Paintshop pro (versions 4 - 7) is reasonable for 2d pixel graphics. You could also try promotion, which is aimed directly at game dev (although has a limited 256 color pallete)
http://www.jasc.com/products/paintshoppro (they only have version8, which is not as user-friendly for 2d work I found)
http://www.cosmigo.com/promotion/index.php
Personally I use paintshop pro to do sprites, it can be a bit tricky doing animation, as animation shop (which comes with it) is a piece of turd!
http://www.jasc.com/products/paintshoppro (they only have version8, which is not as user-friendly for 2d work I found)
http://www.cosmigo.com/promotion/index.php
Personally I use paintshop pro to do sprites, it can be a bit tricky doing animation, as animation shop (which comes with it) is a piece of turd!