Work keyboard-first
Once you know the editor, the keyboard is the biggest speed-up available. The goal is to draw, switch tools, step frames, and transform without using the mouse for UI clicks: the mouse stays on the canvas and the keyboard handles the rest. The full map is in Keyboard shortcuts.
Core tool loop
Section titled “Core tool loop”Most pixel work cycles through Pencil, Eraser, Fill, a selection, and Move. Memorise these five plus the Eyedropper and the swap-colors key, and you can do the bulk of a session without opening a panel:
B Pencil, E Eraser, Shift+G Fill, M Rectangle Selection, V Move, I Eyedropper, X Swap foreground/background.
With I to sample and X to swap, recoloring to match an existing pixel is two keystrokes: I to sample the color, B to draw with it.
Flip and rotate
Section titled “Flip and rotate”Shift+H flips the current selection horizontally, Shift+V flips it vertically, Ctrl+Shift+R rotates 90° clockwise, and Ctrl+Alt+R rotates 90° counter-clockwise. These apply to the current selection, so the chain M (select) then Shift+H (flip) mirrors a limb in one motion.
Step through frames
Section titled “Step through frames”Animation lives in the timeline, and the keys are built for the edit-step-edit loop: . next frame, , previous frame, Home first, End last, Space play/pause, Ctrl+Shift+N new frame. A common rhythm is to press . for the next frame, edit, press . again, and edit, staying on the Pencil (B) throughout and undoing with Ctrl+Z.
Layer shortcuts
Section titled “Layer shortcuts”Ctrl+Alt+N new layer, Ctrl+J duplicate layer, Ctrl+E merge down, Alt+H toggle visibility. Duplicate-then-edit (Ctrl+J then draw) is the fastest way to create a layer variation.
Zoom and view
Section titled “Zoom and view”Ctrl+= zoom in, Ctrl+- zoom out, Ctrl+0 fit to view, G toggle grid, F11 fullscreen. Press Ctrl+0 after every zoom to reorient.
Save and undo
Section titled “Save and undo”Ctrl+S save, Ctrl+Z undo, Ctrl+Y redo. Press Ctrl+S whenever you pause to think.
Keyboard-only workflow
Section titled “Keyboard-only workflow”You can clean up a 6-frame walk cycle without touching the tool rail: Ctrl+0 to fit, B for pencil, . to step to frame 2, fix a pixel, Ctrl+Z if wrong, . to frame 3, fix, . to frame 4 where a leg needs mirroring: M to select the leg, Shift+H to flip, V to nudge it into place. Ctrl+S to save. Space to play the loop. Space to pause. Ctrl+0 to refit.
Customise shortcuts
Section titled “Customise shortcuts”Open the Keyboard Shortcuts panel from the toolbar to rebind anything. If you’re coming from another editor, change the bindings to match existing muscle memory. Use the panel’s Import and Export buttons to share a layout with a team, and Reset All to return to defaults.