image editors / graphics programs

[Meridian]

Maybe I am looking at the wrong program here but from what I see that thing is a video player. I can open an image file with it but I can't save it.

Menu File, item Save as.

[Cooper]

I recently started using GIMP. I'm on Linux, and I never liked any of the other options in the original post. After using GIMP things are just so much easier.

The advice from jStuffer worked for me:

I've found that you can reuse a palette from existing valid graphic files. Just open a good image in GIMP, delete/hide the original layer, resize as needed and paste into it your own graphics; the palette should remain from the previous image and apply to your new layer.
This has produced working sprites for me.

[ontherun]

there are also some online alternatives, like:

pixilart -  https://www.pixilart.com/ (also avaiable on google play and apple app stores, can import palettes but insertin color values manually!)

piskel - https://www.piskelapp.com/ (supports palette importing and also animation, there is an offline version too avaiable to download)


Closing notes: older aseprite versions, up to 0.9.5 are legally downloadable too, here: https://www.aseprite.org/older-versions/
only win, mac and linux versions, no android one but source code for compiling is avaiable...as for such verison there is no rotating tool nor an import palette function, the only way to achieve the latter is open an image with the oxce palette and then paste/draw in it  :'(

bonus: if you're nostalgic try deluxe paint 2 online! (works only on desktop pc)

Edit: openxcom palettes can be found here

[PPQ]

Thanks you all. I really appreciate your efforts to help. However, I simply have far too much experience with Paint.NET and far too little time to start learning a new tool. So it's either PDN or nothing for me. And since Paint.NET exports PNG files in a stupid way that pretty much means there is no editor that I can use. So I just had to go write my own.

Well, to be specific I wrote a piece of software that can convert PDN exported PNG files into XCOM compliant ones by swapping out the palette and fixing the indices. So I'll just use that. Sure it's an extra step to convert each image after saving but I get to use the tool I know. Plus it was fun to write and learn about the insane innards of the PNG format.

I don't know if there is interest in it but if so I might publish it for people to use. I am hesitant to do so right away because it would take as much work to polish it into something usable by anyone but me as it did to write it.

[ontherun]

I don't know if there is interest in it but if so I might publish it for people to use. I am hesitant to do so right away because it would take as much work to polish it into something usable by anyone but me as it did to write it.

Please do it!At least with some usability improvement? By the way irfanview is ok so use paint.net and then convert images with the oxce palette with the former 

[ZLD1]

Hello! New to the forums - was directed here from the OpenXCom discord server to send over a little thing me and a few friends been working on!

https://cntrpl.itch.io/voidsprite

This is a pixel art tool geared towards file format compatibility (SPK, BDY and TGA, among others), alongside with such features as:

• configurable rectangle grid overlay
• tileset preview / animation preview
• a work-in-progress palletized mode (automatically opens SPK, BDY, and 8-bit PNG in this)
• free & open source

If there is any need in a Tools topic for this or if you have any requests/questions/feedback please notify me! Stay tuned for more!

Edit by Meridian: fixed the URL formatting