¶ Introduction to Pixel Art
Adding pixel art to your game is possible with the PixArt editor. You can create and animate individual sprites to build your own pixel game. This article will cover creating sprites.
A sprite is a 2D image integrated into a bigger scene. It can represent characters, objects, or effects within a game.
Bear in mind that sprites are game-specific. That means that you can't move them to another game.
¶ The PixArt Editor Tools
You will find your basic tools on the left, and a slider on the right, along with some options on the bottom bar.
For more information on each tool and option, check out our documentation.
- The Line tool shows a rectangle, filled rectangle, circle, and filled circle options when tapped a second time. These are useful to speed up the process of creating certain sprites.
- The Select tool opens up to different kinds of selection. When selecting an area, different options will show up directly under the selection. These will flip your sprite horizontally or vertically, move the selection, duplicate it, or scale it.
- The Fill option is very helpful when wanting to color a large area. Bear in mind that this area needs to be closed for it to work correctly.
- Erasing will work as expected, and delete whatever you paint on.
- Color Picker will pick up a color from your sprite. This is particularly useful if you need a color again and can't find it in your palette.
By tapping on the icons a second time will also expand the toolset within that category to see even more options if available!
Eg: The Brush tool will show a Spray and Frame options, for example. The Spray tool is particularly useful to create textures.*
¶ Zoom & Mirroring Feature
Additionally, you can zoom out until you see empty space around your canvas. There are two handles on the top left of the canvas, which you can drag to create a sort of mirror.Drawing on one side of the line will mirror it to the other side.
¶ Creating a New Color Palette
A sprite can only have 16 colors at the moment. If you want to use different colors, tap on the plus icon on the bottom left to create a new palette. A sprite can only use one palette at a time. Switching palettes will change your sprite's colors to the ones in the corresponding slots.
¶ Naming your Sprite
Naming your sprite is very important, for when you need to find a specific one later on. This can be done in the settings inside the PixArt editor. Open the sprite you want to name, and tap on Manage option on the bottom bar. Here you can change several settings, including the size of your sprite and its name.
¶ Duplicating Sprites
It's easy to create a new Sprite based on an existing sprite.
Navigate to the Build Panel, and then select PixArt. To create a sprite based on another sprite, select the sprite you want to copy, and then tap on the plus symbol. Select Duplicate. Now you have two of the same sprite. You can edit the second the same way you would edit an empty sprite.
¶ Using PixArt in Your Game
Add a sprite to your scene by dragging from the PixArt menu, or by selecting the sprite and tapping on the scene.
Sprites work the same as any model or object when they're placed in your scene. This means they can be transformed, and can have physical properties. They can even be added to reusables!
¶ Related Topics
Animating Pixel Sprites