
Aseprite: cross-platform, open source sprite and pixel art tool - tony
http://www.aseprite.org/
======
LukeB_UK
I LOVE Aseprite, I've been doing some artwork for games using it and it's been
a great experience.

Whilst it's open source and you can build it for yourself, you can pay $10 for
it and get a built version. The lead dev, David Capello, has been working on
this project full time since March 2015 so if you enjoy it, I'd encourage you
to pay for it.

~~~
anon4
And people actually pay rather than download a compiled binary? I've sometimes
advocated that this could be a viable business model for an open-source
project, maybe even have the license forbid redistribution of binaries, but
each person I've proposed it to basically said the expected outcome is for
people to just download the (illegal) binaries and give you no money.

~~~
dawnbreez
Humans instinctively like things that are clever or well-made, and tend to
want to reward that; it's just a matter of where that bumps into the desire to
get more for less.

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acron0
A quick glance at the source reveals a thing of beauty. Definitely a good
reference for anyone looking for inspiration from a well-managed C++ project.

~~~
tony
Yup. The codebase is extremely intuitive. For those who need a link the GitHub
is at
[https://github.com/aseprite/aseprite](https://github.com/aseprite/aseprite).

For those wondering how it's possible for it to look consistent across
platforms and maintain that crisp, retro look, its' running Allegro 4 [1].

Libraries like SDL, Allegro, SFML, etc. are normally associated with games,
but there are cases where it can used for creative tools as well.

Schism Tracker [2], an open source recreation of Impulse Tracker [3] uses SDL
to deliver a cross-platform app. Like Aseprite, it also can be part of one's
tool belt for making an awesome retro game, since tools like that are great
for chiptune/8 bit/16 bit beats [4].

On a related note, the creator of Impulse Tracker, Jeffrey Lim also released
the full source code 2 years ago [5].

[1]
[https://wiki.allegro.cc/index.php?title=Allegro_4](https://wiki.allegro.cc/index.php?title=Allegro_4)

[2]
[http://schismtracker.org/wiki/Schism%20Tracker](http://schismtracker.org/wiki/Schism%20Tracker)

[3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_Tracker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_Tracker)

[4] (example)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp3VNsQmTGM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp3VNsQmTGM)

[5] [http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/02/20-years-of-
impulse-t...](http://roartindon.blogspot.com/2014/02/20-years-of-impulse-
tracker.html)

~~~
yoklov
Not that I've used Asesprite, and since its completely possible to avoid this
I might be just spreading FUD or something, but one reason to avoid using
something like SDL, Allegro, SFML, GLFW, etc, for a desktop application is
that the style you typically use to write those (update at 30 or 60fps always)
has very poor power consumption.

When you don't care about this, it opens up a lot of possibilities for making
your life easier though. Immediate mode UIs are an easy way of getting what is
basically a poor man's reactive data binding, and while they don't necessitate
this style, they work best with it (and avoiding it with them can be a little
tricky).

But again, never used Aesprite so I can't say if it does this. My suspicion
would be that it doesn't! It's worth keeping in mind as a tool though.

~~~
zamalek
> update at 30 or 60fps always

 _Actually_ neither OpenGL nor DirectX force you to do this - it's just what
game loops set out to do. There isn't anything stopping you from calling
Present as infrequently as you want (i.e. when something changes).

What you are saying might hold truth because most people don't think about
power consumption and could thus end up using a normal game loop for their UI
app.

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archagon
Seems quite undervalued at $10. I would expect this to cost $20-$30!

~~~
mintplant
And it's free if you compile it yourself from source; Linux binaries are also
provided for free [1]. But I love it so much I was happy to chip in a bit
toward development.

[1] Don't use version in the Debian repos - resizing the window doesn't work.

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springogeek
I used this tool during a GameJam last year and it was so great to use.

I love that it is cross platform and although I built it myself, if I was
using it more regularly I would happily pay for it.

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infinite8s
Aseprite is great! I've also been looking for a pixel based vector art tool,
to be able to generate animations/cut scenes similar to "Another World"
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_World_(video_game)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_World_\(video_game\)))

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bitJericho
I prefer pyxel edit myself.

My main gripe is the non-native UI. It makes it clunky to use imo. Pyxel edit
also has that faked UI made in flash but it's not clunky, anyway. My favorite
editor is Tile Studio but unfortunately it doesn't really support alpha
transparency properly at all and animation is annoying at best.

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makapuf
I also love GrafX2 - quite powerful and opensource for pixel art editing.

See :
[http://pulkomandy.tk/projects/GrafX2](http://pulkomandy.tk/projects/GrafX2)

Nice palette and tile/anim tools !

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douchescript
It's good stuff, I've used this quite a bit, although I still prefer macpaint
for 1bit graphics (this is more geared for slightly higher palettes). Love the
pixel perfect line tool.

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xemoka
This is an excellent piece of software, well worth it's cost. I really do
enjoy tinkering in it.

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kcbanner
I used aseprite to create all the graphics for my latest Android title, great
piece of software.

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falcolas
I think they drunk too much of their own Kool-ade. Pixel sprites can make for
a great, retro aesthetic, but using them for a full UI (including fonts) is
too much, IMO. Watching the video, looking at the pictures; it's a lot of
strain on the eyes due to the poor anti-aliasing and having to parse out a
font I haven't used in decades.

