Piskel

Piskel is a piece of software that enables you to draw sprites using several powerful tools and a layer system. Thanks to the app, you can preview your drawing right away and share your best creations with other users who share your hobby.

Following a quick setup, you are welcomed by a clean, airy and well-structured interface that is comprised of three main areas, the drawing, tools and settings panels. Even though the application does not include a Help section or Tutorials, the UI is as simple as it gets and it is unlikely that you can encounter any issues.

It is important to note that the program allows you to navigate faster and draw easier using shortcuts that you can customize to key combinations that you are already accustomed to. While it is not very visible, you can access the window that lets you set your custom hotkeys from the Tools panel, in the lower section of the UI.

The application comes with several drawing tools such as standard and vertical mirror pen, paint bucket, stroke, lasso selection, dithering and the lighten utensil, just to name a few. Colors-wise, you will be happy to learn that you can create any tone required for your project. Alternatively, you can employ the color picker and get the exact color palette you need.

If you are satisfied with your work, you can save your project as a PISKEL file that you can use as support for other sprites you intend to design later on. Then again, if you want to access it via other devices and applications, then you also have the option to export to GIF, ZIP, PNG or C file.

Irrespective of whether you just want to have some fun remembering old 2D games you enjoyed playing years ago or you need to generate sprites for your other projects, Piskel can help you draw and export your image.