[opensourcedex]

Pixelorama is a free, open source design & prototyping project written in GDScript and released under MIT. It has 10,389 GitHub stars, 553 forks and 87 open issues, and was last pushed 7 days ago. On this registry it ranks #21 of 53 tracked projects in Design & Prototyping, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available.

What is Pixelorama?

Pixelorama is a free, MIT-licensed pixel art multitool written in GDScript for the Godot engine, built for pixel artists, sprite animators and game developers working on Windows, Linux, macOS and the web.

What it is

Pixelorama is an open-source pixel art editor and animation tool, written primarily in GDScript and running on Godot 4.7.2; the Mono build of Godot is not required, though Pixelorama is expected to work with it as well. Stable builds ship for Windows, Linux, macOS and the Web through Steam, Itch.io, GitHub Releases, Flathub, WinGet and GitHub Pages, and development happens in the open on GitHub under the MIT licence, with community discussion taking place on Discord.

The concrete problem it solves is the mismatch between general-purpose raster painting and pixel art. Conventional paint applications interpolate brushes and apply anti-aliased transforms, which is precisely what sprite and tile work must avoid; Pixelorama centres the editing model on the medium instead, offering indexed mode, perfect pixel lines and rotation and scaling algorithms named cleanEdge, OmniScale and rotxel, and folding animation, tilemap layers, palette handling and export into one application. Within the open-source game development ecosystem around Godot, it occupies the place normally held by a commercial, proprietary pixel art editor.

Key capabilities

  • Tools can be dynamically mapped to the left and right mouse buttons, so a workflow can be arranged for speed.
  • Animation is built on a timeline of layers and frames, with onion skinning, audio synchronization, frame tags, and the ability to draw while the animation is playing.
  • Pixel-art-specific handling includes perfect pixel lines, indexed mode, and the cleanEdge, OmniScale and rotxel rotation and scaling algorithms.
  • Tilemap layers create rectangular, isometric or hexagonal tiles, supported by guides, rectangular and isometric grids, and tile mode.
  • The layer system supports clipping masks and non-destructive visual effects such as outlines, gradient maps and drop shadows.
  • Palettes can be chosen from pre-made sets, imported, or created from scratch inside the software.
  • Export and import cover formats including PNG, animated PNG and spritesheets, and automatic backups recover work after an unexpected crash.

Who uses it and how

  • Game developers making sprites and tiles for 2D projects use the tilemap layers for rectangular, isometric or hexagonal tiles; the topic list is centred on game development, GDScript and the Godot engine.
  • Sprite animators work in the layer-and-frame timeline with onion skinning and frame tags, then export spritesheets.
  • Users who prefer not to install desktop software run the web build in a browser from GitHub Pages, where an early access web version is also published.
  • Linux users install from Flathub and Windows users run the WinGet command winget install pixelorama, while Steam and Itch.io serve as further distribution channels.
  • Contributors clone the repository and open it in Godot 4.7.2, discuss the project on the Discord server, and contribute documentation through the separate Pixelorama-Docs repository.

Getting started

Stable builds are installed from Steam, Itch.io, GitHub Releases or Flathub, with a web version on GitHub Pages, or on Windows by running winget install pixelorama. Running the project from source requires Godot 4.7.2, since older versions will not work.

How it compares

No list of paid products that Pixelorama replaces is provided here, and no comparable pixel art editors are named in the facts, so it stands alone in this registry rather than being ranked against named alternatives. The only comparison axes the entry supports are its own: an MIT licence, source written in GDScript, and a hard dependency on Godot 4.7.2.

When to use it — and when not to

Because it is a desktop and web application rather than a service, there is no database, storage or mail server to operate, and the effort sits with the artist rather than an administrator. The documentation is still a work in progress with pages missing, early access builds from GitHub Actions are expected to contain bugs, and building from source depends specifically on Godot 4.7.2. Anyone who needs a fully documented, long-stable editor, or who does not work in pixel art at all, should treat those gaps as reasons to look elsewhere.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Pixelorama - pixelate your dreams!

