Pixel Art Making Programs
Mapping Tutorial found by Diarandor:Interesting tutorial about mapping, with many advices. Unfortunately it is
written in french, so some people will not be able to understand it unless they use something like Google translate. Anyway, it could be useful to someone.
Link: http://www.lesforges.org/article/mapping?scroll_to=article
Pedro's pixel art tutorials:A bunch of free pixel art tutorials and you can download them all in a package for 5 USD if you want to support the Patreon.
http://blog.studiominiboss.com/pixelart
Windows and Linux operating systems:GrafX2 (http://pulkomandy.tk/projects/GrafX2) - It has unique tools for creating pixel art. It is available for many platforms including Android and Linux. YouTube Tutorials (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVdf9_UoHmPkioUcFA-UAMHrEttg66kua)
GraphicsGale (https://graphicsgale.com/us/) - A unique program for sprite creation and animation. June 18, 2017 - GraphicsGale became a freeware!
Krita (https://krita.org/en/) - I love Krita it is the closest thing to a free Photoshop.
Gimp (https://www.gimp.org/downloads/) - Another good free program I like. It now has better layers and a single window mode like Photoshop.
Extension for Gimp 2.8: Multiple layer export (https://github.com/khalim19/gimp-plugin-export-layers/releases) (Good for exporting 100 font images in seconds) or WaybackMachine (https://web.archive.org/web/20171209015125/http://registry.gimp.org/node/28268)
simple sprite sheet maker (https://web.archive.org/web/20171205024723/http://registry.gimp.org:80/node/27943)
Gimp Script: deep-float-copy (http://forum.solarus-games.org/index.php/topic,1188.0.html) (Multiple layers)
119 scripts for Gimp 2.8 (https://web.archive.org/web/20170422023559/http://www.gimphelp.org/script28.html)
GIMP Plugin Registry (http://www.webupd8.org/2012/05/install-gimp-plugin-registry-for-gimp.html) (Linux)
I just installed without the ppa on Ubuntu 16.04:
sudo apt-get install gimp-plugin-registryPaint.NET (http://www.getpaint.net/index.html) Paint.NET has been compared to Gimp. It has quite a bit of plugins.
Piskel (https://www.piskelapp.com/) - This was made for pixel art. It has everything one needs (including layers, but no group layers as far as I know) and everything one needs for pixel art. It has offline versions.
Aseprite (https://www.aseprite.org/) - A unique program for sprite creation and animation. Not completely free.
Active Pixels (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Graphic-Editors/Active-Pixels.shtml) - An editor close to Gimp
Firealpaca (http://firealpaca.com/en) - Another editor close to gimp.
Sai - This is not a free tool. I am only mentioning it because it is made very well and can even run on React OS. That is the opensource Windows operating system.
Android:Android is a Linux kernal Google library OS. Yes, Android is the most popular Linux OS. That is the main reason Android operating systems are free. A lot of people do not know this.
I tested many free programs for making pixel art on Android and Pixly is the best free one.
Pixly (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.meltinglogic.pixly&hl=en) - Layers and many Photoshop like features.
IsoPix - No layers. Very basic, but useful for quick pixel art.
PixelArt Editor - No layers. Very basic, but useful for quick pixel art.
Pixel Motion - No layers. Very basic, but useful for quick pixel art.
Return to Solarus Resource Help Project
(http://forum.solarus-games.org/index.php?topic=611.msg3080#msg3080)
I think Aseprite deserves to be on the list too. It is a great tool, quite minimalistic, but it has everything you need and nothing unnecessary. If I am not wrong, it is free open-source (although the creator is selling it too to make some money).
http://www.aseprite.org/
https://github.com/aseprite/aseprite
I did not know of this program. It is fantastic! I will add it to the list.
GraphicsGale is also I good program which is what I use for all of my pixel art. The program is completely free, and only costs money if you want to use it to make gifs.
https://graphicsgale.com/us/
I added it to the list. It looks excellent! :D
Added:
Extension for Gimp 2.8:
Multiple layer export (http://registry.gimp.org/node/28268) (Good for exporting 100 font images in seconds)
Krita 3.0 is very advanced. I prefer it over Photoshop any day.
@Zefk: I do not know which is the best place to put this, but, I found a very interesting tutorial about mapping, with many advices. Unfortunately it is written in french, so some people will not be able to understand it. Anyway, it could be useful to someone.
Link: http://www.lesforges.org/article/mapping?scroll_to=article
I am reading this tutorial right now Diarandor, it is just brilliant. They explain important concepts with a lot of examples, it is convincing and it will really be useful to make nice maps.
I agree. That is why I posted it here. :)
It may help you for Mercuris' Chest.
Aminemax may find it useful too for his games, but I think he does not use this forum.
Weird...the person that mentioned Photoshop deleted their comment. Anyway, I added the tutorial to the list. If someone is looking for pixel programs, then they will be interested in the tutorial.
