Aseprite for Mac

Aseprite for Mac is a highly capable image editor designed specifically for creating animated sprites and pixel art.

This cross-platform application is designed to be used on various operating systems, including macOS, and is an essential tool for any game developer, pixel artist, or animator.

The app offers a wide range of features that make it easy to create high-quality animations and pixel art, including support for layers, frames, and animation facilities, and is a perfect tool for providing stunning art pieces for various digital projects, including video games, web content, digital promotions, and more.

Developed from the ground up to provide significant daily workflow benefits, this tool provides all users access to a structured environment for creating animations and pixel art, it saves time by automating various processes and ensures that end results are of high quality.

The app's ability to export animations to various formats, including GIF and PNG, makes it easy to share and use their work in a wide variety of projects.

The full version of this app can be downloaded and tested for free, although new users must be warned that the Trial version lacks the functionality for saving projects.

Main Features

• Pixel Art Tools – Paint pixels with an incredible offering of tools including freehand mode, shading ink, custom brushes, outlines, wide pixels, and more.
• Layer Support – Freely manipulate complex animations and art with multiple layer compositions.
• Flexible Dashboard – Create and manage a custom workspace with tabs, a timeline, a color bar, a preview window, a sprite editor, and many other modules.
• Animation Services – Easily create animations and pixel art sequences.
• Animation Support Tools – Manage complex projects with real-time animation preview, onion skinning, and other services.
• Comprehensive Export Options – The app fully supports GIF, PNG, sprite sheets, and other popular static and animated content formats.
• Integrated Data Recovery – Never lose a drawing session with built-in backup, restore, and auto-save options.
• API and Scripting – Power users are encouraged to test the capabilities of this pixel art editor with external scripts and integration via flexible API.

Installation and Setup

This app is offered as a standalone premium product optimized for Windows, Mac, and Linux users, plus the app can also be accessed directly via the video game distribution platform Steam (on all three OS platforms).

Users can download the latest version from the official website or the secure FileHorse servers and follow the installation prompts. Once fully installed, the app can be started and used without any additional configuration steps.

How to Use

The main dashboard is highly modular and allows users to set up their layout structure to best fit their needs and available desktop area space. This includes fully flexible support for tabs, which can be organized by users with simple mouse drag-and-drop moves.

The main dashboard for editing pixel art resembles those of professional photo and art editors (such as Photoshop) but is realized with less on-screen clutter and a stylized pixel art visual style.

User Interface

The app’s user interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy to navigate and manually customize the positions and sizes of almost all on-screen modular elements.

The app offers a range of tools and features that are organized in a logical and easy-to-use manner, with newcomers being able to learn more about the function of each tool with the help of the official documentation.

The main website of the app also hosts a printable “Quick Reference” document that showcases all available keyboard shortcuts that enable a drastic boost in daily productivity.

FAQ

What is Aseprite?
It is a fully-featured image editor designed specifically for creating animated sprites and pixel art.

Is it safe?
Yes, this is a safe and secure application that is free from malware and viruses. It is actively developed by the team at Igara Studio S.A.

Alternatives

Piskel for Mac – A free and open-source pixel art editor for newcomers and seasoned artists.

Adobe Animate for Mac – A comprehensive animation software that is part of Adobe’s popular Creative Cloud offering.

Blender for Mac – A free and open-source 3D creation software that can also create pixel art.


Pricing

• Free Trial: All new users of this app can download and test it for free (the Save function is disabled).
• Lifetime License: $19.99 for unrestricted access to all tools and future updates. A single purchase provides licenses for all available platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, and Steam).

System Requirements

The app requires a dual-core Intel or M1 processor.

PROS

• Large offering of Photoshop-like pixel art tools.
• Support for animations and layers.
• Flexible user interface.
• Extensive export options.
• Cross-platform compatible.
• Affordable.

CONS

• None.

Conclusion

Aseprite for Mac is a powerful and versatile image editor that offers a wide range of features and tools for creating animations and pixel art.

Whether you're a professional game developer or a hobbyist pixel artist, this app is an excellent choice for anyone looking to create high-quality animations and pixel art.

Note: Saving is disabled in the demo version.

Also Available: Download Aseprite for Windows