A few times on here, I have taken a little time to point out some graphics tools I like. Recently, it’s just been a bunch of different ways to use Blender. I started using Blender for some stuff that I don’t think it was really intended for, but it doesn’t seem to care. Just chews right through those graphics.
This time, it’s not Blender. This time I’m going to write something about Pixel Composer
( https://makham.itch.io/pixel-composer )
There are about a million pixel art tools. Aseprite( https://www.aseprite.org/ ) is probably the current darling, and it’s easy to see why. It does a lot. You can paint, edit, and animate with really intuitive tools. On the other hand, Aseprite is more a refinement of the sort of tools we have been using for computer graphics for decades now than it is something new or revolutionary. Most of the time, that’s what people want. A tool that is dialed in for their particular task.
Pixel Composer isn’t that. It’s a different sort of animal. Pixel Composer is more like programming pixel art pipelines than a traditional art tool. You string together a network of processes with whatever your input art is at one end, and some animated, distorted, or created pixel art comes out the other end. It has a lot more in common with procedural video compositing systems than it does with something like photoshop.
It doesn’t seem to be the best tool for every task, but it does make some workflows possible that would be very difficult without it. I suppose you could wrangle Blender into doing that sort of thing for you, but, try as I might, Blender can’t be the tool for every job.
This time, it’s not Blender. This time I’m going to write something about Pixel Composer
( https://makham.itch.io/pixel-composer )
There are about a million pixel art tools. Aseprite( https://www.aseprite.org/ ) is probably the current darling, and it’s easy to see why. It does a lot. You can paint, edit, and animate with really intuitive tools. On the other hand, Aseprite is more a refinement of the sort of tools we have been using for computer graphics for decades now than it is something new or revolutionary. Most of the time, that’s what people want. A tool that is dialed in for their particular task.
Pixel Composer isn’t that. It’s a different sort of animal. Pixel Composer is more like programming pixel art pipelines than a traditional art tool. You string together a network of processes with whatever your input art is at one end, and some animated, distorted, or created pixel art comes out the other end. It has a lot more in common with procedural video compositing systems than it does with something like photoshop.
It doesn’t seem to be the best tool for every task, but it does make some workflows possible that would be very difficult without it. I suppose you could wrangle Blender into doing that sort of thing for you, but, try as I might, Blender can’t be the tool for every job.