The world of art tends to be a cyclical one; years ago, as technology evolved, pixel art fell out favor, but now, in an era nostalgic for its origins, pixel art is back in considerable demand. Today, Disney Interactive joined in on the retroactive fervor by releasing Disney PIXEL’D, an easy-to-use tool developed for iOS devices by the creators of Create on Disney.com that allows its users to create pixel art and animations complete with Disney characters and settings.

With PIXEL’D, users can actualize their creative vision in still form and then, after that, can utilize the application’s frame-by-frame editing tool to animate the completed product. The experience can be expanded with Disney character art and fill patterns obtained through in-app purchases. Disney Interactive Senior Vice President Mark L. Walker has a very optimistic outlook for the upcoming digital studio.

In keeping with Disney’s rich tradition of storytelling, the Disney PIXEL’D app allows guests to create their own Disney stories through pixel art…And now our users can create and share this uniquely Disney experience wherever they are through their mobile devices.

Art and animations made in PIXEL’D can be shared online through such social networks as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Youtube, and basic email services. A complete list of features follows below:

• 3 drawing layers on the canvas
• 20 frames for creating animations
• Shape tools that make drawing even easier with fully adjustable squares, circles, triangles, and more
• Dozens of free stamps and fill patterns feature a wide range of beloved Disney characters and themes, including Disney Princess, Bolt, Mickey and Friends, Cars and Vintage Mickey
• In-app purchase options let artists buy expanded sets of Disney character stamps and fill patterns
• Buddy Draw lets multiple artists connect via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to draw together in real-time
• Artists can easily share their work via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, email or the camera roll
• Cloud sync keeps artist’s galleries up-to-date across all iOS devices

Disney PIXEL’D is available now on iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch for free with optional in-app purchases included.