Exporting

There are 2 entry points for us to export a .px files:

• In the General tab of settings

• In file actions

File extension

We can export to these formats:

• PNG

• GIF

• MOV

• Sprite-sheet

• ASEPRITE

• Timelapse

When selecting a particular format, it will give us a different set of parameters that we can adjust to fit our purpose.

Timelapse exporting

When we draw in Pixquare, the app will automatically record the changes so that we can export the timelapse of the progress any time we want.

The data for the timelapse video are stored in timelapse_videos folder. We can clear this in the gallery settings.

File name

The name of the exported file

Layers

Pixquare supports exporting with dynamic layer sets. We can select to export only visible layers or all layers. We can also select layers individually if the previous two are not what we want.

When exporting PNG, we can also select Individual PNGs to export each layer into a separate PNG file.

Frames

Same as layers, we can also select precisely which frame to export. We can either select all frames or pick out the frames that we like.

PNG is a static image, for that reason, when exporting to PNG, we can select only 1 frame.

If we select more than 1 frame, each frame will be a PNG file.

Size multiplier

Pixel art canvas sizes are usually much smaller than other art styles, that's why if we export images with the same canvas sizes, the results will be blurry and not suitable for sharing on social media.

This is where the size multiplier becomes a lifesaver. Use this option to scale up our work.

For example, if we work on a canvas size of 32x32, this is tiny. If we want to share this on Twitter, we probably want the images to be close to or above 1000 x 1000. For this reason, we should put in 40 for the multiplier. With that, the result will be 1280 x 1280, and that's perfect for a Facebook or Twitter post.

Animation direction

For animated formats (GIF and MOV), we also have the option to choose the direction of the animation for the selected frames.

We can choose forward, backward, or ping-pong (forward then backward)

Sheet layout

For the sprite-sheet export type, we can select 1 of the 3 options for the layout:

• Rows - frames are aligned in a row, side-by-side

• Columns - frames are aligned on top of each other in a column

• Packed - frames are placed inside a "n x n" grid. The size "n x n" will be determined based on the number of frames we have

• Custom - we can set how many columns the sheet should have, then the number of rows will be determined based on that.

Paddings

For the sprite-sheet export type, we can add padding to the output:

• Border padding: add padding to the sheet border

• Inner padding: add padding in between the frames

• Individual frame padding: add padding surrounding each frame

Speed multiplier

For the time-lapse format, we can select how fast final video will be.

Pixquare FPS for time-lapse videos is 24 and this will stay constant, so depending on the multiplier, Pixquare will repeat or skip frames.

Additional options

Only selected area

When we export a file in the settings panel, if there is a selection on the canvas, we can check this box so that it will export only the selected content instead of the entire canvas.

Triming

Check this box to automatically trim the transparent pixels from all edges.

Pixquare footer

If this option is checked, the exported images will have a footer to show some info about the artwork as well as the "Made with Pixquare" mark.

Share screen

Artwork by @ryviolie_pixel

After exporting, we'll be redirected to the Share screen, here we can decide what to do with the exported file, whether to save it to Photos, send an email, or post to Twitter, whatever we want.

Please note that the 2 options (white background and sharpening) are only for preview purposes, they won't have any effect on the final file.