Welcome to Modular Sprite Editor

Many classic console characters are not drawn as whole pictures. They are built from small parts: a head, a torso, an arm, a sword. Each pose reuses the same parts in new positions, which saves video memory and lets you change a character by changing a few pieces.

Modular Sprite Editor is made for working this way. You cut a sprite sheet into parts, build poses from them, animate the poses and stage scenes with several characters. Along the way it shows what your sprites cost on a Mega Drive, so there are no surprises when they reach the console.

These guides are for artists and animators. You do not need to program to follow them. When it is time to hand your work to a programmer, For your programmer explains what to give them.

Where would you like to start?

Get the editorDownload it for Windows, macOS or Linux and open the examples. Make your first animated spriteFrom a sprite sheet to an animation that plays. Find your way aroundThe five tabs and how to move around the canvas. Learn from an exampleOpen a finished project and take it apart.

Five words to know

A module is one part cut from your sprite sheet, such as a head or a sword. Modules are the pieces everything else is built from.

A frame is a pose made from modules. The same module can appear in many frames, flipped or turned.

An animation is a sequence of frames, each held for a number of ticks.

A scene puts animations, frames or modules on a timeline, so you can stage a moment with several characters.

A mapping swaps some modules for others everywhere at once. Use it for recolours, armour changes or a whole new character that shares the animations.

The glossary explains the other terms you will meet.

A good first hour

1. Get the editor and open the Prince of Persia example.
2. Play a few animations in the Animations tab and open the Swordfight scene in the Timeline tab.
3. Follow Your first animated sprite with the Adventurer sheet or a sheet of your own.
4. Read Build frames from parts and make a pose from modules.
5. Turn on the budget overlay and see what your pose costs on a Mega Drive.

About this guide

This edition describes Modular Sprite Editor 0.6. If your editor looks different, check which release you downloaded. The release notes list what changed.