Pixelmash - Resolution-Independent Pixel Art Software for PC and Mac | Nevercenter

Resolution-Independent Pixel Art Software
for PC and Mac, $25

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A Whole New Approach to Pixel Art

Pixelmash brings a whole new approach to pixel art by letting you paint or import high-resolution images, then non-destructively pixelize and apply other layer effects to turn it into amazing pixel art. Watch the trailer here or check out a full walkthrough of Pixelmash here.

Pixelmash's Resolution-Independence Lets You Do Really Cool Things...

Like create animations using layer transforms rather than having to paint every frame pixel-by-pixel.

Or make outlines, shading, and dithering easily adjustable by having them applied as layer effects.

Or easily create different resolutions and color variants of the same image.

Or convert photos or other hi-res artwork into pixel art using layer effects and the resolution slider.

Save 30% with the Game Making Bundle

Pixelmash is a pixel art editor that is great for retro-styled 2D game art, and Silo is a focused and lightning-fast 3D modeling app that works hand-in-hand with game engines like Unity and Unreal for 3D games; together they make a great pair to support any game project.

Silo + Pixelmash, $110

Example Project Files

One of the best ways to understand how powerful Pixelmash is and how it works is to take a look at some sample project files and mess around with them. Try taking a look at these! Make something great in Pixelmash? Tweet it to @nevercenter with #pixelmash!

This octopus is a good example of basic layer effects and animation.
Download

Simple bush tile for an overhead RPG, using dynamic lighting effects.
Download

This simple ball shows using layer transforms for squash and stretch in animation.
Download

The Latest Videos on Pixelmash

We're posting new videos all the time on our YouTube page—come check it out and Follow Us to stay up to date!

Roadmap

Here's our roadmap of some of the things we plan to implement next:

•Improved help/documentation
•Area selection for copy/paste/delete
•Export/import layer effects presets
•Improved palette support
•Many more layer effects (send us your ideas)
•Vector-based tools/layers
•What else? You tell us!

Version History

Download the latest build

1.2.00 (Latest)

Added tools to draw rectangles and circles
Holding Shift while rotating in the transform tool snaps to 15 degree rotation increments
In all brush tools, holding Shift while in line-drawing mode (accessed via right click) snaps to horizontal, vertical, and 45-degree lines
New custom dither pattern option in dither effect
New option to position dither patterns relative to layer position
New outline-only option in outline effect
Improved speed, particularly on retina displays
Dragging in image files now prompts for import or open as new document
Now use Alt+Shift (rather than just Shift) to temporarily enter erase mode in brush tools
Hi-dpi support on Windows has been added
Other bug fixes

1.1.00

Completely rewritten keyframe-based animation system
Easy option for per-frame images on any layer, for hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation
New preview window to see your animation running while you work on a frame (also great for 1:1 or 2:1 previews on stills)
Animated components are now chosen per-layer rather than per-project
Easier access to creating layers at the document’s pixelized resolution
Layers now display their native resolution in the layers window
New onion skin options for coloring and number of frames
Dramatically increased performance when drawing with onion skinning
Improved resolution baking options

1.0.20

Layers can now have custom pivots by dragging the center handle in the transform tool - using parented layers you can now make fully rigged pixel art characters
Added ability to export selected layer only (trimmed to layer bounds)
Repeat layer effect added
Improved painting speed
Color dropper tool now ignores grid lines and other interface elements
Added Coloring Style option to Colorize layer effect
Additional bug fixes and speed improvements

1.0.11

Added Pencil tool for drawing lines at width of current pixelized resolution
Added Fill tool
Updated shortcuts to match other drawing apps better, and added keyboard shortcuts for brush resizing
Improved painting speed
Added ability to paint straight line segments using right-click within brush/pencil tools
Added menu item to create new layer at the pixelized resolution (rather than full high project resolution)
Added menu item to bake layer resolution/effects (rather than entire project resolution/effects)
Hid the registration serial from startup screen (useful for anyone streaming pixelmash sessions)

v1.0.01

Added opacity slider to layer controls
Added ability to mask children layers to parent layer pixels

v1.0.00 RC 1

Added palette import/export
Added ability to create gradients in palette
Added new Auto Shade effect (rounded and directional)
Exported animated gifs now include transparency
Made nested layers collapsible
Reduced size of exported pngs
Changed paint brush modifiers - Shift now erases and Control/Command performs masked painting
Added layer axis mirroring to Mirror effect
Improved layer selection
You can now transform layers on X/Y axes independently
Added ability to resize project
Added ability to reorder layer effect color lists by dragging
You can now hold shift to constrain transforms to horizontal/vertical axes only
Added sample files menu item
Added ability to paste only the transform from layer copied to clipboard
You can now select multiple palette colors at once to delete
Improved export workflow
Other bug fixes and workflow improvements

Beta 7

Layers are now nestable
Click to select layers in workspace
Layer effects can be copied and pasted
Added ability to export sprite sheets
Added color palettes (saved with project files)
Animation frames can be copied and pasted
Added support for onion skinning with animation
Animation frames can now additionally be based only on transforms or only on layer visibility
New options for outline effect, including for tinted coloring based on existing layer colors
Added new noise effect
Added random option to dither effect patterns
Added startup buttons in the interface to create/load files
Many UI improvements/refinements
Improved memory usage
Added undo for layer reordering
File extension changed to .pmf
New app logo/icon

Beta 6

Notable painting speed improvements
Updated layer transform tool to rotate and scale around the center of the layer’s contents instead of the full layer bounds
Increased maximum resolution to 2048 pixels
Transitioned beta to an extended time trial (100 days), each new beta will renew time trial
Added Mask Unmatched Colors checkbox to Restrict Color Palette II effect
Tweaked tolerance sliders on Color Key, Remap Color, and Restrict Color Palette II effects
Bug fixes

Beta 5

Added animation panel for animating layer transforms and visibility
Added export to animated gif
Added Masked Brush tool to paint only where pixels already exist
Added Dither effect
Dramatically improved painting speed
Made side panel windows resizable
Bug fixes

Beta 4

Added transform tool to scale, rotate, and move layers
Added Import option to bring an image file into your current document
Added Restrict Color Palette II effect
Added Remap Color effect
Added Auto Color effect
Improved accuracy in pixel sampling

Beta 3

Fixed transparency bug on export on Windows
Added Smooth style option for outline effect

Beta 2

First public release!

Feedback

To send us your feedback about Pixelmash, please email us at pixelmash@nevercenter.com. We'd love to hear about bug reports, feature requests, and any other ideas you have!

© Nevercenter 2020