Pixel art editor designed for working with low-resolution raster art

Pixen for Mac

Pixen for Mac

  -  Paid
Pixen is an innovative graphics editor for the Mac. It's designed from top to bottom for pixel artists - people who make low-resolution raster art like the sprites you see in old video games. But it's great for artists of all arenas: the tool is like a very powerful MSPaint or a simpler, more agile Photoshop. With innovative features like a color palette system, patterns, and high-zoom support, Pixen packs all the tools pixel artists need in an intuitive, Mac-native interface. Pixen for macOS also makes creating frame-by-frame animations fun and easy.

Features and Highlights

Animations
Create and arrange image frames in the filmstrip view to piece together animations; export animations as animated GIFs, QuickTime movies, or even spritesheets!

Tools
Leverage the app's wide array of tools when composing pixel art: Pencil, Eraser, Eyedropper, Zoom, Rectangular Selection, Magic Wand, Lasso, Move, Fill, Line, Rectangle, and Ellipse.

Layers
Take advantage of the flexibility layers provide when working with complex pixel art.

Color Palettes
Add and organize commonly-used colors into palettes.

Patterns
Define custom patterns to use while drawing with the pencil, line, or eraser tool (instead of a single pixel).

Backgrounds
Pick a flat, striped or checkered background (or even a custom image) to be drawn beneath the canvas.

Tablet Support
Pixen supports pressure-sensitive drawing tablets and maps pressure to color opacity.

Full Screen
Work with all your favorite tools in full screen mode on OS X Lion.

Note: Pixen is now a paid app in the Mac App Store. Requires 64-bit processor.

  • Pixen 5.4.6 Screenshots

    The images below have been resized. Click on them to view the screenshots in full size.

    Pixen 5.4.6 Screenshot 1
  • Pixen 5.4.6 Screenshot 2
  • Pixen 5.4.6 Screenshot 3
  • Pixen 5.4.6 Screenshot 4

What's new in this version:

Pixen 5.4.6
Added:
- a preset for the Playdate's screen size in the Create New Image / Animation window
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to 1-bit command, with thresholding and dithering settings included
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to Grayscale command
- a 1-bit color palette to the default set of color palettes, which can be docked in the sidebar
- a button for inverting colors to the Pattern Editor window
- an option for creating patterns from 1-bit images in the Pattern Editor


Pixen 5.4.5
Added:
- a preset for the Playdate's screen size in the Create New Image / Animation window
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to 1-bit command, with thresholding and dithering settings included
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to Grayscale command
- a 1-bit color palette to the default set of color palettes, which can be docked in the sidebar
- a button for inverting colors to the Pattern Editor window
- an option for creating patterns from 1-bit images in the Pattern Editor


Pixen 5.4.3
Added:
- a preset for the Playdate's screen size in the Create New Image / Animation window
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to 1-bit command, with thresholding and dithering settings included
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to Grayscale command
- a 1-bit color palette to the default set of color palettes, which can be docked in the sidebar
- a button for inverting colors to the Pattern Editor window
- an option for creating patterns from 1-bit images in the Pattern Editor


Pixen 5.4.2
Added:
- a preset for the Playdate's screen size in the Create New Image / Animation window
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to 1-bit command, with thresholding and dithering settings included
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to Grayscale command
- a 1-bit color palette to the default set of color palettes, which can be docked in the sidebar
- a button for inverting colors to the Pattern Editor window
- an option for creating patterns from 1-bit images in the Pattern Editor


Pixen 5.4
Added:
- a preset for the Playdate's screen size in the Create New Image / Animation window
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to 1-bit command, with thresholding and dithering settings included
- different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to Grayscale command
- a 1-bit color palette to the default set of color palettes, which can be docked in the sidebar
- a button for inverting colors to the Pattern Editor window
- an option for creating patterns from 1-bit images in the Pattern Editor


