About this release
Aseprite is a pixel art editor rather than a general image editor that happens to zoom in. Every tool assumes you care about individual pixels, so there is no anti aliasing sneaking into your lines, no soft brush edges you did not ask for, and no interpolation quietly ruining a scale operation. Drawing tools snap to the pixel grid, the pencil produces exactly the pixels you drew, and rotation and scaling use algorithms that preserve hard edges rather than blurring them.
The animation side is the other half and it is thorough. A timeline holds frames and layers, onion skinning shows the frames on either side at reduced opacity so a motion reads while you draw it, and tags mark ranges of the timeline as named animations so a single file can hold a walk, a run, an idle and an attack sequence. Per frame timing means you can hold on a key pose without duplicating frames, and playback previews the tagged animation in a separate window at real speed.
Everything about the export path is aimed at getting art into a game. Sprite sheets export in any packing arrangement with a data file describing frame positions, durations and tags, ready to be read by an engine. Tilemap support handles tile based work with a tileset that updates everywhere at once. Palettes are first class objects with colour ramp generation and indexed mode, and there is a scripting interface for anything repetitive enough to be worth automating.
What it does
- Pixel accurate drawing tools with no unwanted anti aliasing or interpolation
- Timeline with layers, frames and per frame timing control
- Onion skinning showing surrounding frames while you draw
- Animation tags marking named sequences inside a single file
- Real time playback preview of tagged animations
- Tilemap support with a tileset that updates every instance at once
- Palette management with ramp generation and indexed colour mode
- Sprite sheet export with a data file describing frames, timing and tags
- Rotation and scaling algorithms that preserve hard pixel edges
- Scripting interface for automating repetitive work
Changes in this version
- Faster canvas rendering on very large sprites
- Improved tilemap editing with better tileset management
- Reworked export dialog with clearer sheet packing options
- Additional palette formats supported on import and export
- Fixed a timeline scrolling issue on files with hundreds of frames
What the package contains
- Aseprite full installer and portable build
- Default palette library including the common established palettes
- Example sprite and animation files
- All interface languages
- Readme with the install order written out step by step
Installation notes
Follow these in order. Most reports of a failed install come from skipping a step rather than from the package itself.
- Extract the archive to a folder you control, the package is very small.
- Choose either the installer or the portable build.
- Run the installer as administrator, or run the portable executable directly.
- Apply the included activation step before first launch.
- Open it once and set your default export path.
- Nothing else is required, it has no background components.
System requirements
| Operating system | Windows 7 or newer, 32-bit or 64-bit |
| Processor | Any 1 GHz or faster processor |
| Memory | 1 GB minimum, 2 GB recommended |
| Graphics | No specific requirement |
| Storage | 150 MB free |
| Display | 1280 by 720 minimum, larger helps when zoomed in |
Things worth knowing
- Turn on the pixel grid and the tile grid early, working without them is harder than it needs to be.
- Export the data file alongside the sprite sheet, most engines want it and regenerating later is a nuisance.
- A pen tablet works but is not required, a great deal of pixel art is drawn with a mouse.
Questions about this title
Can it do things a general image editor cannot?
Does it export for game engines?
Is there a portable version?
Does it support tilemaps?
What people are saying
Tags in one file for walk, run and idle. Export writes the data file and the engine reads it directly.
Onion skinning is what makes animation possible for me. Cannot draw a walk cycle blind.
Thirty four megabytes and it does everything. Opens instantly every time.
Listing information
This entry is catalogued under Graphics & Design and carries the tags below. Language coverage is Multilingual, 16 interface languages, and the supported platform list is Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11. Version 1.3.18.1 is the current catalogued build, last checked 1 week ago, and the entry has been in the index since it was added 3 years ago.