Deluxe Paint

Deluxe Paint (DPaint) was the killer app for the Amiga, a graphics editor that became the industry standard for pixel art and animation throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Revolutionary Features

DPaint introduced features that were revolutionary for its time:

• Animation support with onion skinning
• Palette cycling for animated effects
• Perspective tools
• Brush manipulation and warping
• HAM mode support for photorealistic images

Industry Standard

DPaint became the tool of choice for:

• Video game graphics (Monkey Island, Lemmings, countless others)
• Television graphics and animation
• Demo scene productions
• Early web graphics

Interface Innovation

The program’s interface established conventions still used today:

• Right-click for color picking
• Intuitive tool palette
• Real-time preview
• Keyboard shortcuts for efficiency

Legacy

DPaint’s influence on digital art cannot be overstated. It democratized computer graphics, enabling artists to create professional-quality work on home computers. Many of today’s pixel artists learned their craft on DPaint.