        back to white.
+        """
         if color_str in ("accent", "a"):
             return YELLOW if self.accent_color == "yellow" else RED
         if color_str in ("half_accent", "ha"):
             return HALF_YELLOW if self.accent_color == "yellow" else HALF_RED
-        if color_str in ("red", "r"):
-            return RED
-        if color_str in ("half_red", "hr"):
-            return HALF_RED
-        if color_str in ("yellow", "y"):
-            return YELLOW
-        if color_str in ("half_yellow", "hy"):
-            return HALF_YELLOW
-        if color_str in ("blue", "bl"):
-            return BLUE
-        if color_str in ("green", "gr", "g"):
-            return GREEN
-        return WHITE
+        return NAMED_COLORS.get(color_str, WHITE)
diff --git a/src/odl_renderer/elements/text.py b/src/odl_renderer/elements/text.py
index 9f3953e..291bddb 100644
--- a/src/odl_renderer/elements/text.py
+++ b/src/odl_renderer/elements/text.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 from PIL import ImageDraw, ImageFont
 
+from odl_renderer.colors import COLOR_TOKEN_PATTERN
 from odl_renderer.registry import element_handler
 from odl_renderer.types import DrawingContext, ElementType, TextSegment
 
@@ -275,11 +276,9 @@ def parse_colored_text(text: str) -> List[TextSegment]:
 
     segments = []
     current_pos = 0
-    pattern = (
-        r"\[(black|b|white|w|red|r|yellow|y|blue|bl|green|gr|g|accent|a|"
-        r"half_black|half_white|half_red|half_yellow|half_accent|gray|grey|"
-        r"hb|hw|hr|hy|ha|#[0-9A-Fa-f]{3}|#[0-9A-Fa-f]{6})\](.*?)\[/\1\]"
-    )
+    # Valid color tokens (names + hex) are derived centrally in colors.py,
+    # so new named colors need no change here.
+    pattern = r"\[(" + COLOR_TOKEN_PATTERN + r")\](.*?)\[/\1\]"
 
     for match in re.finditer(pattern, text, re.DOTALL):
         # Add any text before the match with default color
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_colors.py b/tests/unit/test_colors.py
index 1698e5e..f4eef91 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_colors.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_colors.py
@@ -1,6 +1,19 @@
 import pytest
 
-from odl_renderer.colors import BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, HALF_BLACK, HALF_RED, HALF_YELLOW, RED, WHITE, YELLOW, ColorResolver
+from odl_renderer.colors import (
+    BLACK,
+    BLUE,
+    DARK_GRAY,
+    GREEN,
+    HALF_BLACK,
+    HALF_RED,
+    HALF_YELLOW,
+    LIGHT_GRAY,
+    RED,
+    WHITE,
+    YELLOW,
+    ColorResolver,
+)
 
 
 class TestColorResolver:
@@ -31,10 +44,19 @@ def test_none_returns_none(self):
             ("#ff0000", (255, 0, 0, 255)),
             ("#FF0000", (255, 0, 0, 255)),
             ("#Ff0000", (255, 0, 0, 255)),
+            # 8-digit hex with alpha
+            ("#FF000080", (255, 0, 0, 128)),
+            ("#FFFFFFFF", (255, 255, 255, 255)),
+            ("#00000000", (0, 0, 0, 0)),
+            # 4-digit hex shorthand with alpha
+            ("#F008", (255, 0, 0, 136)),
+            ("#FFFF", (255, 255, 255, 255)),
+            # Surrounding whitespace is stripped
+            ("  #FF0000  ", (255, 0, 0, 255)),
         ],
     )
     def test_hex_colors(self, hex_color, expected):
-        """Test hex color parsing (6-digit, 3-digit, case variations)."""
+        """Test hex color parsing (3/4/6/8-digit, alpha, case, whitespace)."""
         resolver = ColorResolver()
         assert resolver.resolve(hex_color) == expected
 
@@ -53,13 +75,21 @@ def test_hex_invalid_length_returns_white(self, invalid_hex):
             # White
             ("white", WHITE),
             ("w", WHITE),
-            # Half black / gray
+            # Half black / mid gray
             ("half_black", HALF_BLACK),
             ("hb", HALF_BLACK),
             ("gray", HALF_BLACK),
             ("grey", HALF_BLACK),
-            ("half_white", HALF_BLACK),
-            ("hw", HALF_BLACK),
+            # Dark gray
+            ("dark_gray", DARK_GRAY),
+            ("darkgray", DARK_GRAY),
+            ("dkgray", DARK_GRAY),
+            # Light gray (half_white fixed: was wrongly mid gray)
+            ("light_gray", LIGHT_GRAY),
+            ("lightgray", LIGHT_GRAY),
+            ("ltgray", LIGHT_GRAY),
+            ("half_white", LIGHT_GRAY),
+            ("hw", LIGHT_GRAY),
             # Red
             ("red", RED),
             ("r", RED),
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_text_color_parsing.py b/tests/unit/test_text_color_parsing.py
index 803f830..928f458 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_text_color_parsing.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_text_color_parsing.py
@@ -20,3 +20,17 @@ def test_parse_colored_text_supports_hex_tags():
 
