Auto Sprite User Guide v1.

User Guide

Installation
1. Download the AutoSpritev1-1.zip file. Make sure that this
does not get automatically extracted!
2. Open Blender, Edit > Preferences… > Install…
3. Navigate to the zip folder, select it and click Install Addon
4. Enable the checkbox for Auto Sprite.
5. Click Refresh and Save.

The complete Auto Sprite addon is comprised of 3 main parts:

1. Auto Sprite Builder panel located in the Image Editor properties menu.
2. Auto Sprite Loader panel located in the 3D View properties menu.
3. Auto Sprite Playback node group
These are explained in more detail in the following pages.

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 Auto Sprite User Guide v1.1

Auto Sprite Builder Panel

This Panel is located in the

Image Editor Window

There are two display modes for the Auto Sprite Builder:

• Folder: When importing images from a specified folder

• Render: When rendering out an animation that will then be converted into a sprite sheet

Auto Sprite Builder Panel (Folder)

Import Location. Should

contain all frames of the
animation you want to
transform. At the moment
only png input is supported.

Layout of the sprite sheet

Maximum resolution in width
(Horizontal x Vertical Frames)
or height of the output. The
assembled image will be
scaled down to this value if
exceeded.
Name of output file. Only PNG
export possible for now.
Save location (optional)
Defaults to tmp folder
Add setup to render queue.
(see page 4)

Generate Sprite sheet 2

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 Auto Sprite User Guide v1.1

Auto Sprite Builder Panel (Render)

Location where individual

frames will get saved during
render process

Range of frames to be
included

See explanations
on previous page

Render the specified frames,

then compile the sprite sheet

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Render Queue
If a render item with the same name already
exists in the queue then the add to queue
button will be disabled.

After adding an item to the queue, a new

Render Queue section will be displayed
containing all pending sprite sheets.
Clicking the X icon will remove the selected
item from the render queue. This is also
possible during the render process if
progress has not yet started.

The render queue will start from the top of the

list and work its way down. After an item is
completed it is removed from this list.

Generation Process
Once the generation process has started
the panel will change to render mode,
hiding the settings.
Task taking place
Progress of active
sprite sheet

This process can be cancelled at any

time by pressing the “ESC” key or by
clicking the cancel button. Items that
are still in progress during the
cancellation will also be cancelled
without a result.

After each successful generation, the active image will change in the image editor
window. The result can then be manually saved to a custom location.

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 Auto Sprite User Guide v1.1

Auto Sprite Loader Panel

This Panel is located in

the 3D Viewport

There are two display modes for the Auto Sprite Loader:

• Default: No sprite object is currently selected; all displayed settings will be applied after
clicking add sprite
• Active Sprite: A sprite object is currently selected; all displayed settings will modify the active
sprite’s properties directly.

Auto Sprite Loader (Default)

Which Sprite Sheet to

add to the scene
(automatically prefilled
after generation). Camera Tracking type*
(see next page)

Alpha type

Dimensions of Sprite
Sheet (automatically
prefilled after loading)
Frame on which the sprite
should start to play
(invisible until this frame)
Playback speed

How many times the

animation should loop.
Pixelate the image used
-1 = infinite.
for the sprite (no
interpolation)
Adds sprite to the
scene with selected
settings

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 Auto Sprite User Guide v1.1

Auto Sprite Loader (Active Sprite)

• Random influence of
Hue (Color)

• Random influence of
Saturation (Vibrance)

• Random influence of
Value (Brightness)
Playback Speed

Random variation on speed

Frame on which
More variation = larger
animation should start
differences
(will remain invisible
before this frame)

Random variation on
How many times the
starting frame. More
animation should
variation = larger
loop (-1 = infinite).
differences

*Tracking types behaviour

• None adds the sprite to a default plane with no constraints.
• Billboard adds a locked tracking constraint also known as 2D tracking. This will
align the sprite’s x and y axes to always face the camera but will lock the z axis.
• Halo adds a standard tracking constraint also known as 3D tracking. This will
align the sprite to the camera on all axes.

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 Auto Sprite User Guide v1.1

Auto Sprite Playback Node Group

After adding a sprite to a scene, the following setup will be added to the material nodes.
This includes the Auto Sprite Playback Node Group which can be adjusted to modify
playback behaviour in real-time.

Number of horizontal / • Random influence of

vertical frames in the Hue (Color)
sprite sheet
• Random influence of
Saturation (Vibrance)

• Random influence of
Playback Speed. 1 = normal Value (Brightness)

Random variation on speed

More variation = larger Frame on which
differences animation should start
(will remain invisible
How many times the before this frame)
animation should
loop (-1 = infinite). Random variation on
starting frame. More
variation = larger
differences

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Auto Sprite User Guide v1.1

Limitations: To ensure good performance it is

recommended to limit the resolution (x or y) of each
frame to 1024 pixels. The maximum resolution of the
output sprite sheet should be kept below 4096 pixels
if possible, to ensure fast playback.

You are now ready to start creating your own Sprite Sheet
animations!
If you are encountering any problems, issues or have any
suggestions, you can contact me through the BlenderMarket or
Gumroad.

Alternatively, you can also ask for help in the Discord channel,
where you might get a faster response.

Enjoy!