Online Users Guide
We've put together a few resources here to help you get familiar with the features in the app and so you can get started quickly and efficiently using Pixelmash. More to come!
Walkthrough and How-To Videos
Here are a few videos that we think will be helpful for you to get started. Want more videos? Check out our
Pixelmash playlist on YouTube for walkthroughs, feature highlights, and more!
v2020.00 New Features Walkthrough
Save/load custom layer effects, save as template, color profiles, gradient effect, reference images, effect localization (parent/child), paint anywhere in tiled view.
v1.2.00 New Features Walkthrough
Adds tools to draw rectangles and circles, snapping with Shift key, custom dither pattern and relative positioning, Alt+Shift for erase mode, outline-only option.
Pixelmash Hotkey Chart
This online hotkey chart is for the latest version (download PDF
here); for earlier versions of Pixelmash, please see
Other Downloads, below.
Mouse Hotkeys
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Change Brush Size: Hold Cmd/Ctrl and Scroll Up/Down
Make the current brush bigger or smaller. Applies for Brush, Pencil, Erase, and Masked Brush tool. (You can also use hotkeys ] and [ to increase/decrease brush size.)
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Move Viewport: Hold Opt/Alt and Click/Drag Mouse
Move viewport while painting.
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Zoom In/Out: Scroll Up/Down
Zoom the canvas in and out, regardless of current tool mode.
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Draw/erase straight lines: Right-Click
Right clicking in a brush/erase tool will let you set an anchor point to draw a straight line from—your next click after that will draw/erase a line between those two points. (You can keep right-clicking to keep drawing a sequence of connected lines, or left click to end and return to normal paint mode. Esc will also exit to normal paint mode.)
-
Erase Toggle: Opt/Alt+Shift and Left Click
Will perform erase when you're in one of the brush tools other than erase
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Masked Brush Toggle: Cmd/Ctrl and Left Click
Will perform a masked brush operation when you're in one of the other brush tools (pencil or regular brush)
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Fill Toggle: Cmd/Ctrl+Shift and Left Click
Will perform fill when you're in one of the brush tools (brush, masked brush, pencil)
Keyboard Hotkeys
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New Project: Cmd/Ctrl+N
Opens a new, blank Pixelmash file in the dimensions you specify.
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Open: Cmd/Ctrl+O
Opens an existing Pixelmash (PMF) file or image.
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Import Image: Cmd/Ctrl+I
Imports an image into your project.
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Save Project: Cmd/Ctrl+S
Save your project as a PMF file.
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Save Project As: Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+S
Save your project as a new PMF file.
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Export Image: Cmd/Ctrl+E
Export your project as a PNG, TIFF JPG, PNG/JPG/TIFF Sprite Sheet, or an Animated GIF.
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Export Selected: Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+E
Exports just the selected layer in your project.
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Undo: Cmd/Ctrl+Z
Undoes the last action.
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Redo: Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+Z
Redoes the last action.
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Copy Layer: Cmd/Ctrl+C
Copies the current layer.
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Paste Layer: Cmd/Ctrl+V
Pastes the copied layer as a new layer.
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Paste Layer Effects: Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+V
Pastes the copied layer's effects onto the selected layer.
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Paste Layer Transform: Shift+Opt/Alt+V
Pastes the copied layer's transform onto the selected layer.
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Duplicate Layer: Cmd/Ctrl+D
Makes a copy of the currently selected layer and insert it into the project.
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Delete Layer: Delete
Deletes the selected layer.
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Copy Animation Frame: Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+C
Copies the selected animation frame.
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Paste Animation Frame: Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+V
Pastes the copied animation frame into the selected animation frame.
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Select Tool: V
Tool for navigating the viewport.
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Transform Tool: T
Moves, scales, and rotates layers.
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Erase Tool: E
Erases pixels on the selected layer. Use right-click to place anchor points for erasing straight lines. Holding Alt+Shift while using the pencil or brush tools will erase, as well.
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Pencil Tool: P
Paints lines at the current pixelized resolution. Use right click to place anchor points for drawing straight lines. Hold Alt+Shift while using to erase, hold Cmd/Ctrl to toggle to Masked Brush mode, hold Shift+Cmd/Ctrl to Fill. Hold down Opt/Alt and click/drag mouse when using to move viewport.
