Pixelorama

Pixelorama is a free and open-source tool for macOS based around pixel art creation. You can design sprites, prepare animations, build tiles, and generate graphic resources for video games, all from a single app. It incorporates functions focused on pixel art, layer management, non-destructive effects, palette and tilemap editing tools, as well as a timeline for animations. It is compatible with various import and export formats and is even available for Windows.

Create sprites and pixel-by-pixel animations

The Pixelorama interface is designed to facilitate pixel-by-pixel image creation on Mac, with handy tools for drawing, shading, and performing pixel-perfect strokes. There are also several rotation and resizing methods designed to preserve the characteristic pixel art look. The program includes an indexed mode, rectangular and isometric guides and grids, as well as a Tile mode to generate repeatable patterns. When you are animating, the timeline allows you to manage different frames and layers directly from the editor.

Organize your projects with layers

The different components of each illustration can be distributed across multiple layers to keep the project organized and apply clipping masks or effects without permanently modifying the original pixels. Pixelorama presents you with resources such as contours, gradient maps, drop shadows, and other visual adjustments to flexibly change the finish of an image. Another option available to you is to add 3D layer-based content within a 2D document, expanding the possibilities for each composition.

Design settings and game resources

With Pixelorama's tilemap layers you can prepare settings and other assets for video game projects directly from your Mac. The editor supports rectangular, isometric, and hexagonal tile-based compositions, which can then be reused in different areas of the map. It also features autotiling functions to speed up the construction of terrain and certain elements of the setting. All of this is complemented by the editing tools you would expect to find in a program of this type, such as pencil, fill, select, flip, and gradients, adapted for working with low-resolution graphics. On top of that, you can design each frame of a sprite and turn the sequence into an animation without having to resort to another app.

My thoughts after trying Pixelorama

To get started, I created a simple sprite and tested the different tools to see how they responded when editing each pixel. After that, I prepared a sequence with several frames on the timeline and was able to review the animation directly while I worked. I also spent some time building a setting using tilemaps, combining reusable pieces to form different areas. To finish off, I tested the layer system, the palette options, and various effects, verifying that it is possible to significantly modify the project's appearance without having to open another program.

The best and worst of Pixelorama

• What I liked most is having the necessary functions to draw sprites, prepare animations, design settings with tilemaps, and generate assets for video games, all in a single Mac app.

• What I liked least is that the number of tools and overall possibilities can initially make it a bit difficult to quickly find the function you are looking for.

Download Pixelorama for Mac for free and use its pixel art tools to design sprites, animations, tiles, and graphic assets for video games. You can also use it to organize your projects using layers, create tilemaps, and save the result in different formats from an open-source app.