What it does
GraphicsGale is a free pixel-art and animation editor with layers, onion skins and a live playback preview. It exports sprite sheets, separate frames and animated GIFs. Both personal and commercial use are permitted, and an installer or portable edition is available.
Set transparency before exporting
GraphicsGale uses a designated transparent colour instead of a separate eraser tool. Painting with that colour exposes lower layers. Layers and frames have their own transparency settings, and an image’s alpha channel can override a layer’s transparent-colour setting.
For a transparent GIF or PNG, open File > Properties, set the frame’s transparent colour with the eyedropper and use Save As or Save a Copy. PNG can also carry an alpha channel.
Animate and carry the editor with you
The live preview continues playing while you edit, and onion skins show adjacent frames. The portable edition stores settings beside the application instead of in the registry, so it can be moved between PCs in a writable folder. AVI import and export omit audio.
Strengths
- Animation playback remains visible while editing frames
- Portable settings stay with the application folder
- Free software use includes commercial and educational work
Watch out for
- Transparency settings differ between layers, frames and alpha channels
- AVI files are handled without audio
Best for
- Sprite artists working with palette transparency
- Pixel animation that needs live preview during editing
Sources
- GraphicsGale animation graphic editor (Oct 27, 2026)
- GraphicsGale transparency and usage FAQ (Oct 27, 2026)
- GraphicsGale installer and portable editions (Oct 27, 2026)