-
Masked Brush Tool: Shift+B
Paints only over existing pixels in the selected layer. Use right-click to place anchor points for drawing straight lines. Hold Alt+Shift while painting to erase, hold Shift+Cmd/Ctrl to Fill. Holding Cmd/Ctrl while using the pencil or brush tools will perform a masked brush, as well.
-
Brush Tool: B
Paints pixels on the selected layer. Use right-click to place anchor points for erasing straight lines. Hold Alt+Shift while painting to erase, hold Cmd/Ctrl to toggle to Masked Brush mode, hold Shift+Cmd/Ctrl to Fill. Hold Cmd/Ctrl and scroll up/down to change brush size. Hold down Opt/Alt and click/drag mouse when painting to move viewport.
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Increase Brush Size: ]
Increases the radius of the Brush tool.
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Decrease Brush Size: [
Decreases the radius of the Brush tool.
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Fill Tool: F
Fills an area of identical pixels with a new color in the selected layer. Holding Shift+Cmd/Ctrl and clicking while using the pencil or brush tools will perform a fill, as well.
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Shape Tool: M
Paints rectangles and circles. Long-press on the icon to select the desired shape mode.
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Color Picker: I
Eyedropper tool to choose a color based on colors on the screen.
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Add Current Color to Palette: C
Adds the currently-selected color to a custom color palette below the color chooser.
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Remove Current Color from Palette: Shift+C
Removes the currently-selected color from the custom color palette.
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Next Palette Color: ⇧
Switches the active color to the next color in the custom palette.
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Previous Palette Color: ⇩
Switches the active color to the previous color in the custom palette.
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Toggle Pixel Preview: /
Toggles between pixel preview mode and high-res mode.
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Zoom To 100%: 8
Zooms the canvas to full size.
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Zoom To Fit: 9
Zooms the canvas to fill the screen.
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Zoom Screen In/Out: Scroll Up/Down
Zooms the canvas in and out.
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Show Animation Preview Window: Space
Toggle to play/pause the animation preview.
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Next Frame: ⇨
Shows the next animation frame.
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Previous Frame: ⇦
Shows the previous animation frame.
Downloadable Shortcut/Hotkey Chart (PDF)
Learn More
FAQs
Purchasing from Nevercenter
Pixelmash can be purchased via PayPal or by using a major credit card.
Registration codes are typically emailed immediately, but can take up to 1 business day if manual processing is required. Please be sure that your email is
set to recieve email from support@nevercenter.com and that the email isn't in your spam folder. (If you DO find it in your spam folder, PLEASE mark it as "not spam" to help other users' emails go through!)
If you are still waiting for your registration code after this time, please contact us and let us know - we will resend your registration information to you right away.
Purchasing on the Mac App Store
Licenses purchased from the Mac App Store are Mac-only licenses. Please note that Apple provides the copy protection for these licenses and no registration code will be sent. Unlike licenses purchased from nevercenter.com, MAS cannot be upgraded past the whole-number version for which they were purchased; we will release a new product on the MAS for each new whole-number release. (See upgrade info for site-purchased licenses below.)
All Mac App Store billing/registration questions should be directed to Apple Support.
Purchasing on Another 3rd-Party platform
Licenses purchased from these sites (Steam, Setapp, etc) follow the licensing rules of these sites; a registration code from Nevercenter will not be sent. All billing/registration questions for these sites should be directed to that platform's support team.
Is Pixelmash a Subscription?
Nope! When you buy Pixelmash, you own it! Buying Pixelmash gives you permanent access to the version you purchased, plus includes a year of free updates to any version released during that time. These versions will always be yours to own.
You can continue to get updates once the year has expired by purchasing another year of free updates. If you extend your free update period before it expires or within 90 days of it expiring, you can extend for half price.
Upgrades
We love our independent creators, so we will continue to sell Pixelmash as a product you can own, rather than as a subscription that disappears when you unsubscribe. All Pixelmash 2020+ licenses purchased from nevercenter.com will include one full year of FREE upgrades from the date of purchase, regardless of the version number or size of each upgrade.
Once the free update period on a license is expired, it can continue to be used to install and run any versions of the software released up until that expiration date.
If you'd like to continue to have access to future updates and support Pixelmash development, you can purchase an Update Period Extension. There are discounts available on this purchase depending on how soon you do that after your update period expires.
To get all of the info on your current license and see what discounts you are eligible for, visit
nevercenter.com/upgrade
System Requirements
- MacOS 10.15 or newer, Intel or M1
- Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit