PixelWright

Free plan LinuxWindows

What PixelWright is

PixelWright is a free desktop editor for drawing and animating pixel-art sprites on Linux and Windows. It is designed for game characters, small assets, and short looping animations. Independent layers can be added, removed, renamed, reordered, shown, or hidden. Animation tools support frame-by-frame work, automatic in-between interpolation, adjustable playback FPS, and looping. Its bone-rigging system lets users create a hierarchy, attach pixels to bones, and pose characters by translating, rotating, or scaling bones. The editor also offers adjustable canvas size and zoom, a recent-colors palette, and a configurable background color. Projects use the .pxdr format. Animations export as spritesheets, while individual frames export to PNG or JPG. Undo and redo cover painting, frames, layers, bones, interpolation, and edits on other frames. Version 1.0.0 includes a Linux AppImage and portable Windows build; release packages are self-contained and do not require Qt on the target machine.

Who it suits

It suits pixel-art creators making game characters, small assets, or short looping animations. Linux and Windows users can use the provided release packages.

What it does well

Free and available on Linux and Windows
Supports layers with independent visibility and ordering
Includes frame interpolation and adjustable playback
Provides bone rigging for posing sprites
Exports spritesheets, PNG, and JPG

What to know first

Desktop support is limited to Linux and Windows
Source builds require CMake 3.16 or later
Source builds require a C++17 compiler
Source builds require Qt 6 components

Verdict

PixelWright focuses on sprite drawing and short animation, with layers, interpolation, rigging, and broad undo coverage. Its free Linux and Windows releases include portable, self-contained packages.

Facts from PixelWright's own pages

Animation: Users can add, duplicate, remove, and reorder frames, interpolate in-between frames, and preview animations with adjustable FPS and looping. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Author: The repository names Alejandro Mujica as the author. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Bone rigging: Users can build a hierarchical skeleton, attach pixels to bones automatically or manually, and pose characters by translating, rotating, or scaling bones. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Build requirements: Building from source requires CMake 3.16 or later, a C++17 compiler, and Qt 6 Widgets and Test components. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Downloads: The v1.0.0 release includes a Linux AppImage and a portable Windows build. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Editing tools: The editor includes full undo and redo, adjustable canvas size and zoom, a recent-colors palette, and a configurable background color. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Export: PixelWright can export an animation as a spritesheet or export a single frame as PNG or JPG. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Export and files: PixelWright can export an animation as a spritesheet, export a single frame to PNG or JPG, and save or load its own .pxdr format. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Intended users: The README describes the tool as useful for game characters, small pixel-art assets, and short looping animations. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Layers: Its layered canvas lets users add, remove, rename, reorder, and show or hide layers independently. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
License: PixelWright is released under the MIT license. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Packaging: The repository says its Linux and Windows release packages are self-contained and do not need Qt installed on the target machine. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Platforms: The README describes portable Linux AppImage and Windows ZIP release packages, and says neither requires Qt on the target machine. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Product: PixelWright is a desktop tool for drawing and animating pixel art sprites, including game characters, small assets, and short looping animations. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Project files: The application saves and loads work in its own .pxdr format. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Purpose: PixelWright is a desktop tool for drawing and animating pixel art sprites for game characters, small pixel-art assets, and short looping animations. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Requirements: Building from source requires CMake 3.16 or later, a C++17 compiler, and Qt 6 Widgets and Test components. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Support: The project provides a GitHub Issues page, which showed no open issues when viewed. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Support and integrations: The README describes build and test instructions but does not list integrations or a support channel. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Undo and redo: Undo and redo cover painting, layer and frame changes, bone edits, interpolation, and edits made on another frame. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026

Where PixelWright stands on Freedom251

Pixel Art Software#49 of 70