Homebrew app A-Pix DS 0.4 – Pixel art editor for Nintendo DS/DSi!

Alfombra · May 12, 2026

A-Pix DS is a pixel art editor for Nintendo DS/DSi inspired by YY-CHR, aiming to be as feature-complete as possible within the hardware's capabilities.
Features:

Multiple color depths and resolutions.
Palette editor with index swapping, copy/paste for individual colors or whole sections.
Experimental animation system; each frame stores its own palette, enabling palette animations.
ROM explorer with vertical scrolling, just like YY-CHR.
File explorer with image preview.
Supports many retro console formats: NES, SNES 4BPP & 8BPP, GBA 4BPP, GBC 2BPP, plus YYCHR and native NDS/GBA ARGB1555 palettes.
Modern format support: PNG, BMP, PCX.
Tools: multiple brushes, clipboard, pixel shift with wrap, scale, 90° rotation.
16BPP mode supports semi-transparent brush and transparent background.
Zoom and canvas scrolling for comfortable editing.
Undo/redo
Horizontal and vertical flip
Adjustable grid size
NES mode

What's new in v0.4:

Animation support (experimental)
Palette editor improvements
SNES 8BPP format
File previews in explorer
~3x performance boost
A few hidden easter eggs

Where can I download this tool?
https://github.com/Alfombracitario/Alfombra-s-Pixel-Art-Editor-DS

I really appreciate feedback, I want to improve this tool as much as possible!

orangy57 · May 12, 2026

This is TUFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Awesome job!

Alfombra · May 12, 2026

orangy57 said:
This is TUFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Awesome job!

Thank you!!! I really appreciate it!!

chkmt · May 14, 2026

Not only did you make the rom itself but you also made your own image format, absolutely goated, ggs bro

Flame · May 14, 2026

Amazing stuff.

Alfombra · May 15, 2026

chkmt said:
Not only did you make the rom itself but you also made your own image format, absolutely goated, ggs bro

Regarding the image format, even before I had a DSi or any idea how to program in C, I invented a prototype; I simply wanted to create a compression algorithm. After a few days, I invented the system you see called .acs. I tried programming it in Game Maker, but it didn't work very well, lol.
A year later, I bought a DSi with the intention of programming. I started with A-Pix DS and realized that .acs was a perfect fit.
I tweaked it a bit, sacrificing space for order, predictability, and speed, and it finally came together.
And also, thank you so much for your words!!

Post automatically merged: May 15, 2026

Regarding the image format, even before I had a DSi or any idea how to program in C, I invented a prototype; I simply wanted to create a compression algorithm. After a few days, I invented the system you see called .acs. I tried programming it in Game Maker, but it didn't work very well, lol.

A year later, I bought a DSi with the intention of programming. I started with A-Pix DS and realized that .acs was a perfect fit.

I tweaked it a bit, sacrificing space for order, predictability, and speed, and it finally came together.

And also, thank you so much for your words!!

Provare · May 19, 2026

I'm trying it out and it's interesting.
I have some personal opinions to share:
For the eraser, it would be helpful to be able to choose the size (similar to the marker).
For the pencil, I'd find it more useful to have a second marker so I can quickly switch between two settings (perhaps even linking the two markers to different colors).
Why are there redundant controls? Everything could be reorganized to have a larger work area (it doesn't necessarily have to be centered) and with the same 4:3 screen aspect ratio.

Alfombra · May 23, 2026

Provare said:
I'm trying it out and it's interesting.
I have some personal opinions to share:
For the eraser, it would be helpful to be able to choose the size (similar to the marker).
For the pencil, I'd find it more useful to have a second marker so I can quickly switch between two settings (perhaps even linking the two markers to different colors).
Why are there redundant controls? Everything could be reorganized to have a larger work area (it doesn't necessarily have to be centered) and with the same 4:3 screen aspect ratio.

Thank you for your feedback!
Well this project started as a YY-CHR port for the DS so that's why the app is mostly like that.
But I've been thinking on a better UI and I think something like Pixly would be awesome.
The current UI is hardcoded so yeah, maybe in 0.5 that could be the main update.
Now I'm also using the hardware to scale and scroll the canvas so it would't be that crazy!

Also, the eraser shares the same shape as the marker.

lazyberry1238 · Monday at 7:52 AM

Alfombra said:
A-Pix DS is a pixel art editor for Nintendo DS/DSi inspired by YY-CHR, aiming to be as feature-complete as possible within the hardware's capabilities.
Features:

Multiple color depths and resolutions.

Palette editor with index swapping, copy/paste for individual colors or whole sections.

Experimental animation system; each frame stores its own palette, enabling palette animations.

ROM explorer with vertical scrolling, just like YY-CHR.

File explorer with image preview.

Supports many retro console formats: NES, SNES 4BPP & 8BPP, GBA 4BPP, GBC 2BPP, plus YYCHR and native NDS/GBA ARGB1555 palettes.

Modern format support: PNG, BMP, PCX.

Tools: multiple brushes, clipboard, pixel shift with wrap, scale, 90° rotation.

16BPP mode supports semi-transparent brush and transparent background.

Zoom and canvas scrolling for comfortable editing.

Undo/redo

Horizontal and vertical flip

Adjustable grid size

NES mode

What's new in v0.4:

Animation support (experimental)

Palette editor improvements

SNES 8BPP format

File previews in explorer

~3x performance boost

A few hidden easter eggs

Where can I download this tool?
https://github.com/Alfombracitario/Alfombra-s-Pixel-Art-Editor-DS

I really appreciate feedback, I want to improve this tool as much as possible!

Dude, i just realized this was posted this past month, AWESOME. Glad to see people still care for old/legacy pieces of hardware. Me and my DS thank you very much haha.

Homebrew app A-Pix DS 0.4 – Pixel art editor for Nintendo DS/DSi!

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