DeluxePaint (PC) Appreciation Page

This page is about DeluxePaint on the IBM PC and compatibles (DOS).

Downloads

Grab yourself a copy of the greatest pixel art program for DOS. The last version released was DeluxePaint II Enhanced v2.4. There is a “v3.0” circulating the web which is actually just v2.3 with a few bytes changed in the executable to change the About screen to appear to be a newer version from 1994. It is a pure forgery.

DeluxePaint I

DeluxePaint, famously, was created by Dan Silva at Electronic Arts (EA) and released for the Amiga in 1985. This was ported to the PC (IBM and compatibles running DOS) by Jim Blum and released as DeluxePaint I v1.0, apparently in 1988 the same year that DeluxePaint II was also released for the PC.

The screenshot above is the 4 color CGA 320x200 mode showing the About screen and included PAINTCAN.LBM image with slightly conflicting copyright years. It did not support any VGA or 256 color modes. The best video mode supported by this version was a 16 color 320x200 Tandy mode seen below.

DeluxePaint II (v1.0 through v1.3)

DeluxePaint II was ported to MS-DOS by Brent Iverson and released in 1988 by EA as version 1.0 followed by 1.1 and 1.2 later that year. Jim Blum who ported DeluxePaint I is not credited, so we can assume this was mainly a separate effort. This version supported the infamous 256 color MCGA 320x200 “mode 13h” used by many DOS games from the late 80s through the mid 90s.

It also supported low and hi-res 16 color EGA and VGA modes and came with the iconic KING_TUT.LBM image.

This version also contained a file CONVERT.EXE a.k.a. Electronic Arts Picture File Conversion Utility (v1.0). This looks like a handy way to import your MSPAINT creations into DeluxePaint II and take them to the next level.

DeluxePaint II Enhanced (v2.0 through v2.3)

DeluxePaint II Enhanced was a enhancement of the series released in 1990 with some rearranged menus and added features as well as high-resolution 256 color “Enhanced VGA” modes. These enhancements were made by yet another developer, Steve Shaw.

The About screen credits Dan Silva for DeluxePaint II, Brent Iverson for the MS-DOS version, and Steve Shaw for the enhanced features. The executable file (DP.EXE) is about 50% larger than the 1.x series of Deluxe Paint II, roughly 300KB vs 200KB. There are records of a version 2.0 on the internet, but I have only found 2.3 and a version that purports to be version 3.0 from 1994, but is actually identical to the 1990 2.3 release with a few bytes changed so the About screen reports the higher version number and copyright year. Also, for a long time, 2.3 was the newest version easily available to download on the internet. But that wasn’t the latest release.

This version also comes with 2 additional programs. There is GALLERY.EXE which is a graphical program that allows you to put together slide shows of images. The About screen gives 1988 and 1989 copyright dates as well as “Based on Studio/8’s Gallery” and a credit to Steve Shaw.

The other program is Camera (CAMERA.EXE) which is a TSR (terminate, stay resident) program for taking screenshots of other programs or games. When you run it, it prints out “CAMERA (version 1.9) now loaded. Copyright (c) 1988, 1989 Electronic Arts”.

DeluxePaint II Enhanced v2.4

In 1993, a new version of DeluxePaint II Enhanced was released with yet another name added to the credits. This adds to the list of credits, “Upgrade by Christopher Mayer”, bringing it to 4 names on the About screen.

The executable file grew another 27KB larger with this version, but the only visible change are two new menu entries which launch separate programs, “Scanner…” and “Convert…”. The first of these launches a new program called Scanner (SCANNER.EXE) a graphical app that exits immediately after telling you that it requires a scanner to be attached to the computer. It has a 1993 copyright.

“Convert…” launches the Convert program (CONVERT.EXE) which was massively upgraded to a graphical interface with many more options like clipping, resizing, palette substitution, dithering, rotation, 16 million (24 bit) color support, and mirroring. It is version 4.0 with a 1993 copyright.

The Gallery program was upgraded to v1.1. It is not obvious what new features, if any, have been added. 1993 was added to the copyright dates, and Christopher Meyer’s name was also added to the About screen.

Version 2.4 of DeluxePaint II Enhanced was not available anywhere on the internet until 30 years after its initial release in 1993, x0r_jmp released the “[1998, 1999] Duke Nukem Forever (Asset CD)” here in early January, 2023. That image contains a bunch of art assets from the development of Duke Nukem Forever and happens to contain a complete copy of the hitherto lost 2.4 and presumably final version of DeluxePaint II Enhanced. I have removed extraneous files to provide a pristine copy you can use today. See the Download section at the top of this page. In my opinion, this is the most important and interesting thing on that CD.