Unleash your creativity with Pixelorama, a powerful and accessible open-source pixel art multitool. Whether you want to create sprites, tiles, animations, or just express yourself in the language of pixel art, this software will realize your pixel-perfect dreams with a vast toolbox of features.

Build Passing Build Passing Code Size Repository size License

Downloads Discord Chat Crowdin Localized % Mentioned in Awesome Godot

Pixelorama's UI

Join our Discord community server where we can discuss about Pixelorama and all our other projects! https://discord.gg/GTMtr8s

If you like, consider helping us by sponsoring this project! It would enable us to focus more on Pixelorama, and make more projects in the future!

Become a Patron!

Download

Stable versions:

You can also find early access builds in the GitHub Actions page. There's also a Web version available. Keep in mind that these versions will have bugs and are unstable. Unless you're interested in testing the main branch of Pixelorama, it's recommended that you stick to a stable version.

Documentation

You can find online Documentation for Pixelorama here: https://orama-interactive.github.io/Pixelorama-Docs

It's still a work in progress so there are some pages missing. If you want to contribute, you can do so in Pixelorama-Docs' GitHub Repository.

Cloning Instructions

Pixelorama uses Godot 4.7.2, so you will need to have it in order to run the project. Older versions will not work. As of right now, most of the code is written using GDScript, so the Mono version of Godot is not required, but Pixelorama should also work with it.

Features:

  • Wide Range of Tools: Customize your workflow by dynamically mapping tools to the left and right mouse buttons, making your creation process faster and more intuitive.
  • Advanced Animation Support: Create animations with a timeline composed of layers and frames, including features like onion skinning, audio synchronization, frame tags, and the ability to draw while the animation is playing.
  • Pixel Art Focused: Perfect pixel lines, indexed mode, and rotation and scaling algorithms tailored specifically to pixel art, like cleanEdge, OmniScale, and rotxel.
  • Seamless Tilemap Creation: Use Pixelorama's tilemap layers to create rectangular, isometric or hexagonal tiles for your games.
  • Powerful Layer System: Utilize clipping masks and non-destructive visual effects like outlines, gradient maps, drop shadows, and more. Perfect for experimenting with styles and compositions, as changes can be applied without altering your original artwork.
  • Palette Management: Bring color into your canvas by choosing from pre-made palettes, importing your own, or creating custom ones inside the software to suit your unique style.
  • Visual Effects: Multiple image effects for fine-tuning your artwork.
  • Advanced Canvas Options: Utilize guides, rectangular and isometric grids, and tile mode to ensure seamless and precise pattern creation.
  • Automatic Backups: Stay safe with auto-saved backups to recover your work in case of unexpected software crashes.
  • Highly Customizable UI: Tailor the interface to your needs for maximum efficiency and a smooth workflow.
  • Export & Import: Support for various formats such as PNG, animated PNG, spritesheets, GIFs and even videos.
  • 3D Layer Support: Break the barrier between dimensions by bringing 3D models and shapes into your 2D canvas for unlimited creative possibilities.
  • Command Line Automation: Automate file exports using the command line interface for bulk exporting and streamlining workflows.
  • Project Metadata: Attach custom user data to layers, frames, and cels, making it easy to integrate with game development and other creative processes.
  • Extension Support: Benefit from free, community-made extensions, such as tools that convert your 2D pixels into 3D voxels.
  • Fully Open-Source: Pixelorama is open-source, licensed under the MIT license, guaranteeing free updates forever!
  • Multi-Language Support: With localization support across various languages, Pixelorama is accessible to users around the world. See our Crowdin page for more details.

Special thanks to

Frequently asked questions

Is Pixelorama free to use?

Pixelorama is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does Pixelorama do?

Unleash your creativity with Pixelorama, a powerful and accessible open-source pixel art multitool. Whether you want to create sprites, tiles, animations, or ju

What is Pixelorama written in?

Pixelorama is primarily written in GDScript. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/Orama-Interactive/Pixelorama, and it has 10,389 GitHub stars.