# Pixaki 3 (Legacy) — Create and animate pixel art

> Powerful iPad app for creating and animating pixel art with advanced features. (iPhone/iPad app by Rizer Creative Ltd.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixaki-3-legacy/id1130919277 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Rizer Creative Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/341335746)
- Category: Graphics & Design, Productivity
- Price: $24.99
- Rating: 4.00/5 from 90 App Store ratings · 139 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 48 MB
- Languages: British English, Japanese
- Released: 2017-04-17
- Data updated: 2026-06-09
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixaki-3-legacy/id1130919277/reviews.md

## What is Pixaki 3 (Legacy)?

Pixaki is a powerful pixel art creation studio for iPad. It features many of the same features found in desktop apps — such as custom canvas sizes, layers, animation, precise color selection, and customizable palettes — but with a gorgeous multi-touch interface that is just right for iPad.

Whether you’re creating 8-bit game characters or vast isometric cityscapes, Pixaki has the tools you’ll need in an app you’ll love.


// WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

“For our money, Pixaki is the only app worth considering for iPad-related pixel art.” — TechRadar

“It’s a great way to kick back on the couch and create the 8-bit scene of your dreams.” — The Verge


// FOR THE FUTURE OF PIXEL ART.
Pixel art is so much more than just retro. We believe that the best pixel art ever is still being made. By you. That’s why there’s nothing retro about Pixaki. The app is built to take full advantage of the latest features of iOS, and designed for a fantastic experience on iPad and iPad Pro.


// PIXEL OVER YOUR SKETCHES.
Pixaki’s reference layers allow you to import any image from your photo library at full resolution, resize and reposition it on the canvas, then draw pixels over the top. You can even have multiple reference layers at once, and adjust the opacity so that you can draw underneath the image if you prefer.


// ANIMATE.
Pixel art was made to move, and with Pixaki it’s a joy to bring your creations to life. With advanced features such as per-frame duration and color-shifted onion skinning, nothing can stop you.


// LAYERS.
Supports up to 50 layers per frame. Adjust the opacity of each to easily create lighting and translucency effects. Reordering layers is as simple as drag and drop.


// FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE PALETTES.
Pixaki comes with some great palettes pre-installed, but also allows you to create and save your own. Once you’ve saved a palette, you can import it into any document that you’re working on. You can also import palettes you’ve created in other software or downloaded in .aco, .pal, and .gpl formats.


// SHAPES AND LINES.
The line tool makes it easy to create perfectly straight lines, which can optionally be locked to angles used in isometric art. The rectangle and ellipse tools help in creating basic shapes, which can be automatically filled with color, and the aspect ratio can be locked to create squares and circles.


// POWERFUL COLOR REPLACEMENT.
It might look like an old bucket, but this is actually a supercharged color replacement tool. You can use it like a standard bucket tool, or replace all instances of a particular color with another. This can be configured to affect just the layer you’re working on, all layers of the current frame, or all layers on all frames. Turning on erase mode to removes all pixels of a given color. It’s a great way to work with limited color palettes.


// SELECTION.
Cut, copy, paste, move, flip, and rotate anything that you draw with a simple, intuitive interface. Touch and hold the paste icon to quickly tile an area with an image from the clipboard.


// IMPORT AND EXPORT.
Pixaki makes it easy to work with other desktop and mobile apps, as well as output for game engines and social media sharing.

• Photoshop files: Import and export layered PSDs. Export an animation, and the layers for each frame are put into groups.

• Animated GIFs: Import and export animated GIFs. Export supports magnification, perfect for crisp images online.

• Sprite sheets: Perfect for use in your game, with a configurable number of columns. Also supports magnification.

• ZIP archives: Save a PNG of each frame packaged into a ZIP file. Great for game engines and video production.

• PNGs: Export supports nearest-neighbor upscaling for crisp social media sharing.

• Other images: Any image format supported by iOS can be imported into Pixaki — things like TIFFs and even JPEGs (yuck).

• Palettes: Supports Adobe Photoshop’s .aco files, GIMP’s .gpl files, and the JASC .pal format.

## Key features

- Custom canvas sizes
- Layers with opacity control
- Animation with onion skinning
- Customizable color palettes
- Reference layers for drawing over images
- Line, rectangle, and ellipse tools
- Powerful color replacement tool

## What do users think of Pixaki 3 (Legacy)?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🎨 Excellent for pixel art creation and animation
- ⚡ Smooth workflow with Apple Pencil support
- 📁 Strong file format support and export options
- 🎬 Powerful animation features with layer-based system
- 🔧 Comprehensive set of essential pixel art tools
- 💰 One-time purchase (no subscription model)
- 📚 Good documentation and online resources
- 🤝 Responsive developer with good customer support
- 🎯 Best dedicated pixel art app available on iPad

**Cons**

- 💸 High price point ($25) relative to features
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- ❌ Missing many basic professional features
- 🎯 Limited canvas size (max 1024x1024)
- ⚙️ Lack of advanced selection and transformation tools
- 🖌️ No opacity control for brushes and fill tools
- 🎨 No color wheel or advanced color selection
- 📱 Accidental input from hand/palm on screen
- 🔄 Slow development cycle with infrequent updates
- ⚠️ Tool switching glitches (eraser/pencil confusion)

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently, sometimes losing recent work
- Eraser tool acts as pencil, drawing instead of erasing
- Color picker stops working
- Screen freezes when changing image size
- Tool automatically switches to dropper or eraser unexpectedly
- Layers become non-transparent after certain actions
- Crashes when animation has more than 10 frames
- Copy/paste duplication issues
- GIF export produces incorrect colors and artifacts
- Grid settings reset when clicking outside window
- Pen tool occasionally fails to paint
- Double-tap Apple Pencil gesture cannot be disabled
- Long press with Apple Pencil triggers unwanted actions
- File naming issues with periods (.)
- Undo functionality fails after crashes
- Reference layer color picker not working
- Eyedropper delay too long and cannot be adjusted