     assert [segment.text for segment in segments] == ["G", "H"]
     assert [segment.color for segment in segments] == ["#0f0", "#00FFAA"]
+
+
+def test_parse_colored_text_supports_gray_names():
+    segments = parse_colored_text("[ltgray]L[/ltgray][dkgray]D[/dkgray]")
+
+    assert [segment.text for segment in segments] == ["L", "D"]
+    assert [segment.color for segment in segments] == ["ltgray", "dkgray"]
+
+
+def test_parse_colored_text_supports_8_digit_hex_tags():
+    segments = parse_colored_text("[#FF000080]A[/#FF000080]")
+
+    assert [segment.text for segment in segments] == ["A"]
+    assert [segment.color for segment in segments] == ["#FF000080"]
diff --git a/tests/visual/__snapshots__/test_color_rendering/TestGrayColorVisualRegression.test_gray_ramp_hex.png b/tests/visual/__snapshots__/test_color_rendering/TestGrayColorVisualRegression.test_gray_ramp_hex.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af46d86
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/visual/__snapshots__/test_color_rendering/TestGrayColorVisualRegression.test_gray_ramp_hex.png differ
diff --git a/tests/visual/__snapshots__/test_color_rendering/TestGrayColorVisualRegression.test_gray_ramp_named.png b/tests/visual/__snapshots__/test_color_rendering/TestGrayColorVisualRegression.test_gray_ramp_named.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..40d02cc
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/visual/__snapshots__/test_color_rendering/TestGrayColorVisualRegression.test_gray_ramp_named.png differ
diff --git a/tests/visual/__snapshots__/test_color_rendering/TestGrayColorVisualRegression.test_gray_text_inline_markup.png b/tests/visual/__snapshots__/test_color_rendering/TestGrayColorVisualRegression.test_gray_text_inline_markup.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b132040
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/visual/__snapshots__/test_color_rendering/TestGrayColorVisualRegression.test_gray_text_inline_markup.png differ
diff --git a/tests/visual/test_color_rendering.py b/tests/visual/test_color_rendering.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8bf185
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/visual/test_color_rendering.py
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+from io import BytesIO
+
+import pytest
+
+from odl_renderer import generate_image
+from tests.builders import ElementBuilder as E
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+class TestGrayColorVisualRegression:
+    """Visual regression tests for the grayscale ramp and gray text."""
+
+    async def test_gray_ramp_named(self, snapshot_png):
+        """Named grayscale ramp: black -> dkgray -> gray -> ltgray -> white."""
+        levels = ["black", "dkgray", "gray", "ltgray", "white"]
+        image = await generate_image(
+            width=300,
+            height=80,
+            background="red",
+            elements=[
+                E.rectangle(
+                    x_start=10 + i * 58,
+                    y_start=10,
+                    x_end=58 + i * 58,
+                    y_end=70,
+                    fill=level,
+                    outline="black",
+                    width=1,
+                )
+                for i, level in enumerate(levels)
+            ],
+        )
+
+        buffer = BytesIO()
+        image.save(buffer, format="PNG")
+        assert buffer.getvalue() == snapshot_png
+
+    async def test_gray_ramp_hex(self, snapshot_png):
+        """16-gray addressed via hex grayscale values."""
+        swatches = ["#000000", "#404040", "#808080", "#c0c0c0", "#ffffff"]
+        image = await generate_image(
+            width=300,
+            height=80,
+            background="red",
+            elements=[
+                E.rectangle(
+                    x_start=10 + i * 58,
+                    y_start=10,
+                    x_end=58 + i * 58,
+                    y_end=70,
+                    fill=swatch,
+                    outline="black",
+                    width=1,
+                )
+                for i, swatch in enumerate(swatches)
+            ],
+        )
+
+        buffer = BytesIO()
+        image.save(buffer, format="PNG")
+        assert buffer.getvalue() == snapshot_png
+
+    async def test_gray_text_inline_markup(self, snapshot_png):
+        """Inline [dkgray]/[ltgray] markup tags render with their gray levels."""
+        image = await generate_image(
+            width=300,
+            height=80,
+            background="white",
+            elements=[
+                E.text(
+                    value="[dkgray]dark[/dkgray] [gray]mid[/gray] [ltgray]light[/ltgray]",
+                    x=10,
+                    y=20,
+                    size=28,
+                    parse_colors=True,
+                ),
+            ],
+        )
+
+        buffer = BytesIO()
+        image.save(buffer, format="PNG")
+        assert buffer.getvalue() == snapshot_png
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 63b3511..7719464 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -807,7 +807,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "odl-renderer"
-version = "0.5.9"
+version = "0.5.10"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "aiohttp" },