Added:
Active Pixels (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Graphic-Editors/Active-Pixels.shtml) - An editor close to Gimp
Firealpaca (http://firealpaca.com/en) - Another editor close to gimp.
What is the best pixel art tool for freehand drawing?
Up to now I've been using Photoshop for pixel art, simply because I have decades of familiarity using it for other tasks, but lately things seem to go seriously wrong when I try to freehand draw at small sizes, and then I finally realized it was primarily due to the pencil tool's lack of a pixel perfect functionality (http://deepnight.net/pixel-perfect-drawing/).
I understand Asprite and a few other programs have pixel-perfect options, but which one do you guys prefer/recommend? Is there one which has a better pixel-perfect algorithm than others, or has any other advantages for drawing freehand with a tablet/stylus rather than a mouse?
I know there's a way to set up Photoshop for pixel art, you might try looking up if there are settings for that. I've seen enty of pixel art done in Photoshop.
But if you can't get that set up, you might try GIMP. It's not the best tool for pixel art, especially animating, and it doesn't have the tools designed specifically for pixel art. But if you're familiar with Photoshop it should come naturally, many options are in the same places and the basic workflow is the same.
@Bagu
This video is similar to the one I learned from when I used Photoshop for some pixel art, but I use Gimp and Krita now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLdA4Amea7Y
@Max
I just use the Solarus sprite editor to check animation.
Zefk, I do the exact same thing. But you have to admit, it's not great to export the entire image, set up the animations, then have to re-export the image for every change. It'd be a lot easier to view animations in the app your animating in.
Quote from: Max on July 19, 2018, 05:38:13 AM
Zefk, I do the exact same thing. But you have to admit, it's not great to export the entire image, set up the animations, then have to re-export the image for every change. It'd be a lot easier to view animations in the app your animating in.
@max
I use the Export Layers Plugin. It would be a pain to export lots of layers one at a time. On another note, registry.gimp.org is gone!?
https://github.com/khalim19/gimp-plugin-export-layers/releases
https://web.archive.org/web/20171209015125/http://registry.gimp.org/node/28268
Updated: Extension links.
Also, I use the merge visible layers... if I need to export a single image. You should see it near the bottom when right clicking a layer.
QuoteIt'd be a lot easier to view animations in the app your animating in.
This is very true. Gimp should learn from Solarus and make a sprite editor.
Although, Gimp does have - filters > animation > playback
Just to clarify what I'm asking about, it's programs which do the following:
(http://deepnight.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/bpainterPhotoshop.png)
(http://deepnight.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/bpainterProto.png)
There's a usable example of it here (http://deepnight.net/pixel-perfect-drawing/).
After trying a couple demo versions these were my observations as far as free-hand optimization:
Aseprite: The pixel-perfect option works like the example above and really gives a lot more precision when free-handing small areas. The "contour" tool is also a very handy way to fill in large areas quickly. My only complaint is there's no support for tablet pen pressure, so you can't create line-width variation on the fly.
Pro Motion NG: The trial version doesn't allow you to try the pixel-perfect mode, which is pretty annoying. However, Pro Motion does support pen pressure, so assuming the pixel perfect mode works just as well as Aseprite's, it's the better choice to accomplish everything in one program. It's simply annoying that you can't evaluate all the functionality before purchasing (the $40 asking price is a lot compared to other popular pixel art tools).
One other factor in Aseprite's favor IMO is the simple GUI; it's a pleasant break from the clutter of mini-windows plastered all over Photoshop. Conversely Pro Motion NG feels pretty much just as bad as Photoshop in that regard.
These are not the only programs with a pixel-perfect option, just the one's I've tried so far.
Aseprite is great, the Solarus team uses it (Neovyse and Diarandor). All new graphics of Zelda XD2 were done with Aseprite by Neovyse.
Yeah, I just picked up Aseprite. At $15, it feels stupid to overthink the decision. Even if I were to change my mind and get Pro Motion NG, $55 spent on the two programs is a drop in the bucked compared to the amount I've spent on real life paints, brushes, canvases, etc. as well as music or computer gear.
You won't regret it. I can't stop recommending Aseprite. It's very powerful, intuitive and simple at the same time. The layers feature is very important and you should use it a lot.
Added:
GrafX2 (http://pulkomandy.tk/projects/GrafX2) - It has unique tools for creating pixel art. It is available for many platforms including Android and Linux. YouTube Tutorials (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVdf9_UoHmPkioUcFA-UAMHrEttg66kua)
News:
June 18, 2017 - GraphicsGale became a freeware!
There is a blog with a lot of tutorials on Pixel art:
MiniBoss - Pixel art tutorials (http://blog.studiominiboss.com/pixelart)
The link could be added in the first post.
@froggy77
Added it. Those are some nice tutorials.
A nice video tutorial explaining the basics of Aseprite for beginners:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6W79jtLJM
I'm not gonna lie, I tend to use MS Paint for basic construction and then use Photoshop to make it transparent. I know Paint is limited but it's easy to use and it's what I'm familiar with. I also just find copying and pasting easier in Paint.