Retro Diffusion Extension for Aseprite

Rapid designing with AI

Create, change, and refine artwork in minutes.

What is Retro Diffusion?

This extension for the popular pixel art software Aseprite allows the easy installation and use of Stable Diffusion AI image generator from inside Aseprite. It also adds advanced features like smart color reduction, and text guided palette creation. In combination with the state of the art pixel model, you can design incredible pixel art pieces in record time.

Game development optimized

Retro Diffusion is made with game developers in mind, featuring options for tiling assets, and custom palettes. Cut out assets easily with the pixel model having been trained on game assets with a solid black background. Creating game tiles, item sprites, UI elements, characters, and backgrounds has never been this easy!

Custom pixel art AI model

Retro Diffusion comes with its own pixel art model, which returns results astronomically better than any competing model or AI. If you have tried to get Dall-e 2, Midjourney, or even Stable Diffusion to create accurate pixel art before, you know that they just don't get it. Check the box marked "Pixel style" and watch as near perfect pixel art is made in seconds. This model especially excels at portraits and character art.

Prompts: "Bearded man in a blue suit" "Woman in a black dress on red background" "Mountains and a lake" "A tree on a hill"

Check out my site for more images! https://astropulse.co/#retrodiffusiongallery

Game items

Design armor, food, items, and icons for games in seconds at multiple resolutions.

PaletteGen

PaletteGen is another custom AI model included in Retro Diffusion. This model creates color palettes from text prompts. Palettes can be 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 colors long, and are organized automatically for ease of use.

Smart palette

Automatically take an image from potentially thousands of different colors to just a few, without losing details or composition. Or, choose your own palette to get just the looks you're after.

User models

Do you have a Stable Diffusion model you prefer? You can use it in Aseprite! Go to "Help" -> "Aseprite Diffusion Settings" and enable custom models, then provide the file path. Retro Diffusion will now use that model as the default.

Videos

Compatibility

Windows support only for now. I am working on MacOS and Linux support, but it is non-trivial. For now, if you want to make pixel art with AI and don't have access to a Windows computer, you can use the stand-alone model files with any stable diffusion based AI program: https://astropulse.gumroad.com/l/RetroDiffusionModel

Ensure you have the latest version of Aseprite.

On setup, please make sure to read through the installation instructions thoroughly, and are connected to a stable wifi network (mobile hotspots will not work).

10GB of system storage required.

Nvidia GPU support: 10xx series through current series, but must have 4GB+ VRAM (6-8GB recommended). Some cards (namely 16xx series cards) may require you to check an additional box to get running. My 1050 TI did not require this setting, but some 10xx series cards may. If your GPU will not run the script after several attempts, please try using CPU mode which can be enabled post-setup via the "Help" menu.

AMD GPU support: None.

CPU only mode is also supported, but requires 16GB of system RAM minimum. 32GB is recommended.

NOTE: The first generation will take a while on lower end hardware.

Performance statistics

GPU:

Nvidia GTX 1050 TI: 20 steps 512x512 (64x64 pixel model) in 2.5 minutes.
Nvidia GTX 1660 Super: 20 steps 512x512 (64x64 pixel model) in 2 minutes.
Nvidia RTX 3060: 20 steps 512x512 (64x64 pixel model) in 5 seconds.
Nvidia RTX 3090: 20 steps 512x512 (64x64 pixel model) in <2 seconds.

CPU:

Intel i5-8300H: 20 steps 512x512 (64x64 pixel model) in 10 minutes.
Ryzen 2600X: 20 steps 512x512 (64x64 pixel model) in 10 minutes.
Intel i7-1065G7: 20 steps 512x512 (64x64 pixel model) in 5 minutes.
Ryzen 5800X: 20 steps 512x512 (64x64 pixel model) in <4 minutes.

Aseprite not for you?

Check out the standalone models here!

Future versions

Any future versions or patches of Retro Diffusion will be given to previous buyers at no additional cost. Make sure to check your email for new versions!

The current version is 5.0.0.

Previews and updates

The best place to go for any information on the current state of Retro Diffusion, or previews of upcoming content is my Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/RealAstropulse

Contact information

The best place to reach me is by joining the Retro Diffusion Discord server: https://discord.gg/baCV7nJn9g

Alternatively, use the contact form on my website: https://astropulse.co/#contactme

If you are interested in pixel art don't forget to check out my other products!

https://astropulse.gumroad.com/