PixPipeline User Guide

Getting Started

PixPipeline is a node-based compositor built specifically for pixel art. Instead of painting directly on a canvas like an image editor, you connect processing blocks called "nodes" and build the recipe that produces your artwork.

Basic Operations

Right-click an empty spot on the canvas to open the node palette.

Project Management

The project backups dialog opened from the header

Image Input & Output

Palettes & Color

The machinery for the discipline at the heart of pixel art: working with a limited set of colors.

Paths & Shapes

Define lines and shapes as bezier paths, then convert them into clean, pixel-perfect linework.

Animation

Drive parameters and images over time and bake the frames into a sprite sheet. All timing is frame-based ("one swing per 8 frames"); seconds appear only as converted hints.

3D Features

PixPipeline's 3D features run on two lanes with different goals.

Tiles & Maps (Tile Studio)

Tile Studio covers the whole flow from authoring tile assets to painting layered maps and exporting game-ready data. This chapter is the overview; each step has its own detailed chapter:

Building Tile Assets (Tile Asset Builder)

tileassetbuilder assembles one tile asset (TileAsset) from a sheet image or frame list. Static tiles, animations, multi-cell stamps, and auto/rule tiles can all live inside the same asset. Double-click the node to open its dedicated editor.

Tile Library & Packs

Saved tile assets form a library you can reuse across projects.

Tile Palettes

A tile palette (tilepalettecreate) arranges brushes from multiple assets into a convenient layout for painting — pages, groups, and a grid; think of it as a paint box.

Painting Maps (Tile Studio)

tilestudio is a layered tile-map editor. Connect a palette to the tilepalette input and double-click the node. Maps are saved as .pxntilemap (tilecanvassave / tilecanvasload).

Exporting Maps & Game Integration

A finished map exports three ways: a still image, an animation, or engine-ready game data. In every case, wire the canvas output of tilestudio (plus the palette) into the export node.

Variables & Controllers

Drive many node parameters from a single place — share values like "outline color" or "base size" across the whole project.

Custom Nodes & Library

Fold a frequently used group of nodes into a single node, then reuse and share it.

AI Integration

PixPipeline officially supports the workflow of "having an AI agent build node graphs to mass-produce pixel-art assets". You need an AI agent that can operate files and run commands (Claude Code or similar).

Settings & Shortcuts

The gear icon in the header (Ctrl+,) opens user settings.

Troubleshooting

The app is not yet code-signed, so Windows may warn on first launch. Click "More info" → "Run anyway". Always download from the official distribution page.

Model Assets 101

The shortest path to assembling small mesh parts, texturing them with 2D images, and producing both a GLB and an HD-2D image from the same model. The sample is modelassetc1.ppl in this folder.

Exporting a Chest to GLB and a Sprite Sheet

Using rigid-part pivots and the existing animation nodes, bake the same open/close motion into both a glTF animation and an HD-2D sprite sheet. The sample is modelchestanimationc7.ppl.

The Region System — an Introduction

Written: May 22, 2026 Target version: v0.1.6

Solid Turntable Sprite Sheet

The official Phase 10 workflow: animate 3D parameters and bake them into a transparent-background sprite sheet.