Pixel art images have a certain retro appeal from the 8-, 16- and 32-bit console eras. Despite this, it can be found in any number of indie games or mobile games and is currently being refreshed a bit. This is a great way to bypass the technological limitations that come with being a freelance developer and mobile devices. This way you can work less for yourself and reduce file sizes, but instead of looking cheap, it will look like a deliberate stylistic choice. Throw in some chiptune music and a unique color palette and you have a great aesthetic that will stand out in the Play Store.
Another attraction of pixel art is how you challenge your work within its limits. Because the images are so small, they impose a somewhat impressionistic approach. How to create one or two pixels that can be immediately identified as an attractive smile or a dagger coming from the enemy? This is the true art of coordination, and that’s why some of the achievements in games like Superbrothers: Sword & Swordery or the newer Hyper Light Drifter are impressive.
Although the gaming industry has come a long way from these 8-bit graphics, old games are still commonplace. If you’ve ever wondered how to create your own pixel art This would be a good place to start. What You Can Create Your Own Art Like Pixels in Photoshop or Use This $4 Plugin To Make It Easier. But using this plugin still requires quite a bit of Photoshop experience to achieve the desired results, and for that reason, I’ve compiled a list of the best pixel art apps to help you create 8-bit pixel art on Android, iOS, and the web. Let’s start.
The best apps for creating pixelated photos
1. Spot pict
Best for New Users
Dotpict is a simple pixel art editor that allows you to create 8-bit graphics from scratch. You get a square canvas with a custom layout. The tools in the app include a brush, an eraser, a color picker, a bucket, and a full color wheel. Just hover over a pixel and press the big button to fill it with color. You can save the project right in the Photos app, or share it in the app or on social networks. The app is free on the Play Store and App Store and contains ads.
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Installing Dotpict (Android | iOS)
2. Pixel heart
Best for those who need an advanced Pixel Art app
If you want to get serious about your pixel art and need an advanced pixel art editor, try this app. With unity, you get a pixelated user experience that goes well with the theme. In addition to all the standard tools you get in every pixel art editor, you also get advanced tools like layers, canvas resizing, symmetry tools, transparency options, etc. You can navigate around the canvas and also zoom in easily and zoom out with the trackball and slider. The Select tool allows you to copy parts of the canvas and paste them anywhere on the canvas.
Pixelheart is made for game designers, but you can also use it to fill your Instagram page with witty images. The app is available for free on the Play Store, but if you have iOS, you can install Pixelated on your iPhone and iPad. Pixelable is almost similar to Pixelheart in terms of features and functionality.
Install Pixelheart (Free, Android)
3. Pixel station
Best to resurrect pixel art
So you’ve created your first pixel and it looks great. Now we will go ahead and bring the art to life. It works just like the stop motion animation app if you’ve used one before. The 8-bit canvas editor is the same as the previous app, with the same controls, brushes, and tools. The Animation tab allows you to duplicate a frame and make changes to create an animation. You can adjust the delay time, add copied frames, and adjust the position of each frame. The most intuitive part of the Animation tab is that you get a transparent image of the previous frame, making it easy to make changes to the current frame.
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The app is available for free on the Play Store and would be a great app if you want to be part of the pixel art movement. However, if you want an iOS equivalent app, then Pixel is the closest option.
Install Pixel Station (Free, Android)
4. Pixel paint
Best to bring real world creatures to life
Let’s say you want to animate a real object in an 8-bit layout, you can simply take a picture with your smartphone’s camera and then start editing with the built-in editor. The app allows you to take pictures in four different layouts: Gameboy, Dot Matrix, MSX and C64. After taking a picture, you can open the file in the editor and make the appropriate changes.
Pixel Paint is an iOS exclusive app, but you can check out 8Bit Photo Lab to take retro pictures on your Android phone, but you don’t have a pixel editor in this app.
Pixel Paint Preferences (Free, iOS)
5. bitface
Best for 8-bit avatar generator
Bitface has 18 different avatars and you can change the look of all of them. For example, I have brown skin, beard and short hair, I can just pick one that looks like those features and adjust it. You can change the face, shirt, jacket, hair and glasses. Once you’re done, save the avatar to your camera roll using the Share button.
Bitface Settings (Free, iOS)
6. Pixies
Best for iPad Users
Pixaki is designed for iPad and supports Pencil. It is an integrated application similar to desktop applications such as Aseprite By Specs. You get features such as image import, transformation, resizing, layer filtering, animation, and more. You can animate high frame density animations at up to 50 frames per second. Pixaki has several different color palettes that you can switch between at any time. What makes this tool even better is the file import feature, which can import layered PSDs, GIFs, sprite sheets, PNGs, and Zips.