Best pixel art package?

Marchie · 01 February 2021, 04:25

Up till now I've been staunchly old-school and doing all my pixel art in DPaint on my A2000, but what's the best PC pixel-art package that can also handle animation?

d4rk3lf · 01 February 2021, 04:29

I think the best is Pro Motion NG Pro.
https://www.cosmigo.com

fxgogo · 01 February 2021, 09:14

You might want to try this one out. It has a very unique take on pixel art and allows for animation, multiple resolutions and colour control.

https://nevercenter.com/pixelmash/

fxgogo · 01 February 2021, 09:15

Then of course there is a modern day program inspired by Deluxe Paint and Brilliance.

http://grafx2.chez.com/

darkwave · 01 February 2021, 09:28

I use Pro Motion NG but I've heard a lot of good things about Aseprite and will be giving it a go soon...

https://www.aseprite.org/

Marchie · 01 February 2021, 09:33

Sweet, thanks guys!

I have a busy couple of nights ahead of me...

Cherno · 01 February 2021, 09:33

Never tried it myself but most people I have contact with seem to use Asesprite.

Tigerskunk · 01 February 2021, 09:36

I think they all miss a proper dither brush, so I stay with GIMP (which doesn't have one as well, but simply works for me otherwise).

nobody · 01 February 2021, 09:41

I use grafx2.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steril707

I think they all miss a proper dither brush.

dodke · 01 February 2021, 10:34

I use grafx2 too (on macOS) for pixel graphics. I can't really think of a feature it doesn't have. (It supports animation)

Adrian Browne · 01 February 2021, 13:12

I use pro-motion NG- its very similar to D-paint. Although I have not found the dither tool in it yet either- maybe under a new name in this version.

mcgeezer · 01 February 2021, 14:20

I use mostly the following tools.

Paint.NET (Windows) (with several plugins)
Used for overall image and sprite sheet manipulation

PPaint 7.1 (Amiga)
Used mainly for palette changing

Promotion-NG (Windows)
Very useful tool, lots of overlap with PPaint but it has bugs with saving IFF files. Also great for creating tile maps. I need to learn this tool more.

Texture Packer (Windows)
Awesome for creating and animating sprite sheets

Tiled (Windows)
Used for level/world creation

XnConvert (Windows)
Used for some image conversion when PPaint isn't up to it.

ffmpeg & irfanview
Used for all kinds of specialised stuff to do with ripping assets

Geezer

fxgogo · 01 February 2021, 15:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by d4rk3lf

I think the best is Pro Motion NG Pro.
https://www.cosmigo.com

Never heard of it, but it looks amazing. Have you just made me spend some money?

d4rk3lf · 01 February 2021, 15:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by fxgogo

Never heard of it, but it looks amazing. Have you just made me spend some money?

Hah... that might be.
I personally only used it a little, but I know these guys (awesome artists) that are creating Metro Siege for the Amiga is using it.
I've seen in some tutorials what it can do, and I was amazed.

So, I don't think you wasted your money

arcanist · 01 February 2021, 15:50

Also a Pro Motion NG fan here. Being able to limit color depth to 4-bit for OCS art is really useful.

grafx2 can also do this.

gimbal · 01 February 2021, 16:00

I like how grafx2 literally looks like an Amiga program. It instantly makes me feel at home with it.

Pixelmash looks bloody brilliant though.

PixelsAtDawn · 01 February 2021, 16:42

I use GraphicsGale for the fairly lightweight pixel art I do from time to time. Suits my purposes.

https://graphicsgale.com/us/

Adrian Browne · 15 February 2021, 17:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcanist

Also a Pro Motion NG fan here. Being able to limit color depth to 4-bit for OCS art is really useful.

grafx2 can also do this.

Excuse my ignorance but what is the benefit of 4 bit colour depth for amiga graphics?

arcanist · 15 February 2021, 19:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrian Browne

Excuse my ignorance but what is the benefit of 4 bit colour depth for amiga graphics?

OCS/ECS limits color depth to 4 bits per component (i.e. 16 shades each of red/green/blue). AGA/RTG increases that to 8bpc.

Making assets in 8bpc and reducing them to 4bpc is risky. While it can be done mathematically the result is not always artistically desirable. I've had to recreate whole color ramps to get the look right after doing this.

Pixel art also has strong interactions at color boundaries. A few % rounding in RGB on either side can change the antialiasing patterns needed to get the right blend or line thickness.

I much prefer to work with 16-step color sliders all the way through production. But perhaps I'm just picky.

pink^abyss · 16 February 2021, 17:47

Libresprite is the last OSS version of AseSprite. Its quite nice for being free:
http://www.libresprite.org/

01 February 2021, 04:25	#1
Marchie Registered User Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Sydney / London Posts: 589	Best pixel art package? Up till now I've been staunchly old-school and doing all my pixel art in DPaint on my A2000, but what's the best PC pixel-art package that can also handle animation?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
fun article about pixel art VS "HD" art	gimbal	Retrogaming General Discussion	9	25 June 2020 17:25
Pixel Art: Still Art?	sandruzzo	Retrogaming General Discussion	16	25 June 2020 09:03
Pixel Art: What a Work!	sandruzzo	Retrogaming General Discussion	10	15 February 2020 18:39
Pixel Art and Modules	mange_lars	Amiga scene	15	28 November 2009 13:23
Crayon Pixel Art	Shoonay	Nostalgia & memories	9	26 February 2009 12:59

01 February 2021, 04:29	#2
d4rk3lf Registered User Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Novi Sad, Serbia Posts: 1,647	I think the best is Pro Motion NG Pro. https://www.cosmigo.com

01 February 2021, 09:14	#3
fxgogo Also known as GarethQ Join Date: May 2019 Location: Twickenham / U.K. Posts: 718	You might want to try this one out. It has a very unique take on pixel art and allows for animation, multiple resolutions and colour control. https://nevercenter.com/pixelmash/

01 February 2021, 09:15	#4
fxgogo Also known as GarethQ Join Date: May 2019 Location: Twickenham / U.K. Posts: 718	Then of course there is a modern day program inspired by Deluxe Paint and Brilliance. http://grafx2.chez.com/

01 February 2021, 09:28	#5
darkwave Registered User Join Date: May 2004 Location: UK Posts: 262	I use Pro Motion NG but I've heard a lot of good things about Aseprite and will be giving it a go soon... https://www.aseprite.org/

01 February 2021, 09:33	#6
Marchie Registered User Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Sydney / London Posts: 589	Sweet, thanks guys! I have a busy couple of nights ahead of me...

01 February 2021, 09:33	#7
Cherno Registered User Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 1,054	Never tried it myself but most people I have contact with seem to use Asesprite.

01 February 2021, 09:36	#8
Tigerskunk Inviyya Dude! Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Amiga Island Posts: 2,774	I think they all miss a proper dither brush, so I stay with GIMP (which doesn't have one as well, but simply works for me otherwise).

01 February 2021, 10:34	#10
dodke Registered User Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: London / UK Posts: 112	I use grafx2 too (on macOS) for pixel graphics. I can't really think of a feature it doesn't have. (It supports animation)

01 February 2021, 13:12	#11
Adrian Browne Jackie Chan Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Ireland Age: 46 Posts: 986	I use pro-motion NG- its very similar to D-paint. Although I have not found the dither tool in it yet either- maybe under a new name in this version.

01 February 2021, 14:20	#12
mcgeezer Registered User Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Sunderland, England Posts: 2,702	I use mostly the following tools. Paint.NET (Windows) (with several plugins) Used for overall image and sprite sheet manipulation PPaint 7.1 (Amiga) Used mainly for palette changing Promotion-NG (Windows) Very useful tool, lots of overlap with PPaint but it has bugs with saving IFF files. Also great for creating tile maps. I need to learn this tool more. Texture Packer (Windows) Awesome for creating and animating sprite sheets Tiled (Windows) Used for level/world creation XnConvert (Windows) Used for some image conversion when PPaint isn't up to it. ffmpeg & irfanview Used for all kinds of specialised stuff to do with ripping assets Geezer

01 February 2021, 15:50	#15
arcanist Registered User Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Austin, TX Age: 41 Posts: 409	Also a Pro Motion NG fan here. Being able to limit color depth to 4-bit for OCS art is really useful. grafx2 can also do this.

01 February 2021, 16:00	#16
gimbal cheeky scoundrel Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Spijkenisse/Netherlands Age: 42 Posts: 6,918	I like how grafx2 literally looks like an Amiga program. It instantly makes me feel at home with it. Pixelmash looks bloody brilliant though.

01 February 2021, 16:42	#17
PixelsAtDawn Amiga Addict Join Date: May 2002 Location: Shropshire/UK Age: 42 Posts: 256	I use GraphicsGale for the fairly lightweight pixel art I do from time to time. Suits my purposes. https://graphicsgale.com/us/

16 February 2021, 17:47	#20
pink^abyss Registered User Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Untergrund/Germany Posts: 408	Libresprite is the last OSS version of AseSprite. Its quite nice for being free: http://www.libresprite.org/

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)