Pixel Studio: pixel art editor

Review by eFreeware

The most distinctive thing about Pixel Studio is that it treats pixel art as something you do on whatever device is nearest: the same editor runs on phones, tablets and desktop, and projects can move between them. That cross-platform ambition is unusual for a drawing app, and it shapes everything else here.

It comes from Hippo Games AM and sits in the Art & Design category on Google Play. The pitch is aimed at two groups at once: people making sprites for games, and hobbyists who like the look of low-resolution art and want a tool that stays out of the way.

Drawing tools that scale from quick sketches to finished sprites

At its core this is a canvas with a toolbar, and the toolbar is where the app earns its keep. You get shape tools for primitives, a gradient tool, built-in and custom brushes, a sprite library for repeated patterns, and a text tool with several fonts. Symmetry drawing works along the X axis, the Y axis or both, which is handy for characters and tiles that need to look balanced.

A few smaller touches matter more than they sound. The dot pen draws with a cursor for precise placement, dithering helps build shadows and flares in the way classic pixel art does, and the canvas can be resized and rotated with a customizable grid and background color. There is a mini-map and a pixel-perfect preview, which should help when you are zoomed in and lose track of where you are on a large piece.

Palette handling is more thorough than I expected from a free editor. You can build your own palettes, use the built-in ones, download palettes from Lospec, or pull a palette straight out of an existing image. The color picker offers RGBA and HSV modes, and the JASC PAL format is supported alongside the usual image formats.

The canvas itself is described as unlimited in size, and the app supports PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TGA, PSP, PSD and EXR files. Aseprite files can be imported, which matters if you already have a library of sprites in that format. Rotation uses a fast RotSprite algorithm and there are Scale2x and Scale3x style scalers for enlarging pixel art cleanly.

Layers, frames and animation on a small screen

Layers are supported, which is the dividing line between a toy pixel editor and one you can finish real work in. Animation is frame by frame, with onion skin to see the previous frame while you draw the next one. Animations can be saved as GIFs or as sprite sheets, and you can add music and export video as MP4.

That combination covers most of what a small game project needs: a sprite sheet for the engine, a GIF for sharing progress, and a video if you want to show an animation with sound. Unlimited MP4 export comes only with the paid version, so heavy video use points toward buying in.

Tile mode stands out because it sits in the paid tier. It is the feature for making repeating textures, and it pairs with the symmetry tools for anyone building tilesets. The free editor still covers a lot of ground, but texture work is clearly positioned as part of the paid package.

For a phone-first editor that is a sensible inclusion, since a finger is fine for blocking out shapes but less so for single-pixel decisions. Portrait orientation is suggested for phones and landscape for tablets and desktop.

Syncing, sharing and the community layer

Google Drive sync is how projects move between devices and platforms, and it is part of the paid version rather than the free one. If you only ever draw on one phone, that may not matter. If you want to start a sprite on a phone and finish it on a desktop, the sync is the feature that makes the cross-platform claim real.

There is also Pixel Network, described as a pixel art community where you can share work. The paid tier extends your storage there, and the app also mentions creating NFTs. Recent updates added chat to Pixel Network and fixed scripting, which suggests the community side is being actively developed rather than left as a static gallery.

Autosave and backup are included, which is the kind of feature you only appreciate after losing an hour of work. Alongside that, the app has been translated into more than 25 languages, and the toolbar and other settings can be customized. The developer notes that it is used by both beginners and professionals, and the range of tools supports that claim.

What the app asks of your device

The system requirements are unusually specific for a drawing app. The minimum is 4 GB of RAM with a chip along the lines of a Snapdragon 460, Helio G80 or Tiger T606; the recommended level is 6 GB of RAM with a Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, Helio G99 or Unisoc T760 or newer. That is a clear signal that the editor expects a reasonably modern phone or tablet, and older budget hardware may struggle.

The app is free to install and carries ads. A one-time purchase of the PRO version removes them and adds Google Drive sync, a dark theme, 256-color palettes, tile mode, a larger maximum project size, unlimited color adjustment, unlimited MP4 export and extended Pixel Network storage. It also adds extra formats: AI, EPS, HEIC, PDF, SVG and WEBP for cloud reading, and PSD with cloud read and write.

The split is fairly clean. Drawing, layers, animation, palettes and the standard export formats are in the free editor; the paid version is about removing ads and adding the cross-device and texture work. If you are making repeating tilesets or need to move projects between a phone and a computer, the paid version is the one that matches how you work.

The install base is large, with over 5 million downloads, and the average rating sits at 4.6 from more than 92,000 ratings. The app has been on Google Play since May 2018 and was updated in July 2026, so it is a long-running project rather than a recent experiment.

Who this editor fits

This suits game developers who want to sketch sprites during spare moments and refine them later on a bigger screen, and hobbyists who enjoy making small animated pieces and sharing them. It also suits artists who already work in pixel formats and want a mobile option that can import Aseprite files and export sprite sheets.

It suits people who are comfortable with the conventions of pixel art: grids, palettes, single-pixel precision, tileable textures. The tool set assumes you know what a sprite sheet is and why onion skin helps. Beginners are welcomed by the developer, and the basic drawing experience is described as intuitive, but the advanced tools are there for people who will use them.

It is less suited to anyone who expects a general-purpose painting app or vector illustration. This is a pixel editor with a specific output in mind, and its features reflect that focus rather than trying to be everything.

A capable pixel editor with a paid tier worth weighing

Pixel Studio covers more ground than most free pixel editors, with layers, frame-by-frame animation, a deep palette system, stylus support and a format list that includes PSD and Aseprite imports. The free version is a complete drawing tool; the paid version adds the cross-device workflow, tile mode and the larger formats.

The trade-offs are straightforward. There are ads in the free version, Google Drive sync and tile mode sit behind the one-time purchase, and the stated hardware requirements rule out older budget devices. None of that is unusual for an editor of this scope, but they are the things to weigh before committing.

If you draw pixel art on a phone and want your projects to follow you to a desktop, or you make repeating textures, this is a strong candidate. If you only need occasional pixel doodles on one device, the free version gives you plenty to work with.

What's new in version 5.51

• Chat added (Pixel Network) • Auto selecting Pen from Eraser when picking colors • Scripting fixed