Phase 2: Working in Unity. Select your spritesheet in Unity and under its Import Settings in the inspector make sure Texture Type is set to ‘ Sprite (2D and UI)’. Open the spritesheet in the Sprite Editor, select Slice and change the Type to Grid by Cell Count. Adjust the number of columns and rows to match your spritesheet and then select. If the sprite sheet has a fixed width and height for each sprite, it is possible to use an online sprite sheet cutter (such as this) to automate it. Follow the instructions for the cutter, and download the images and upload them to Scratch. Open up the sprite sheet in a photo-editing program such as Paint. Open another Paint. Sprite Sheet Animator. From the web: From your computer: Sprite Width: Sprite Height: Sheet padding (edge of the sheet): left: top: Sheet spacing (between sprites): horizontal: vertical. This video will show you how to cut sprite sheet images into multiple images / frames.Join the community slack channel for free: https://join.slack.com/t/max. Oct 19, 2016 Download Simple Sprite Editor for free. An editor for creating sprite sheets from existing sheets or from frames. Merge sprites - Cut sprites - Preview animations - Preview tiling on a map (Tiling Test tab) - Create flashing spritesheets from regular images This is NOT a drawing program for creating sheets or animations.
A big part of doing any type of work is finding the correct tool for the job. This is especially true when it comes to handling graphics. When looking for a sprite sheet editor, you can find many programs in the vast sea known as the internet. But what if you are looking for a solution that requires no downloads? In the past few years many web solutions have began to offer online alternatives to their services, and sprite sheet editor solutions are no different. Following is a list of our favorite online sprite sheet editors, and while you can work with many of them offline, you can work with them online as well.
Piskel
Piskel is a free online sprite editor that is highly regarded by many for the features it touts. Piskel allows for animation previews, exporting and importing of Gif file types, and a gallery that keeps track of all work associated with your account. Piskel also offers an offline version of the program available for download so that you can work whenever and wherever inspiration strikes. You can check out Piskel at it's home page.
Leshy Labs
If Piskel is perfect for making sprites and sprite sheets, then Leshy Lab's Sprite Sheet Tool is amazing for importing and splitting images of all types. Leshy Sprite Sheet Tool is an Html5 based tool for creating, packing, and modifying sprite sheets and textures. In addition, all output can be created for a wide variety of formats including XML, JSON, CSS, and ImageMagick scripts. The service is well documented with plenty of youtube video tutorials, as well as documentation and can be found on the Leshy Labs homepage.
Texture Packer
The final entry in our list is Texture Packer. When you need a full array of tools to get the job done, Texture Packer delivers. Not only that, but Texture Packer greatly reduces the time it takes to create and animate sprites. Texture Packer ships as a downloadable and has free and premium versions for you, depending on the needs of your work. In fact some say that this is one of the best on the market for online sprite sheet editor work. You can check out Texture Packer here.
No matter which option you choose from our list, you will find a solution to creating great work with any of these online sprite sheet editors.
Engine: RPG Maker VX Ace, MV, and MZ
Difficulty: Easy
Introduction
Many new makers, often artists, have difficulty making their custom artwork function properly in Ace/MV/MZ. They face issues like sprites cutting off or the editor only displaying a tiny piece of their sprite. This tutorial aims to clear up any confusion or misconceptions surrounding sprites.
This tutorial only focuses on the default behavior of the program(s), without the use of any external plugins or scripts. Eight directional / diagonal sprites are not covered. This tutorial uses sprites from the VX Ace RTP, but the principles are the same in MV and MZ.
Anatomy of a Spritesheet
Each spritesheet can be divided into three components. (Disclaimer: These are my own terminology, used for this tutorial, and may not be the same as other people's!)
Sprite
Refers to a single sprite. They can be any size (N pixels x M pixels), but keep in mind that the standard map tile size is 32px x 32px in VX Ace and 48px x 48px in MV/MZ. It is important to note that any transparent pixels will count towards the sprite's size. The final size of the sheet is based on the size of a sprite.
Notice the size difference with these two sprites. If you are using sprites that protrude in a certain direction, you need to pad ALL the sprites with transparent pixels so they will line up properly.
Character
Refers to the entire set of sprites that makes up a single character. There are exactly twelve Sprites in a Character: four rows (directions) and three columns (frames of animation). They all must be the same size as well.
Walking/stepping animations go like this: Middle -> Right -> Middle -> Left -> Middle. The Middle sprite is used for event standing still. Any unused directions/animation frames can be left blank.
Characters can also be saved as an individual file, see the Filename Prefixes below for more details.
Sheet
Refers to the entire set of characters. There are exactly eight Characters in a sheet with 2 rows and 4 columns, but you do not have to fill out the entire sheet! You can leave unused character spots blank.
In the picture above, the numbers are the indices of the graphics, which are used with event commands or scripts.
Filename Prefixes
There are two special prefixes you can put on the filename: the '!' and '$'. These are attached to the beginning of the filename, for example, if your file is sprite.png, change it to !sprite.png. You can also combine both prefixes, like so: !$sprite.png.
The '!' Prefix
Characters graphics in-game are offset (moved) up by four pixels in Ace, or six pixels in MV and MZ. Adding the '!' prefix will cancel this effect. This also turns off the translucent effect that occurs when the event is standing on a tile marked as 'Bush' in the tileset section of the database. This is good for object events such as doors, chests, or furniture.
The '$' Prefix
It is possible to have a file with just one character by attaching '$' to the beginning of the filename. Do not add the '$' if there are multiple characters in the file! This is the biggest culprit of cutoff sprites that many new users find.
Multi-frame Animations
You can have multiple frames of animation by utilizing the 'Set Move Route' event command. By turning, the sprite will advance through each frame of animation. You can change the speed of the animation by changing the wait between each turn. This is made apparent by studying the default door graphics.
You can get more frames by using the 'Change Graphic' move route command. With this method, you can have 32 frames of animation on a single spritesheet file, and with multiple files, nearly unlimited frames of animation!
Metal Sheet Cutter Machine
Double-Checking Your Spritesheets
Plastic Sheet Cutter
Make sure that your sheet can only fit eight Characters. For every Character, the twelve Sprites are of identical size.
For example, if the size of a Sprite is 32px x 32px (default for VX Ace), the Character would be 96px x 128px, and the Sheet would be 384px x 256px.
If the size of the Sprite is 48px x 48px (default for MV and MZ), the Character would be 144px x 192px, and the Sheet would be 576px x 384px.
Conclusion
Paper Sheet Cutter
I hope this tutorial was helpful. If I missed anything, or if something is unclear, please let me know.