Pixen 5.3.5
- Blend modes can now be changed using the top level Layers menu in the menu bar (previously this was only possible with the context menu in the layers pane)
- Added the ability to scale layers with the Layer -> Transform Layer -> Scale Layer command
- Added different algorithms as options to the Filter -> Convert to Grayscale command
- Added a new color palette which is installed when trying Pixen for the first time
- Custom color palettes can now be assigned to the sidebar on the right above the layers, in addition to the existing Recent Colors and Document Colors palettes
- Fixed an issue where applying a preset would sometimes not honor the color in the preview


Pixen 5.3.4
- Custom color palettes can now be assigned to the sidebar on the right above the layers, in addition to the existing Recent Colors and Document Colors palettes
- Pressing the Option key no longer affects the Tools palette of background document windows
- Fixed issues around pressing the Escape key to close the About window


Pixen 5.3.2
- Pressing the Option key no longer affects the Tools palette of background document windows
- Fixed issues around pressing the Escape key to close the About window


Pixen 5.3
- Pressing the Option key no longer affects the Tools palette of background document windows
- Fixed issues around pressing the Escape key to close the About window


Pixen 5.2
- Pressing the Option key no longer affects the Tools palette of background document windows
- Fixed issues around pressing the Escape key to close the About window


Pixen 5.1
- Modernized the appearance of tool icons

Added:
- a Pixel Perfect mode to the Pencil, Line, and Eraser tools that ensures the widths of drawn paths are at most 1px
- a command to the Animation Settings sheet to apply the default frame duration to all of the current frames in an animation document
- a command to the Animation Settings sheet to set an animation document to a FPS rate
- a command to the Welcome window to create an image from the clipboard if there is an image on the clipboard
- support for restoring tool properties across app relaunches if Auto Save is enabled

Enhanced:
- Enhanced selection rotations to no longer deselect pixels when done, allowing you to perform a second rotation more easily
- Enhanced selection flips to no longer deselect pixels when done, allowing you to perform a second flip more easily
- Renamed Rotate Selection/Layer/Canvas commands to make it easier to assign custom keyboard shortcuts to them
- Renamed Flip Selection/Layer/Canvas commands to make it easier to assign custom keyboard shortcuts to them

Improved:
- the legibility of the zoom in / out cursor
- discovery of tools for new users
- compatibility with macOS Sonoma

Fixed:
- a rare crash that could occur while undoing moves performed with the Move tool
- a rare crash that could occur while using the Brightness tool


Pixen 5.0.3
- Compatibility fixes


Pixen 5.0.2
- Crash fix


Pixen 5.0.1
- Crash fix


Pixen 4.1.7
- Crash fix


Pixen 4.1.5
- Crash fix


Pixen 4.1.4
- Crash fix


Pixen 4.1.3
- Compatibility fixes


Pixen 4.1.2
- Compatibility fixes


Pixen 4.1.1
- Compatibility fixes


Pixen 4.1
- Added a new Dark appearance that can be unlocked via in-app purchase (and also help support the project)
- Some tools are now up to 10x faster when working with larger images
- Fixed an issue where the Text tool would stop working on animation documents


Pixen 4.0.11
- Pixen is now also available for iPad
- Palettes are now saved in a new, more future-proof file format
- GIMP palettes can now be imported


Pixen 4.0.10
- Fixes a bug where older animation documents would not load
- Fixes a bug where the Magic Wand tool would select incorrect pixels


Pixen 4.0.9
- Certain color palettes now load faster and are more accurate


Pixen 4.0.8
- The Text and Move tools are now more reliable


Pixen 4.0.6
- The background color of the Preview window can now be changed
- The color is persisted per-document
- Fixed an issue where exported animated GIFs would not loop


Pixen 4.0.5
- Improved animated GIF imports


Pixen 4.0.4
- Various stability improvements when using the Text tool and importing files


