Texture atlas's/ multi-sprite sheets?

[Smundie]

I was just wondering how I would be able to compile all of my sprites into one big sprite sheet as it would be easier for a game I'm making. I've seen this commonly referred to as texture atlas's so I was wondering how I would be able to do it using Aseprite?

[Achrileg]

I usually split all animations in their own .ase files - run.ase, idle.ase, die.ase, etc.

Then I export them all as a .png horizontal sprite sheet in a single stroke using a small program that automates the process that I quickly threw together.

And finally, I put all these sheets together in a single .psd file and sort them, group the sheets by character, and have all the animations for all characters in a single psd.

When I need to export a single sprite "atlas" (I understood that it's for a single character from your words) for a character, I have that characters sprites visible with others hidden and save for web as a transparent .png.

[Smundie]

Originally posted by Achrileg:

I usually split all animations in their own .ase files - run.ase, idle.ase, die.ase, etc.

Then I export them all as a .png horizontal sprite sheet in a single stroke using a small program that automates the process that I quickly threw together.

And finally, I put all these sheets together in a single .psd file and sort them, group the sheets by character, and have all the animations for all characters in a single psd.

When I need to export a single sprite "atlas" (I understood that it's for a single character from your words) for a character, I have that characters sprites visible with others hidden and save for web as a transparent .png.

So what you do is you keep all your sprites seperate, then you export them as horizontal sprite sheets and then you put them all into one psd and sort them for a texture atlas. That makes a lot of sense, thanks.
But what is this single stroke small program you're talking about? Can't I just export each of my sprites seperately or is their an easier way?

[Achrileg]

Originally posted by Neil Tyson:

Originally posted by Achrileg:

I usually split all animations in their own .ase files - run.ase, idle.ase, die.ase, etc.

Then I export them all as a .png horizontal sprite sheet in a single stroke using a small program that automates the process that I quickly threw together.

And finally, I put all these sheets together in a single .psd file and sort them, group the sheets by character, and have all the animations for all characters in a single psd.

When I need to export a single sprite "atlas" (I understood that it's for a single character from your words) for a character, I have that characters sprites visible with others hidden and save for web as a transparent .png.

So what you do is you keep all your sprites seperate, then you export them as horizontal sprite sheets and then you put them all into one psd and sort them for a texture atlas. That makes a lot of sense, thanks.
But what is this single stroke small program you're talking about? Can't I just export each of my sprites seperately or is their an easier way?

Well, you can, but I found that it's a lot quicker to leave exporting last and export with a few presses of a button, rather than opening every single .ase file and exporting them one by one.
That allows me to do a revising if I think of changing something at the last moment, while making the last animation, for an example.

The program I made basically automatically makes a .bat file containing commands from this page http://www.aseprite.org/docs/cli/ I can quickly export as .gif or .png sprite, as well as choose whether I need it sized 1x; 2x or whatever. I can share it if you wish, though it's terrribly makeshift. =]

[Smundie]

Originally posted by Achrileg:

Originally posted by Neil Tyson:

So what you do is you keep all your sprites seperate, then you export them as horizontal sprite sheets and then you put them all into one psd and sort them for a texture atlas. That makes a lot of sense, thanks.
But what is this single stroke small program you're talking about? Can't I just export each of my sprites seperately or is their an easier way?

Well, you can, but I found that it's a lot quicker to leave exporting last and export with a few presses of a button, rather than opening every single .ase file and exporting them one by one.
That allows me to do a revising if I think of changing something at the last moment, while making the last animation, for an example.

The program I made basically automatically makes a .bat file containing commands from this page http://www.aseprite.org/docs/cli/ I can quickly export as .gif or .png sprite, as well as choose whether I need it sized 1x; 2x or whatever. I can share it if you wish, though it's terrribly makeshift. =]

It would be great if you could share it, thanks! If not, thank you for the help and advice. I can also create my own program from this page you linked so its all good. My game requires a bunch of different units so keeping everything together is a lot easier :)

[Achrileg]

http://www.filedropper.com/aseconverter

Tutorial time xd
The order is somewhat important, otherwise the program craps out.

1: select folder;
2: select whether you want gif or png or both, and set the size up;
3: press convert;
4: then press done(dont press) D=. (I saw it worked and didn't bother renaming the button.)

Then it should convert everything according to what you set up.

One thing to watch out - the program creates a .bat file, which launches automatically and get deleted afterward - it always gets deletes - but sometimes it takes a bit, so if you can't delete it, do something else and wait.

If you have a bit of time, you can create a better, more streamlined converter with more features, without issues. I'm just lazy and don't have the source files and don't want to remake it. =]

[Smundie]

Originally posted by Achrileg:

http://www.filedropper.com/aseconverter

Tutorial time xd
The order is somewhat important, otherwise the program craps out.

1: select folder;
2: select whether you want gif or png or both, and set the size up;
3: press convert;
4: then press done(dont press) D=. (I saw it worked and didn't bother renaming the button.)

Then it should convert everything according to what you set up.

One thing to watch out - the program creates a .bat file, which launches automatically and get deleted afterward - it always gets deletes - but sometimes it takes a bit, so if you can't delete it, do something else and wait.

If you have a bit of time, you can create a better, more streamlined converter with more features, without issues. I'm just lazy and don't have the source files and don't want to remake it. =]

Thank you so much. I actually just figured out how to do the process in Command Prompt, so I might be able to improve upon your original converter. Thanks again.

[Achrileg]

Originally posted by Neil Tyson:

Thank you so much. I actually just figured out how to do the process in Command Prompt, so I might be able to improve upon your original converter. Thanks again.

No probs, Neil "The Grease" Tyson. Hope to see an improved version some day. =p

[Taloon]

Dude, allow me to show you the solution to all your problems lol:

1. Shoebox;
- drag and drop all your files into it's UI, it automagically places them correctly and aligns them and makes a file that is a power of 2 (for performance) and generates some kind of file for keeping track of their positions and such.

2. TexturePacker;
- samr thing but has more features and can be directly connected to several mainstream engines like unity, monogame, etc (paid version only though). Has a free version.


Research a little about these and you should be set. They bith function by just dragging and dropping your sprites into them. Shoebox is more simplistic but not fully developed I think?