Pixel-perfect C64 graphics editor for Mac, Windows and Linux
Pixcen Deluxe 2.0 is a specialized pixel editor for creating Commodore 64 graphics with modern editing comfort and C64-aware constraints. It is designed for pixel artists, game developers, and demosceners who need artwork that can survive the realities of VIC-II color limits, memory layouts, sprites, character sets, FLI modes, and export pipelines.
From the first pixel to the finished production.
Build a complete scene without flattening your work. Mix bitmap, character and sprite layers; organize them into groups, move them independently, and control visibility, locking, transparency, opacity and blending. Keep reference images and guides beside the artwork, and save the composition in one GPX project.
Go beyond the standard screen. All Borders layouts combine a central bitmap, border sprites and rasters in one editable composition. Work in hires, multicolor, mixed, FLI, character and sprite modes, then export supported modes and layouts as runnable C64 PRG files. All Borders is a dedicated PAL workflow with its hardware structure built into the editor.
Animate sprites, characters and bitmap artwork in the same editor. Duplicate and edit frames, use onion skinning to follow movement, and set individual frame durations. Give layers their own named loops, with forward, reverse or ping-pong playback, while continuous layers hold the background. Export the result as an animation, sprite sheet or video.
Start with an image and shape the conversion to suit your picture. Choose the target graphics mode, adjust the image, compare dithering and error-diffusion options, and tune colour matching before importing. The result is editable artwork in Pixcen, ready for the next round of pixel work.
Make Pixcen work the way you do. Use JavaScript for custom drawing tools, algorithmic brushes, shader fills, filters and exporters. Start with the included examples, experiment in the console, and turn a repeatable technique into a reusable tool.
Turn image blocks into a reusable dictionary. Build a dictionary to a chosen size, optimize it, and preview the quantized result before applying or exporting. Process animation frames together to share blocks across the sequence, balancing the character budget against the detail you want to keep.
Bring a still picture to life by changing its colours. Define colour-source areas, create cycling effects and test them in the editor. Use the frame timeline to coordinate changes, then export supported colour-cycling projects for the C64.
Freehand and pixel-perfect drawing, curves, splines, shapes, gradients, text, cloning, symmetry and selections.
GPX projects, modern image formats, C64 formats, raw data and assembly exports for the next step in your pipeline.
Keep a separate preview window open and use CRT emulation to check the feel of the finished picture.
What changed in the latest release.