Aseprite is the gold standard for pixel art, but if you want to save some cash, the developers allow you to compile it from source for free. Here is how to get it running on both macOS and Windows.

Before you begin, make sure you download the Aseprite source code from their GitHub repository, and the custom Skia branch specific to your operating system.

Whenever in doubt, refer back to the Aseprite Github for full instructions from their development team.

macOS Compilation

First, install your dependencies using Homebrew. You'll need CMake and Ninja:

brew install cmake ninja

Once you have your dependencies and your custom Skia folder extracted to $HOME/deps/skia, navigate to your Aseprite source folder, create a build directory, and run the following CMake command (Note: If you are on an M1/M2 Mac, change x86_64 to arm64):

cd aseprite
mkdir build
cd build
cmake \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES=x86_64 \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=10.9 \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_SYSROOT=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk \
  -DLAF_BACKEND=skia \
  -DSKIA_DIR=$HOME/deps/skia \
  -DSKIA_LIBRARY_DIR=$HOME/deps/skia/out/Release-x64 \
  -DSKIA_LIBRARY=$HOME/deps/skia/out/Release-x64/libskia.a \
  -G Ninja ..
ninja aseprite

Windows Compilation

For Windows, you'll need to install Visual Studio Community (make sure to check "Desktop development with C++" during installation), as well as CMake and Ninja.

Open the standard Windows Command Prompt (not PowerShell) and set up your Visual Studio environment variables. Then, assuming your Skia branch is extracted to C:\deps\skia, run the CMake build:

cd aseprite
mkdir build
cd build

call "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\Common7\Tools\VsDevCmd.bat" -arch=x64

cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo -DLAF_BACKEND=skia -DSKIA_DIR=C:\deps\skia -DSKIA_LIBRARY_DIR=C:\deps\skia\out\Release-x64 -DSKIA_LIBRARY=C:\deps\skia\out\Release-x64\skia.lib -G Ninja ..

ninja aseprite

"If Ninja throws an error, double-check your Skia directory paths. One typo in the CMake command is usually the culprit!"