Pixen 4.0.3
- Various bug fixes and performance improvements


Pixen 4.0.2
- Various bug fixes and performance improvements


Pixen 4.0.1
- Various bug fixes and performance improvements


Pixen 4.0
- The Background picker has been re-designed
- A "Share" command has been added to the File menu and can be used to quickly share images as PNGs and animations as animated GIFs
- A new Brightness tool has been added for lightening and darkening pixels underneath the cursor
- A new Text tool has been added
- Pressure-sensitive drawing is now supported on Force Touch trackpads
- Blend modes can be set for layers by right-clicking them in the Layers pane
- Pixen Image (PXI) and Pixen Animation (PXA) file formats are now more space-efficient
- Note: PXI and PXA files saved in Pixen 4 cannot be edited in previous releases of Pixen
- Animation documents now show a unified color palette or a per-canvas color palette
- A "New Layer from Image" command has been added to the Layers menu (you can also drag-and-drop an image into the Layers list)
- A "Flatten Image" command has been added to the Layers menu
- A "Stroke Selection" command has been added to the Edit menu for quick framing/outlining
- Opacity percentages in the Layers list can now be double-clicked and edited
- Patterns can be exported from the Pattern Editor by right-clicking a pattern and selecting the new "Export..." command
- The left [ and right ] square bracket keys can now be used to change the line thickness, tolerance, or border width of the respective tools
- Pixen can now open and save files in the LEGO MINDSTORMS Graphics Format (RGF)
- A new Posterize filter has been added that snaps each pixel value to the closest color in a palette
- Images can now be reduced to their top N primary colors using the Reduce to Primary Colors filter
- The padding, frame spacing, row spacing, and maximum number of frames per row can now be customized in the Export Sprite Sheet window
- Images can now be exported at multiple resolutions/file types using the revamped "Export" command under the File menu
- The most recent file name and types used for export are now saved in PXI/PXA files
- Images can now be exported as SVGs
- Pixen now directly integrates with iCloud Drive
- Document colors can now be sorted by frequency or hue
- A preference for choosing the top or bottom left as the origin has been added
- A preference for changing the preferred drawing cursor has been added
- The color of the Alignment Crosshair can now be changed in the Preferences window
- Patterns can now be shared with system sharing services from the context menu in the Pattern Editor
- New filters for changing the hue, exposure, saturation, contrast, and brightness of a layer or selection have been added
- A new Remove Alpha Components filter has been added
- The new "Convert Pixen Image" Automator action can be used to convert batches of images from the PXI format to other image formats
- Palette panels can now be shown with the "Show New Palette Panel" command in the "Palette" menu


Pixen 3.8.1
- Bug fixes


Pixen 3.8
- Tile Mode is back!
-- Click the Gear icon in the Preview panel to enable Tile Mode
-- Use the panel's Zoom button to size the panel to wrap the preview
- Added an option in Grid Settings for displaying an isometric grid
- The Pixen Color Picker now includes an 8-bit color palette
- The new Animation Settings sheet (found under the Animation menu) can be used to set whether animated GIFs should loop
- Refreshed the Export Sprite Sheet window's UI
- Updated the Discover Pixen tutorial
- Improved the color accuracy of exported animated GIFs
- Animated GIFs with frames of different sizes can now be exported
- The last-used tool is now selected on launch
- The keyboard shortcuts for the Invert Selection, Resize Canvas, Scale Image, Zoom to Fit, Zoom to 100%, Delete Layer, Merge Down menu items have changed to better match other editors
- Fixed a rare crash that would occur in the Export Sprite Sheet window
- Up-scaled animation frames are no longer anti-aliased in the film strip
- Improved the accuracy of the Frequent Colors palette
- Importing backgrounds is now more reliable
- Minor UI and stability improvements


Pixen 3.7
- Refreshed interface for OS X Yosemite
- Animated PNGs can now be imported as animations
- Added two filters: "Invert Colors" and "1 bit"


Pixen 3.6
- Advanced custom backgrounds support
- Color palette with "smart" swapping capabilities
- Grid customization
- Tiled editing mode
- Alignment crosshair
- Full alpha support
- Advanced layer functionality
- A plethora of tools
- 100% Cocoa with a beautiful Aqua interface
- A design geared towards modern pixel art


Pixen 3.5.19
- Stability improvements


Pixen 3.5.18
- Performance improvements


Pixen 3.5.17
- Use multi-touch pinch gestures to zoom the canvas in and out
- Scale factors can now be decimal numbers in the Scale Canvas sheet


Pixen 3.5.16
- Changes to colors in the frequency palette now update continuously
- Improved color accuracy