What is the Best Pixel Art Software?

Pixel art has been around for decades. Once it was the only way to design games, then it was a retro way to design games. Now it’s an indie retro way to design games for older devices or low-intensity games for browsers or new devices. So what is the best pixel art software around right now?

Pixel art is made up of individual pixels as the name suggests. It provides both challenge and opportunity for designers. It is challenging in that you have to create nice designs within the limitation of a few pixels and some basic colors. It is an opportunity as you can use different approaches to overcome that challenge.

The best pixel art software around right now

If you want to create pixel art you can use a standard graphics app or you can use a specific pixel art app. In the context of this piece, ‘best’ will mean the software you are most comfortable with, not necessarily the program with the most tools or prettiest UI.

Pyxel Edit

Pyxel Edit is widely regarded as one of the easiest pixel art programs to master. The interface is very straightforward and will have you creating assets within minutes. It has all the tools you need for all manner of images and animations and some automation tools to remove duplicate tiles or export to XML or JSON.

There is a free and a premium version of Pyxel Edit. The free version is essentially an older version of the premium without some of the later updates. The premium version is only $9 so is well worth the investment if you like the program.

Aseprite

Aseprite is another pixel art program that is fairly easy to pick up. The menus and interface is logically laid out, most controls and tools are easy to find and most of them have keyboard shortcuts. The program is centered around the design which makes creation as simple as it can be without overburdening you with information and options.

Aseprite is free if you use the source code on GitHub or $14.99 for the full version from the website. The developers are responsive and often answer questions within a couple of hours. If they don’t, the large community of users will.

Tile Studio

Tile Studio is another very straightforward package that gets you creating in the shortest possible time. The interface looks a lot like MSPaint and has a very similar layout. Menus are logically laid out and contain most of the tools you will need to create pixel art. The program accepts any programming language and will output your creation in any format.

Tile Studio is free and still developed even though it is many years old. There are rumors of a brand new version of the program coming soon but this version works well enough for now.

GIMP

GIMP is the graphics program of choice for lots of designers for a very good reason. It is free, very capable and works on everything, everywhere. The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) began life in Linux but quickly spread to Windows and Mac OS. The interface is very easy to get to grips with and you will quickly feel at home.

As GIMP is a general graphics program and not just pixel art software, there are more tools and options available but you will not use most of them for pixel art. However, should you want to develop your skills further, you will be able to do so within GIMP so won’t need to learn something completely new.

Piskel

Piskel uses HTML 5 so is bang up to date for making browser games or animations. The interface is logical and uncluttered yet contains all the tools you’ll need to create pixel art. The user experience is straightforward and the website contains examples of pixel art you can reverse engineer if you want to learn how to make them.

Piskel is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. It is free too, which is nice. There is both an online and downloadable version which makes it easy to try before you download or if you just want to have a play around without installing anything onto your computer.

Paint.net

Paint.net is a general graphics program that is free to use. As well as creating pixel art you can manipulate images and perform all sorts of graphical magic. The product has been around for years yet is still supported by the developer and a huge community. The interface is simple and uncluttered, tools easy to find and use and make the creation process as straightforward as possible.

Paint.net is a Windows program that was originally intended to replace MSPaint. Instead, it remained an independent project that is almost as powerful as Photoshop for anything but publishing, but without the hefty price tag.

PIXLR

PIXLR is an online pixel art tool that is very powerful for a web app. If you are just dipping your toe into pixel art to see if you get on with it or not, this could be the one to try. The web app looks good, works fluidly and has a Photoshop feel about it. Tools and menus are logically laid out and if you have used any kind of graphics program before, you will soon feel at home.

You do have to register to use the site but the tool is free to use. As far as I can tell, there is everything here you would need to create pixel art for any use.

GraphicsGale

GraphicsGale doesn’t look like much but punches way above its weight. The website doesn’t do it justice either but download the program and see what’s in store. This pixel art software does all the same things the others do and looks and feels the same too. This is no bad thing as if you have tried one, you will feel right at home here. The navigation is simple, live preview helps you edit and refine animations and all the palettes and preferences can be saved for future use.

GraphicsGale is free but only works in Windows. Aside from that limitation, this program is definitely worth a try.

Got any other suggestions for pixel art software suitable for beginners or more experienced designers? Tell us about them below if you do!