Pixel animation is the heart of many retro style games or applications. With pixel animation can be created animated characters for 8-bit computer games, sprites, promotional images, visualizations and much more. Pixel animation is created based on pixel art techniques.
The first pixel art software was introduced by Microsoft to their first operating system called MS-DOS. Most of the other pixel animation software appeared during the 90s and by 2016, these programs were becoming obsolete as new advancements brought forth such as the CSS3 and HTML5.
PiskelApp
PiskelApp is a free online pixel editor with an emphasis on sprite creation. It allows you to save your pixel art online and also has an import function so you can use it to edit your existing pixel art. PiskelApp has a simple user interface and is a great choice if you want to dive right into creating your sprite sheet.
Pixlr
Pixlr is a slightly more advanced pixel editor in comparison to the previous editors with a large range of drawing tools. It offers the same online saving feature as PiskelApp but isn’t as well suited to sprite sheet creation. If you want to avoid the 16-bit style that PiskelApp encourages, check out this tool instead.
GIMP
GIMP is an open source image editor for desktop that can be used for everything from photo manipulation to creating original artwork. You can also use GIMP to create your pixel art and sprite sheets. Although there is a bit of a learning curve for beginners, GIMP is a powerful tool that can cater for almost all image editing needs.
LunaPic
LunaPic is an online tool with a number of capabilities for image editing. One of its many features is the ability to pixelate images, even photographs. You just need to upload your image, click adjust -> pixelate, choose how much you want to pixelate your image and there you go!
Paint.net
Paint.net is free image and photo editing software for Windows. This is a powerful tool with a great community behind it to show you how to create pixel art and sprite sheets.
Photoshop
Price: $9.99/mo
Platforms: Mac, Windows
Adobe Photoshop is the leading software for graphics editing & digital painting.
It should come as no surprise that it’s also a popular choice among pixel artists. While not made specifically for pixel art, Photoshop contains all the tools necessary to create professional quality pixel art and animations(and so much more).
Photoshop can be somewhat cumbersome for beginners as it is feature-heavy.
But there are plenty of tutorials available on setting up the program for making pixel art.
If you plan to create high resolution images or textures then it’s worth it to start in Photoshop so your skills are concentrated in one program. This is much better than having to learn multiple workflows for many different programs.
One of the biggest benefits to Photoshop is the volume of resources available.
There’s a tutorial for pretty much anything you could image as well as free scripts and plugins for even more flexibility.
If you’re working towards a career in game development or design then it’s worth noting Photoshop is an industry standard. Having knowledge of the software will be a big help in landing a gig at a studio.
But this is also nice if you just want to make your own indie pixel art for fun. Photoshop really is the bee’s knees for brilliant pixel art.
GIMP
Price: Free
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux
GIMP is an open source image editor probably best known as the “free alternative” to Photoshop.
It boasts a powerful set of general image editing tools and painting tools.
Because of the easy-to-use layout and highly customizable interface, GIMP is a popular choice for artists of all backgrounds and styles.
GIMP comes with all the tools you’ll need to make professional pixel art. There’s even a built-in timeline and animation player much like Photoshop.
This makes it a great choice for those who are looking for a one-size-fits-all solution to image editing. It will be easy to transfer your pixel art skills to photo manipulation and graphic design if you choose to do so.
Because of its popularity GIMP enjoys the support of a large community of creators and you’ll find plenty of tutorials for the program as well as a plethora of plugins to suit your needs.
It’s a great choice for those on a budget looking for something that can handle pixel art along with image editing, painting, graphics design, and more.
Pyxel Edit
Price: $9
Platforms: Mac,Windows
Pyxel Edit is another popular program beloved by pixel artists worldwide.
It’s known for its ease-of-use and user-friendly interface. While there is a free version available out there, it lacks many of the features that make Pyxel Edit a worthy choice.
The elegant interface is a big selling point for Pyxel Edit.
The program contains all the features necessary for creating static and animated images, including animation onion skinning which lets you overlay sequential frames in your pixel art.
At only $9 Pyxel Edit may be the perfect choice for those working with a low budget.
Aseprite
Aseprite is another well-known program created for the sole purpose of designing pixel art
Here’s the deal with using Aseprite – it is available for free if you’re someone who can arrange the program yourself, otherwise you can get the compiled and finished software at $15 (which includes as much modern features as you can think of).
If you’re wondering why it’s a famous software among pixel editors, that’s because Aseprite offers artists alluring creations as well as an easy user interface. It is capable of performing heavy-duty tasks effortlessly.
Let’s have a look at one of its features – onion skinning – which allows users to add frames both above and under the one they are currently creating. This option makes the work of the artist much easier and faster. Moreover, beginners will likely find the timeline easily accessible on their very first use.
It also contains exceptionally good sprite sheet exporting tools which are useful daily materials for game developers.
Conclusion
Pixel animation is a unique way of creating animated graphics to use on your website. Animation is an effective marketing tool and it has been proven that animation makes visitors spend more time on a website. Pixel art is used to create such animations and the art is built from pixels which add a retro look to the graphics.