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Pixelorama Documentation

website·Indexed 33 days ago

https://pixelorama.org/

User manual and developer guides for Pixelorama, a free pixel art tool available on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Documentation covers drawing tools, animation timelines, tilemap layers, RGBA and Indexed color modes, and an extension system for creating custom plugins. Includes technical details for compiling source code using Godot 4.7.1 and changelogs for versions up to 1.2.3.

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What's inside Pixelorama

  1. Overview of Tilesets and Tilemap Layers

    In Pixelorama, tilemaps are implemented as special pixel layers called Tilemap layers. A Tilemap layer uses a tileset—a collection of images (tiles) of the same size, each identified by an index number starting from 0. Tiles can be reused across multiple tilemap layers if they share the same tileset. Tilesets are stored within the .pxo project file. You can manage (duplicate or delete) tilesets via the Project menu > Project Properties; however, a tileset can only be deleted if it is not currently used by any tilemap layer.

  2. Overview of the Pixelorama User Interface

    The Pixelorama UI consists of several key functional areas designed for quick access to drawing and animation tools:

    • Top Bar: Contains the main application menus.
    • Toolbar: Used to select the active tool for drawing or editing.
    • Canvas Area: The central workspace where artwork is created. It includes project tabs at the top to switch between open projects.
    • Timeline: Manages project layers and animation frames.
    • Global Tool Options: Settings shared between left and right tools, such as mirroring, pixel perfect, alpha lock, and dynamics.
    • Color Picker: Used to change colors for the active tools.
    • Tool Options: Context-specific settings for the currently active tool.
    • Palettes: Pre-set color collections for easy selection.

    Additional panels can be toggled on or off via the Window > Panels menu in the top bar.

  3. Overview of Pixelorama features

    Pixelorama is an open-source pixel art multitool designed for artists and game developers. Key capabilities include:

    • Animation: Frame-by-frame drawing with onion skinning, frame tags, real-time drawing during playback, and audio synchronization. Supports exporting to spritesheets, GIFs, and videos.
    • Pixel Art Tools: Specialized rotation and scaling algorithms (cleanEdge, OmniScale, rotxel), indexed mode, and pixel-perfect drawing/shading tools.
    • Non-Destructive Editing: Layer system with clipping masks, group blending, and effects like outlines, gradient maps, and drop shadows. Includes support for 3D layers.
    • Game Development: Tilemap layers for rectangular, isometric, or hexagonal tiles, custom user data attachment, and a CLI for automated bulk file exports.

  4. Overview of Pixelorama Drawing Tools and Shortcuts

    Pixelorama provides a variety of tools for creating pixel art. Each tool has a default shortcut for both Left (L) and Right (R) hand configurations.
    NameDescriptionDefault Shortcut
    PencilDraw individual pixelsL: P, R: Alt + P
    BucketFill same-color areas/pixelsL: B, R: Alt + B
    Line ToolCreate a straight lineL: L, R: Alt + L
    Rectangle ToolCreate a rectangleL: S, R: Alt + S
    Ellipse ToolCreate an ellipseL: C, R: Alt + C
    Color PickerSample color from canvasL: O, R: Alt + O
    EraserErase individual pixelsL: E, R: Alt + E
    ShadingSpecialized shading toolL: U, R: Alt + U

  6. Use keyframe-based animation in the timeline

    Pixelorama 1.2 introduces a keyframe-based view on the timeline. This allows users to animate layer opacity and layer effects using interpolation support.

  7. Understand the Pixelorama Project (.pxo) file format

    In Pixelorama, a 'Project' represents the entire sprite, including all frames and layers. Projects are saved as .pxo files. A .pxo file is a custom format that encapsulates all project-specific data, including:

    • Image data for every cel.
    • Project metadata: name, size, FPS, and color mode.
    • Properties for frames, layers, cels, animation tags, and guides.
    • Project-specific palettes and brushes.
    • Tilesets used by tilemap layers.

  9. New features and capabilities in Pixelorama v1.0.4

    Version 1.0.4 introduces several functional updates:

    • 3D Text: Users can now modify the font, depth, and line spacing of 3D text.
    • Interface Customization: The interface font can now be changed via preferences.
    • Export: Added the ability to clip to selection during the export process.
    • Tool Options: A new preference allows sharing options between different tools.
    • Symmetry: New menus next to mirroring buttons in Global Tool Options allow automatically moving symmetry guides to the canvas center or view center.
    • Preferences: A new 'Reset' category has been added to easily restore specific options.
    • Blending: A new 'Erase' blend mode is available.

  10. Use Autotiling for Tilemap Layers

    Pixelorama v1.2 adds autotiling support for tilemap layers. Users can set autotiling bits on each tile (similar to Godot's TileSet terrain editor) and enable autotiling during tile placement. Autotiling setup is preserved when exporting to a Godot TileSet resource.

  11. Use autotiling for tilemap layers

    Tilemap layers now support autotiling. A new dedicated tool for tilemap layers allows users to set the autotiling bits on each individual tile.

  12. Understand and use Resource Projects in Pixelorama

    A Resource Project is a virtual, temporary derivative of a standard Project used specifically to edit subresources (such as tiles or shader textures) that cannot be modified directly within the main project. Because they are virtual, Resource Projects cannot be saved locally via the 'File > Save' menu; instead, they utilize a signaling system to notify the application of changes.