Piskel
Piskel is a website where designers online create sprites or pixel art. A sprite is a moving animation of pixel art. Piskel is a home to artists and creative thinkers online who look for new ways to increase their creative output in the digital age. Piskel gives you a private library of your animations that only you can see. You can also use Piskel to export your artwork into a GIF or PNG, so your art will not be stuck on Piskel forever. You can sign into Piskel with your Google account, so you do not have to worry about creating a separate account with a new username.
- You can use Piskel to create either 2D still images or moving sprites, in a classic pixel art style that has been coming back into style for the past several years.
- If you do not want anybody to see anything that you have created on Piskel, you can put all of your creations into your private gallery where nobody but you will be able to see any of them.
- You can choose to sign into Piskel through your Google account, so you do not have to worry about setting up any new accounts.
- You can use Piskel to create ether still images or moving sprites, in a nostalgie-filled retro style that falls under the umbrella of pixel art.
- You can use Piskel's private gallery to store all of the pieces of artwork that you create on Piskel. This is great for private or shy users that are not interested in immediately sharing their new creations with the rest of the world.
- You can export any of your pieces of artwork online in the form of various files, ensuring that your artwork can leave the program if you want it to.
- There is really only one style of artwork that you can really work much with, which is retro pixel art. You can still imitate other styles of artwork, but at the end of the day, it will always be pixel art.
- The movement in the sprites is somewhat limited, although this is to be expected in the short time that GIFs have to process.
- If you choose to sign into Piskel through your Google account and your account gets hacked, your password could be taken and someone else could have access to your account.
I think that Piskel has to be one of the most fun and free places to go for artists online, especially artists that love the 1980's nostalgic feel of some of those retro video games. If you enjoy art in this style, then no matter what you are likely to have a good experience on Piskel. I was not aware of the existence of sprites before using Piskel, but I am happy to have heard about them, because they are both very cute and a very interesting mechanic to play with, which allows for greater creativity than just a still life image. One of the most helpful aspects of Piskel is the private gallery that you have access to where you can see all of the sprites or pieces of artwork that you have created, but which nobody else has any access to.
Alternatives to Piskel
Krita
Aseprite
Sumo Paint
Pixelmator
Spriter
GraphicsGale
