Aseprite vs Hexel

[lilmasterpiece]

Hey i was looking for some software to start making pixel art/animation and i came across these two softwares i am trying to figure which ones would be best to use

[MarmosetKen]

I've never used AESprite, but you can download a fully-featured two week trial of Hexels from https://www.marmoset.co/hexels/ to see if you like it (:

[Pkeod // Subsoap]

Look at Pyxel Edit too. I prefer it for pixel art animation work.

[BIT Bear]

Marmoset Hexels: from what i've seen it can do anything that all the other programs can do.
But I find its interface a bit too "advanced". I had the free version for a while and refreshed the free license a couple times (sorry developers) and tried it but I don't like it for reasons that i'm too inadequate to use it (properly). I have the full version on steam but i never really use it.
With that said I love the options to change your canvas and use Trixels to draw in "3d" so to speak. I can see how useful it could be but again it's a bit too "advanced" for me. Maybe i'll need to look up a guide and try again sometime and i'll probably will... in good time.

Aseprite: It's what I mainly use for creating backgrounds, textures, prototyping (basic) animations and making art for use in Spriter.

Pyxel Edit: I use it for prototyping and creating (non-)animated tilesheets.
Can also do animations but I have little experience with that using Pyxel Edit so I can't tell you much. The best part about this software is that you can copy paste tiles and make mock up levels. It really is great for that purpose alone.

Optional: Spriter (pro): Used for animations only and it's fantastic at it. You can set bones and layers to move things around on the timeline to make your animations. It's a bit finnicky to use at times but one of the easiest animations to make without having to redraw things all the time if you use a certain art style.

Though to be honest all of these things could also be accomplished by using GIMP, wich is free.
If you are at Bob Ross' levels of creativity you can create anything with any software though.

[MadTraXx]

i own aseprite but i only bought hexel yesterday cause its on sale...so i dont realy know wich one to recommend yet.
what i do know though is that hexel supports diffrent shapes then just pixels.

[Rezel]

im in the same boat as cripteron, ive had aseprite for a while, and i do think its a good program, but i think at the same time i only recently got Hexel. Hexel is built to work a little bit diffrently then Asprite.

my thoughts so far between them is i see my self still using both, but i think id spend more time making environments in Hexel while id probably be making sprites and animations in Aseprite.

however i have not had much time to work with the pixel editor/animations in hexel yet, the mian thing that drew me into hexel was the Trixel grid set up.

i belive both have demos you can download if you want to look at the interface and try it for a little bit (just have to go to the acual websites for each).

last little bit id like to add is that the Hexel does have a few other neat things with blending between cells with a glow effect built into the program, vs where in Aseprite youd have to use an outside program or do this manualy as far as i know.

[RendCycle]

I have Adobe Photoshop and have been using it for a long time. I'm planning to create a game with stylized pixel artwork. The project I have in mind will use a lot of animated sea/water tiles and various animated weather conditions. So I am searching for the most ideal software to use before I begin. I would like to check whether there are enough advantages if I switch from Photoshop to using another software.

I have Pyxel Edit which I got on sale before but haven't used it yet. I've also read a lot of good reviews on Aseprite and Pro Motion NG. I just recently discovered Hexels 3 when I was searching the net for a tutorial on how to create a good animated sea tiles. The UI seems to look nice and similar to Photoshop.

Hope someone can give me some pointers to what software is ideal.

[Pkeod // Subsoap]

Since you already own it give Pyxel Edit a few hours, watch some of the tutorials for it on YouTube. There are not many features you need to learn to be productive with pixel art.

Pro Motion is oldschool. Graphics Gale is another old program for pixel art.

Aseprite is really good too for pixel art but it has a kind of toy like feel in some ways. You have to work with it to see if it would work for you.

[◢ k r i s ◤]

Originally posted by RendCycle:

...

It always comes down to preferences and familiarity. You'll need to sit down and learn your software, hopefully before you get carried away with expectations :P

Indirectly relevant to you: https://steamcommunity.com/app/363890/discussions/3/1697168437876875786/

[RendCycle]

Originally posted by Pkeod 🔥:

Since you already own it give Pyxel Edit a few hours, watch some of the tutorials for it on YouTube. There are not many features you need to learn to be productive with pixel art.

Pro Motion is oldschool. Graphics Gale is another old program for pixel art.

Aseprite is really good too for pixel art but it has a kind of toy like feel in some ways. You have to work with it to see if it would work for you.

Thanks for the reply and suggestions! I'm not sure if Pyxel Edit has the capability to quickly create crisp and fluid 2D water animations like those made in Hexels. Here are some samples I saw made in Hexels:

- Island Tree Rain[cdn.lowgif.com]
- Green Island[i.pinimg.com]
- Friday the 13th
- Last of Us

The animated water effect should be possible in Photoshop but can take longer to produce. Another option may be to just use shaders for the water effects within the game engine...

[RendCycle]

Originally posted by ◢ k r i s ◤:

Originally posted by RendCycle:

...

It always comes down to preferences and familiarity. You'll need to sit down and learn your software, hopefully before you get carried away with expectations :P

Indirectly relevant to you: https://steamcommunity.com/app/363890/discussions/3/1697168437876875786/

Yes, I understand. I'm just learning Pixel art creation. But I like the sample crisp stylized "low poly" 2D art works I found made in Hexels. It looks like the software was designed for that sort of thing. The style might take more steps to do in Aseprite, Photoshop, etc... Thanks for the valuable link!

[lovelua]

If you are evaluating Asperite, you should also consider Pyxel Edit, Graphics Gale, pro motion Ng...
For Hexels there is nothing like Hexels!

[RendCycle]

Originally posted by lovelua:

If you are evaluating Asperite, you should also consider Pyxel Edit, Graphics Gale, pro motion Ng...
For Hexels there is nothing like Hexels!

I might start with the trial version of Hexels and see from there. Thanks!