**Most requested features**

- Lasso tool for free-form selection
- Free rotation (not just 90-degree increments)
- Magic wand/color-based selection tool
- Layer grouping and layer naming
- Clipping masks and layer blending modes
- Gradient and dithering tools
- Tile map and tileset editor
- Symmetry and mirror tools
- Canvas rotation during drawing
- Alpha lock functionality
- Text/type tool
- Resize and scale selections
- Batch export functionality
- Brush opacity control
- Pattern and textured brushes
- Improved palette management system
- Animation timeline improvements
- Copy/paste between projects
- Keyboard shortcuts support
- Palm rejection technology
- Dedicated preview window
- Layer visibility toggle improvements
- Pixel-perfect line drawing
- Gradient mapping
- More built-in color palettes
- Isometric grid options
- Better Apple Pencil integration
- Drag and drop file management

## Recent user reviews (10 of 139)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixaki-3-legacy/id1130919277/reviews.md

### 5/5 — とっても使いやすい

*2025-10-07, version 3.7.9*

レガシーになってたので新しい4を買おうかと思ったけど日本語がないのが残念。すごく便利だからずっと使えればいいなとおもいます。

### 4/5 — Stopped working

*2024-01-04, version 3.7.9*

Worked great but the color picker has stopped working and i cant fix it

### 3/5 — Pro update price

*2022-12-30, version 3.7.9*

The update to pro 4 thats offered at a discounted price, doesn’t currently work. Apple charges $31 instead of the $6 please fix this.

### 3/5 — 値段分の品質は欲しい

*2021-05-14, version 3.7.9*

At least want the pen has pixel perfect function.

### 5/5 — Great app.

*2021-03-22, version 3.7.9*

Really good app. Good fun and the team have excellent customer support. Buy this!

### 5/5 — Are you serious?

*2021-02-02, version 3.7.8*

If i update my pixaki 3 i pay more money than new pixaki 4 users. It's not fair!!!

### 1/5 — Canvas size is so small

*2020-12-19, version 3.7.7*

Wasted money and now for nothing as the canvas size only goes up to 1024 x 1024

### 5/5 — Great for pixel art

*2020-12-04, version 3.7.7*

I use this app exclusively now for anything pixel related, it’s great and has all the features needed but could use some comfort features like alpha lock and rotating the canvas.
If you’re looking for an app to do pixel art this is the one you need !

### 3/5 — It’s okay

*2020-11-29, version 3.7.7*

The app seems to be the best option for iPad, however it is far from perfect and the price is pretty steep considering the tools available.

In my eyes there are two main things that this app is missing.

The first being some kind of free selection or lasso tool. Currently the only thing available is a box selection which feel strange to use coming from Photoshop and Asprite.

The second issue is the brush and fill tools don’t have opacity setting which for me helps with blending colors.

Don’t get me wrong the app is pretty solid but has just a few shortcomings. However after some research I noticed the developer has been promising these features for over 2 years. Makes me a bit nervous that they may never be implemented.

### 4/5 — An easy to use program

*2020-11-24, version 3.7.7*

I am really enjoying the simplicity of this program. It is my favorite out of all of the iPad apps for pixel art. The only tool for me that is missing would be a lasso tool. Otherwise would be a 5/5!

## Frequently asked questions about Pixaki 3 (Legacy)

### What is Pixaki 3 (Legacy)?

Pixaki 3 (Legacy) is a powerful pixel art creation studio designed specifically for iPad. It provides a comprehensive set of tools for creating detailed pixel art and animations, mimicking features found in desktop applications but optimized for a multi-touch interface.

### What are the key features of Pixaki 3 (Legacy)?

Key features include custom canvas sizes, support for up to 50 layers per frame with adjustable opacity, animation tools with per-frame duration and color-shifted onion skinning, fully customizable palettes, reference layers for drawing over images, shape and line tools, and a powerful color replacement tool.

### How much does Pixaki 3 (Legacy) cost?

Based on the provided information, Pixaki 3 (Legacy) is a paid application. There are no mentions of in-app purchases or subscription models, indicating a one-time purchase for the app.

### What kind of art can I create with Pixaki 3 (Legacy)?

You can create a wide range of pixel art, from 8-bit game characters to complex isometric cityscapes. The app's animation features also allow you to bring your pixel art creations to life, making it suitable for animated sprites, GIFs, and short animations.

### Can I import my own images or palettes into Pixaki 3 (Legacy)?

Yes, you can import images from your photo library to use as reference layers, allowing you to draw pixels over them. The app also supports importing custom color palettes in .aco, .pal, and .gpl formats, as well as palettes created in other software.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.7.9 — 2021-03-10

Added information about Pixaki 4.

### 3.7.8 — 2021-02-02

Various bug fixes and enhancements. 

Pixaki 4 is now available.

### 3.7.7 — 2020-11-05

Various bug fixes.

### 3.7.6 — 2020-06-17

Fixed a crashing issue on iOS 9.

### 3.7.5 — 2020-06-04

Fixes an issue with opening PSDs when Adobe Fresco is installed, plus other bug fixes and interface tweaks.

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## More apps by Rizer Creative Ltd

- [Pixaki 4 Pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixaki-4-pro/id1447665380)
- [Pixaki 4 Intro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixaki-4-intro/id1524803334)

All apps by Rizer Creative Ltd: https://appshunter.io/developer/341335746

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-09.*