Add Snap To Grid For Pixel Brush

What features would you like to see in Pixelmator?
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2018-08-14 04:48:42

I am not entirely sure what the point of a pixel brush is, when we are not able to utilize the grid to keep everything square.

I just recently made an entire "8-bit" art project, spent days on it. Only to find that vectoring and keeping color is impossible. Seems that only shapes can be vectored. Ok fine, i can deal with that. I like what i am doing, and can make another larger printable version.

I went back to start from scratch on a larger canvas, went from working in one pixel strokes on a 100 pixel canvas with a one pixel grid (where the pixel brush had no issues snapping to the grid, to create the desired effect of a pixel brush), to 30 pixel strokes on 3000 pixel canvas. Only to find my 30 pixel brush wont snap to the grid with each stroke (click).

Its strange to me that the pixel brush, when set to one pixel, will perfectly snap to a one pixel grid, but a 30 pixel brush will not snap to a 30 pixel grid... I love this app, and really hope there is a way to make this work. Now or in the VERY near future!

Maybe Im just missing something, but man... I really need this to work ASAP.
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2018-08-14 05:25:26

Update: Theoretically, I could work within the current frame work, to create the desired effect, however it would take at least 900 times as long to work with, as i would essentially be snapping one pixel brush stroke at a time to a one pixel grid 30 X 30 times to create one larger square "pixel". Not to mention all of the zooming in and out to stay oriented.

This (pixel brush snapping to grid when the grid and pixel brush are the same dimensions) seems to me like something that would be an intuitive function for the "pixel brush". PLEASE HELP!
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2018-08-14 14:38:50

Hi Evan, making the Pixel tool snap to the grid is definitely a logical suggestion — I can't promise anything in the very near future, but what I can promise is that we'll think about this feature. In the meantime, I have a few suggestions for you. I have a suspicion that you'd like to work on larger images because your pixel art loses sharpness when you upscale. If that's the case, I'd suggest working on small images using a 1 px brush and then resizing your image using the nearest neighbor resampling algorithm. This feature is a little ( or a lot) secret in Pixelmator. Basically, when you choose Image > Image Size and set a new size, you'll need to hold down the Option key as you click the OK button. That way, your pixels will remain sharp as the image is upscaled.

If you'd like to turn particular pixel elements of your designs into vector shapes, there's a workaround (or a change to your workflow) that you could use. Basically, you'll need to make sure to paint each element on a separate layer, then load the layer as a selection and convert the selection into a shape.

Say, if you're painting a pixel car, the basic workflow would be as follows:

1. Create an empty new layer above your background layer.
2. Paint, for example, the body of the car on that empty layer.
3. Create another empty layer and paint one or several windows of the car on that layer.
4. Repeat as many times as you need for any other elements.
5. Select any of the layers and choose Edit > Load Selection to load the outline of the layer as a selection.
6. With any of the selection tools, Control-click the selected area of the image and choose Convert Selection into Shape.

If I've missed a beat here anywhere, let me know and I'll see if I can think up any more suggestions.
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2018-08-15 19:02:41

I was close to transferring my work to GIMP for the upscale... But i will give this a shot later today, sounds like exactly what i was looking for. Maybe consider adding the various image sizing options in an additional tab under image size! The nearest neighbor option is exactly what I needed, and there is surprisingly almost no mention of this online anywhere. Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! by the way, you are right, its A LOT HIDDEN! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: