Software with Effects

Novaboard runs in the browser and as a desktop app, with layers, animation and effects.

Pixel Composer builds effects, animations and generated art from node graphs, so a change to one input flows through the whole result.

It covers the usual pixel art tools (pixel-perfect pencil with a stabilizer, shapes, paint bucket, gradient with dithering, lasso and magic wand selections, symmetry, a tile preview for seamless textures) along with layers, groups, blend modes, layer effects (outline, drop shadow, glow) and reusable components: a sprite drawn once can be placed on any board, and its copies follow it.

Animation: a timeline under the canvas, onion skin, a duration for each frame, and a preview that plays the loop. Animations export as GIF, PNG sequence, sprite sheet or .aseprite.

Palettes belong to each file: classic presets (many of them from Lospec, like Sweetie 16, Endesga 32, Resurrect 64 or Lospec500), the colors used in the drawing, palettes the user keeps, or .hex and .gpl files. Shade and lighten step along the palette's ramps, and Remap moves a whole drawing onto another palette. A reference image can sit under the drawing to trace over, and the eyedropper picks its colors.

For isometric work it has a 2:1 grid that tools snap to, 2:1 lines, box, cylinder and pyramid tools shaded from the palette, extrusion of flat shapes into volumes, shapes drawn on walls or on the ground, staggered tile previews and images laid onto a face. A file can hold several boards side by side.

Opens .baipix, .aseprite and image files. Exports: PNG at 1× to 32×, SVG with one path per color and the layers kept as groups, .aseprite files, GIF and sprite sheets, tilesets for game engines (PNG sheet with a Tiled tileset and map), and the drawing as code (React, CSS, JSON or ASCII).

It suits game artists making sprites, animations, tiles and isometric scenes, designers who need pixel icons, and people trying pixel art without installing anything. It works best with a mouse or trackpad; tablet support is in progress.

Docs: baipix.app/docs

You can adjust spacing, add special visual effects to your font, and preview the final bitmap font live in the app.

SpriteIlluminator generates normal maps for 2D sprites, either algorithmically from the shape of the art or painted by hand with its own brushes, so a flat sprite reacts to moving lights in an engine. It also does specular and emissive maps, and previews the result under a light you can drag around.

Juice FX takes a sprite and generates effects such as shaking, flashing, outlines, dissolves and bounces as animated sprite sheets.

PixaTool converts images, sprite sheets and video into pixel art, with control over the output resolution, the palette, dithering, outlines and CRT-style effects. It works in batches and from the command line, which makes it useful for putting a whole folder of art through the same treatment.

TEXTREME 2 is a text editor that treats typing as a performance: every keystroke throws characters around, shakes the screen and makes a noise. It is a toy rather than a tool, and a reliable way to make a writing session look ridiculous.