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Add to SafariWhen comparing GrafX2 vs Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional), the Slant community recommends GrafX2 for most people. In the question“What are the best 2D animation tools for game development?” GrafX2 is ranked 1st while Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose GrafX2 is:
GrafX2 is scriptable using the Lua language, which can be used to automate tasks and add new functionality to it. The script library features advanced color reduction and enhancement tools, [palette analysis](http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=76519), and much more.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Scriptable using Lua
GrafX2 is scriptable using the Lua language, which can be used to automate tasks and add new functionality to it. The script library features advanced color reduction and enhancement tools, palette analysis, and much more.
Pro Supports many file formats
GrafX2 supports many file formats, including the popular gif and png, but also importing and exporting from deluxe paint, degas elite, and various other editors using custom formats.
Pro Very large number of tools and effects
Pro Free, open source, and cross-platform
GrafX2 is totally free to use, copy, and modify. It's available on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Haiku, AROS, MorphOS, SkyOS, Syllable, Mint, and a few more systems. Basically anything is supported by the SDL library.
Pro Palette color cycling
GraphX2 being based on older 256 bitmap software has inherited some tricks that modern pixel editors do not have . One of them being the ability to cycle color palette and produce animations and effects with it.
Pro Has a great palette tool
You can create gradients from one color to another, work in either RGB or HSL color space, save and load palettes, sort and organize palettes, and even work on "color cycling" images.
Pro Supports tileset addition and extraction
Pro Supports animations
The program has a basic support for animation using frames in newer versions. Graphics can be cloned and copied between frames and changed slightly.
See here how to animate with GrapfX2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnq6zBZOqoM
Pro Has a customizable UI with themes support
Theme UI style can easily be changed from settings including buttons and colors.
Pro Drawing constraint mode for vintage 8bits machine
The program is able to enforce the pixel constraints of old machines (C64, ZX Spectrum, Apple II, Game Boy Color, etc.)
For example, in ZX Spectrum mode, only 2 different colors can be used in a 8x8 pixel block.
Pro Powerful tool
This program has developed AAA TV Series and Movies like Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Pro Export to HTML5
Pro Interpolation between frames
Several ways to create animation and special effects: motion tweens, classic tweens.
Pro Create and organize layers
Layers help you organize the artwork in your document. You can draw and edit objects on one layer without affecting objects on another layer.
Pro Bone tool
Bone tool that enables you to link symbols together quickly and easily in a parent/child relationship commonly referred to as inverse kinematics.
Pro Easy to use
Cons
Con Dated look and feel
It looks like it was never supposed to be used in the modern world.
Con Lack of modern features
Some modern features that are necessary to do pixel art creation for game dev work are lacking.
Con No more support
Adobe ditched AIR which they will EOL at 2020
Con Exspensive
Flash can be priced at $999.99 on the official Abobe store.
