Hi there, I'm currently working on a small project (just a hobby) and I need a program to help me with pixel art and possibly animation too.

Does anyone know of any good programs to use for this?

Thanks in advance.

I use Gimp but some people think it is too much for pixel art. In that case, look at GraphicsGale - quite possible the best pixel art software.

Also, try googling your question before asking.

Like TheVirtualDragon said, GraphicsGale is probably your best bet since it's well geared towards pixel art and free. I'm pretty sure it has animated .gif capability, too. I haven't used GIMP in a while, but it had a pretty horrific interface when I did and is loaded with superfluous features for pixel art besides.

Yeah, GraphicsGale has animating capabilities as well and can be run in wine if you are on Linux. I don't use it though, because I don't like the Win95 feel. And besides, Gimp's interface has improved loads - no more floating docks

Yeah, GraphicsGale has animating capabilities as well and can be run in wine if you are on Linux. I don't use it though, because I don't like the Win95 feel.

Ha, but that's just atmosphere!

And besides, Gimp's interface has improved loads - no more floating docks[/quote]
Yeah, thinking about it, it has been years and years since I've looked at it, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

Personally, I use a weird combination of MS Paint for the base pixel art and Photoshop for polishing, but I would have to recommend against that since it's a roundabout workflow I'm still perfecting. I think for a beginner, it would be better to start with a mid-level program like GraphicsGale than something brutally simple (Paint) or overwrought for the job (GIMP).

Thanks for the posts, I'll probably go pickup GraphicsGale, it looks quite good!

It's a for-cost program, but personally I really like Cosmigo's ProMotion. It's modeled after DeluxePaint in terms of features, and DeluxePaint was *the* image editor back in pixel art's heyday.