A free pixel art maker in your browser
Make retro game sprites, emoji, icons, avatars and tiny animations with this online pixel art editor. It has everything you need and nothing you don't: a crisp grid from 16 × 16 up to 128 × 128, a palette inspired by classic 8-bit consoles, a fill bucket, a mirror mode for symmetrical characters, and a frame strip for animation. When you are done, download a sharp PNG, an animated GIF or a game-ready spritesheet. No account, no watermark.
How to draw pixel art
- Choose a canvas size. 16 × 16 is perfect for icons and items, 32 × 32 for characters, and 64 × 64 or bigger for scenes.
- Draw the outline with a dark colour. Keep lines one pixel thick and avoid "doubled" corners.
- Fill the shapes with the bucket, then add a darker shade on one side and a lighter one on the other for depth.
- Turn on mirror for faces, characters and spaceships: draw the left half and the right half appears automatically.
- Animate by duplicating the frame (⧉), changing a few pixels, and pressing play. Onion skin shows the previous frame faintly so you can line things up.
- Download a PNG of the current frame, a looping GIF of the whole animation, or a spritesheet.
Pixel art tips
- Use fewer colours. Great pixel art often uses only 4 to 8 colours. A limited palette looks cleaner and more "retro".
- Pick a light direction. Decide where the light comes from (usually top-left) and shade every object the same way.
- Avoid pillow shading. Darkening every edge evenly makes objects look flat and puffy. Shade away from the light instead.
- Clean up jaggies. In curves, keep the steps regular (3-2-1, not 3-1-2) so lines look smooth.
- Small animations go a long way. A two-frame blink or a four-frame bounce at 6 fps already feels alive.
Ideas for your first pixel art
- A heart or a coin on a 16 × 16 grid: the classic first sprite, done in five minutes.
- Your own avatar on 32 × 32 with mirror on: draw half a face and get a symmetrical character.
- A blinking cat: two frames, eyes open and eyes shut, played at 4 fps.
- A spinning star: four frames, each slightly rotated, exported as a GIF for chat or social media.
- A game tile set: grass, water and stone tiles side by side, exported as a spritesheet.
PNG, GIF or spritesheet: which should I download?
PNG saves the frame you are looking at, scaled up with sharp edges and a transparent background: the best choice for a profile picture, a sticker or printing. GIF saves the whole animation as a looping image that plays almost everywhere, including messaging apps and websites; it supports up to 255 colours, which is far more than pixel art normally uses. The spritesheet is a single PNG with every frame in a row, which is what game engines such as Godot, Unity, GameMaker and Phaser expect for sprite animation.
Keyboard shortcuts
B pencil, E eraser, G fill, I colour picker, M mirror, Space play or pause, Ctrl+Z undo and Ctrl+Y redo. With a mouse, the right button erases whatever tool you are using, which makes fixing mistakes very quick.
More creative tools
Prefer smooth brush strokes? Use the free online drawing board, or make symmetrical art in the Mandala Maker. For a challenge, see how accurate you are inDraw a Perfect Circle.
Pixel Art Maker FAQ
How do I make pixel art online?
Pick a grid size (32 × 32 is a good start), choose a colour and click or tap squares to colour them. Use the fill bucket for large areas, the eraser to clear pixels and the colour picker to grab a colour you already used. When you are happy, download it as a PNG.
Can I make an animated GIF?
Yes. Use the frame strip under the canvas: duplicate a frame, change a few pixels, and repeat. Press play to preview, choose the speed in frames per second, then press GIF to download an animated, looping GIF with a transparent background. The GIF encoder runs entirely in your browser.
What is the spritesheet export for?
A spritesheet puts every frame side by side in one PNG. Game engines and many animation tools use this format, so it is the easiest way to bring your pixel art character into a game project.
Will my pixel art be blurry when I download it?
No. Exports are scaled up by a whole number with no smoothing, so every pixel stays a crisp square. A 32 × 32 drawing is saved at 512 × 512 pixels, and transparent areas stay transparent.
Is my work saved?
Every change is autosaved in your browser, including all animation frames, so you can close the tab and continue later on the same device. Undo and redo cover the last 60 steps. Download a PNG or GIF to keep a permanent copy.
Does the pixel art maker work on phones and tablets?
Yes. Tap or drag with your finger to draw. On small screens the 16 × 16 and 32 × 32 grids are the most comfortable. On a computer, right-click erases and keyboard shortcuts make drawing faster.