Make pixel animation and sprite sheets in BeforeEdit

Start in the pixel workspace

Install and activate BeforeEdit, then choose its dedicated pixel workspace. Begin with the canvas size your game or asset pipeline expects. Keep a deliberate palette and put the subject on its own named layer.

Use pencil, fill, lines, shapes and mirror drawing to build the first pose. Check the original pixel size as well as a zoomed view; an enlarged preview can hide a weak silhouette.

Make the next pose readable

Add frames and use onion skin to compare adjacent poses. Keep stationary details aligned and change the parts that communicate the action. Step through the frames to catch stray pixels and clipped edges.

The pixel workspace supports playback rates from 1 to 60 fps and individual frame durations. Hold a pose long enough to read and inspect the transition from the last frame back to the first.

Export for the destination

Keep a .bepixel master with layers, frames and timing. Export PNG frames or a sprite sheet for a game pipeline, and verify dimensions and frame order in the destination engine.

GIF has palette and transparency limits. Use APNG when that supported delivery format suits full-color transparency, and check playback in the application that will display it. A sprite sheet needs timing configured in its destination.

Choose the desktop or browser workflow

BeforeEdit puts photo editing, vectors and a dedicated pixel workspace in a Windows app, with owned or subscription access. BeforePixel is a separate pixel-art product with a lighter browser edition; Creative adds its animation tools.

Both workflows can keep an editable native master. Choose for your platform and the output you need, rather than assuming their tools, release tracks or project files are interchangeable.

Copy as Markdown