Create your own minimal masterpiece with Pixaki
Go retro with Pixaki, an iPad app that’s all about making images out of great big blocky pixels.
Whether you’re of an age where you can remember computers with only a handful of colours and pixels the size of house brick, or if you simply appreciate a bit of old-skool graphical minimalism, it's hard to resist the charms of a bit of chunky pixel art.
And here's an iPad app that gives the business of making your own pixel masterpieces a lovely modern twist. Created by indie game developer Luke Rogers, Pixaki's billed as a pixel editor designed with professionals in mind, and it packs a decent set of features to ease your creative processes. Working on a canvas up to a whopping 512x512 pixels in size, you can build your own 16 colour palette with an intuitive hue picker and work with up to 20 layers.
You can get close up to your work with up to 400x zoom, and once you’re done it makes exporting your finished work a breeze, with even an option to save it out as a PSD for further work in Photoshop CC.
It may be a little specialised in its appeal, but if you fancy the challenge of working within pixel art’s constraints, or perhaps if you’re creating striking artwork for an indie game, we reckon it's well worth taking Pixaki for a spin around the block.
Key info
- Works with: iPad
- Price: $4.99/£2.99
- Developer: Rizer
- Version: 1.0.1
- App size: 15.4MB
- Age rating: 4+
Words: Jim McCauley
Liked this? Read these!
- Great examples of pixel art
- How to make an app! Discover these great tutorials
- More blocks! Check out these amazing pieces of Lego art
- Fantastic pointillism: striking examples of dot art
Have you tried Pixaki? Have your say in the comments below.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get top Black Friday deals sent straight to your inbox: Sign up now!
We curate the best offers on creative kit and give our expert recommendations to save you time this Black Friday. Upgrade your setup for less with Creative Bloq.
The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq.