There is a way, but it requires programming your animations from a sprite sheet... I've done something similar twice before (Mazeman and my latest unfinshed game... actually all my games are stubs, lol) If you feel your up to the challenge I can show you, its just a variable system with plenty of switch()/case() statement manipulations applied.
SPRITE WARRIOR: Free, open-source & crossplatform pixel art editor (currently under construction).