SpriteIlluminator user interface documentation

Sprites panel

Sprites

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

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:

Windows	macOS	Action
P	P	Place light source under mouse pointer
R	R	Rotate light source

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

Windows	macOS	Action
CTRL+1	⌥+1	Texture
CTRL+2	⌥+2	Lit surface
CTRL+3	⌥+3	Lit texture
CTRL+4	⌥+4	Normal map

Examples for the different display modes

Toolbar

Open project

Open an existing .sip file.

Save project

Save the current project to disk. Creates a .sip file.

Add sprites

Add new sprites to the project.

Remove sprites

Removes selected sprites from the project.

Undo

Undo last action.

Redo

Restore last undone action.

Export normals

Export normal maps of all sprites.

Export lit sprite

Export the current sprite with lighting as png file.

Export animation

Export current sprite with the light circling around it as .gif image.

Tutorial

Opens SpriteIlluminators's tutorial page in your web browser.

Feedback

Send feedback, suggestions or bug reports to us.

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:

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