SpriteIlluminator user interface documentation

SpriteIlluminator: Graphical User Interface

Sprites panel

Sprites

SpriteIlluminator Documentation: Sprites list, light settings and display modes

The list contains all sprites in your SpriteIlluminator project.

Add sprites by dragging and dropping image files from Finder/Explorer onto that panel. You can also add sprites using the toolbar button Add sprites.

To remove sprites press Delete or use the Remove sprites button in the toolbar.

Select a single sprite to edit / paint it.

Select multiple sprites to preview them all together. You can move them in the previewer to see how they fit together.

You can also apply effects to multiple sprites at the same time.

Global Light

SpriteIlluminator Documentation: Sprites list, light settings and display modes

The global light panel is below the sprites panel. Use it to control the light sources in the preview area.

SpriteIlluminator supports 2 light sources in the preview panel:

  • Ambient light which is a non-directional light source
  • Directional light which you can move

Settings for the light sources:

  • Z position
    Change the Z value of the light source. 0 is next to the sprite. Bigger values move the light source away from the sprite - towards the beholder.
  • Brightness
    Make your light darker or brighter
  • Light color
    Change the color of the light source
  • Ambient light color
    Change the color of the ambient light
  • Auto-rotate light
    Animate the light source

Changing the light has no influence on your normal map. It's just for preview purposes. You might even use a different shader setup so that your sprites look different in your game.

Keyboard shortcuts for the light source in the center view:

WindowsmacOSAction
PPPlace light source under mouse pointer
RRRotate light source

Display modes

Display Documentation: Sprites list, light settings and display modes

Options to change the global lighting in your scene:

  • Texture
    The original unlit texture.
  • Lit surface
    Surface, no texture colors.
  • Lit texture
    Texture with light
  • The normal map
    The normal map only
WindowsmacOSAction
CTRL+1+1Texture
CTRL+2+2Lit surface
CTRL+3+3Lit texture
CTRL+4+4Normal map

Examples for the different display modes

Sprite light effects with normal maps: The sprite only
Sprite light effects with normal maps: The lit surface without the sprite color.
Sprite light effects with normal maps: Sprite with activated light source.
Sprite light effects with normal maps: The normal map for a sprite.
Texture The texture without light effects.
Lit surface The lit surface without the texture.
Lit texture Sprite with activated light source
Normal map The normal map of the sprite.

Toolbar

open
Open project
Open an existing .tps file.
save
Save project
Save the current project to disk. Creates a .tps file.
addSprite
Add sprites
Add new sprites to the sheet.
removeSprite
Remove sprites
Removes selected sprite or folder from your sprite sheet.
addFolder
Add smart folder
Add a folder containing sprites.
spriteSettings
Sprite settings
Edit sprite pivot points and borders for 9-patch scaling.
animationPreview
Animation preview
Show an animation preview for the currently selected sprites.
publish
Publish sprite sheet
Publish current sprite sheet. Also available from the menu as 'Force Publish'
splitSheet
Split sheet
Splits a sprite sheet into sprites.
tutorials
Tutorial
Opens TexturePacker's tutorial page in your web browser.

Zoom and Pan

The zoom panel is located in the bottom left corner of the application.

  • Use the slider to zoom in or out continuously
  • Click - or + to zoom in predefined steps.
  • 1:1 sets zoom factor to 100%.
  • To view the complete scene window use Fit

Keyboard shortcuts:

WindowsmacOSAction
CTRL+0+0Zoom 1:1
CTRL+1+1Fit
CTRL++++Zoom In
CTRL+-+-Zoom Out
ALT + MouseWheelALT + MouseWheelZoom in and out
SPACE + Mouse dragSPACE + Mouse dragPan

Preview and paint area

The center of the tool is the preview and pain area. This is here you can see and paint your sprites.

Select a sprite in the Sprites panel to edit it.

Select multiple sprites in the Sprites panel to preview them all at once.

Use the [Zoom and pan] tools to zoom in and out of your sprites.

Tool sidebar

The tool sidebar consists of 2 types of tools:

  • Effects - Algorithmic effects to create normal maps
  • Draw tools - Tools to directly manipulate your sprite's normal maps
  • Selection tools - Tools that restrict the area the effects and paint tools work on