Piskel Alternative

A Piskel alternative that still gets updates.

Piskel taught a generation to make pixel art in the browser, but it has been inactive for years. Novaboard picks up where it left off: free, browser-based, no account, and it opens your .piskel files directly so nothing you made gets left behind.

Opens .piskel filesFree, no accountAnimation & tweeningActively developed
.piskel v0.piskel v1.piskel v2frameslayers

Your .piskel files open directly

Drop a .piskel file into Novaboard and keep working: frames and layers import from every Piskel format version. No conversion step, no re-drawing old sprites.

Novaboard editor with a 6-layer, 35-frame animation open on the timeline

Animation beyond frame-by-frame

Frame-by-frame like Piskel, plus tweening, animation tags, and a timeline built for longer animations. Preview in real time while you draw.

Novaboard workspace with several saved pixel art files

Autosave plus a full version history

Piskel users have reported online saves and local sketches vanishing, and with one release since 2018 fixes are unlikely. Novaboard saves automatically to your device and keeps a visual history with branches, so any version of a drawing can be restored.

.png.gifAPNGsprite sheet + JSON.aseprite.psd.ora

Modern exports for modern pipelines

Export GIF, APNG, sprite sheets with JSON metadata, PSD, ORA, and .aseprite. If you moved on to a game engine since your Piskel days, your files can move with you.

Platformer tileset project in Novaboard

One workspace for the whole project

Sprites, tiles, and animations side by side in one project instead of one sprite per tab. Your work stays on your device, and a desktop app is there if you want to go fully offline.

Bring your .piskel files with you.

Drop a .piskel file into Novaboard, free and in your browser.

Start Drawing