Aseprite is the industry-standard tool for creating pixel art and animations. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to get started.

Why Aseprite?

Before we dive in, let me explain why I recommend Aseprite over free alternatives:

  • Purpose-built for pixel art – Every feature is designed with pixel artists in mind
  • Powerful animation tools – Timeline, onion skinning, and export options
  • Active development – Regular updates and new features
  • One-time purchase – Pay once, own forever (no subscription!)

Affiliate Note: The itch.io links on this page use my affiliate code. Purchases are attributed to me at no extra cost to you and may earn me a small commission once itch.io launches its revenue split. This helps support free tutorials like this one.

Installing Aseprite

Option 1: Purchase on Steam or itch.io

The easiest way is to buy Aseprite directly:

  • itch.io – ~$20, DRM-free, includes Windows, Mac and Linux (and you can request a Steam key on top)
  • Steam – Same price, automatic updates

Option 2: Compile from Source (Free)

Aseprite is open source! If you’re comfortable with the command line, you can compile it yourself for free. Plan for 2–3 hours — it takes some setup. Check the official compilation guide.

Understanding the Interface

When you first open Aseprite, the interface might look intimidating. Let’s break it down:

The Aseprite workspace with four numbered areas: 1 the color palette and color picker on the left, 2 the canvas in the middle, 3 the tool bar on the right, 4 the frame bar at the bottom right

Key Areas

  1. Color palette (left) – Your available colors, with the color picker below
  2. Canvas (center) – Where you create your art
  3. Tool bar (right) – Drawing tools like pencil, eraser and fill
  4. Frame bar (bottom right) – Current frame and zoom level. Press Tab to show the full timeline for animations.

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Memorize these shortcuts to speed up your workflow:

Shortcut Action
B Pencil (Brush)
E Eraser
G Paint Bucket
I Eyedropper
M Selection
V Move
Z Zoom
X Swap foreground/background colors
Ctrl+Z Undo
Ctrl+S Save

The Aseprite tool bar with the shortcut next to each tool: M selection, B pencil, E eraser, I eyedropper, Z zoom, V move, G fill

Creating Your First Sprite

Let’s create a simple 16x16 character together.

Step 1: New Document

  1. Go to File → New (or press Ctrl+N / ⌘+N)
  2. Set size to 16 x 16 pixels
  3. Color mode: RGBA
  4. Under Background, choose Transparent (for game sprites)
  5. Click OK

The New Sprite dialog in Aseprite: width and height 16 px, color mode RGBA, background Transparent

Aseprite then opens your empty 16 × 16 canvas, already zoomed in:

An empty 16 by 16 pixel canvas in Aseprite at 1600 percent zoom, palette on the left, tool bar on the right

Step 2: Choose a Limited Palette

For beginners, I recommend starting with a limited palette. This forces you to be creative and keeps your art cohesive.

Aseprite ships with a few presets in the palette menu. For more choice, download a palette from Lospec — for example Endesga 32, Pico-8 or Sweetie 16 — and load it via the palette menu → Load Palette.

Step 3: Block Out the Shape

Start with basic shapes:

  1. Select the Pencil tool (B)
  2. Choose a dark color for the outline
  3. Draw the basic silhouette of your character

Pro tip: Start with the head and work your way down. Keep it simple – you only have 16 pixels to work with!

Switch on the pixel grid (Pixel Grid) in the View menu to get a line between every pixel, so you can count exactly:

The 16 by 16 canvas with the pixel grid switched on: 16 columns and 16 rows of grey cells

Step 4: Add Base Colors

  1. Use the Paint Bucket (G) to fill large areas
  2. Keep to 3-4 colors maximum for small sprites
  3. Think about your light source

Step 5: Add Details and Shading

  1. Switch back to Pencil (B)
  2. Add highlights where light hits
  3. Add shadows on the opposite side
  4. Don’t over-detail – less is more in pixel art

A 16 by 16 knight sprite in four steps: outline silhouette, flat base colors, highlights and shadows, finished sprite; below it the 16 colors of the Sweetie 16 palette

Exporting Your Sprite

When you’re done:

  1. File → Export As (or Ctrl+Shift+E / ⌘+Shift+E)
  2. Choose PNG format
  3. Make sure “Scale” is set to 1x (or higher if you want to upscale)
  4. Click Export

Important: Never export pixel art as JPG — compression turns your crisp pixels to mush. Always PNG.

The same potion sprite enlarged twice: saved as JPG with blurry edges and color noise, saved as PNG with crisp square pixels

Common Beginner Mistakes

Avoid these pitfalls:

  1. Too many colors – Start with 4-8 colors max
  2. Pillow shading – Don’t shade around edges equally; pick one light direction
  3. Wrong canvas size – Start small (16x16 or 32x32)
  4. Forgetting the light source – Pick one direction and stick to it

What’s Next?

Now that you know the basics, you’re ready to:

Downloads

Here’s the reference sprite from this tutorial:

Questions? Feel free to reach out on Twitter/X or check out my games on itch.io.

Happy pixel pushing!