Unity Sprite Tool

Tool Overview:

This is a tool made to be used inside of the Unity Engine.  This tool aims to solve an issue artists will encounter when working with games, where they require the use of external programs such as photoshop, in order to create 2D game assets, for things such as the UI or for a 2D game. To help counteract this problem, I have created this art based tool which should streamline the art process by keeping everything within engine, so the user is able to freely create and different art pieces in one place, without the constant need to alternate between multiple programs. This should also help familarise artists with the game engine itself, by offerign a familiar environment for them to work in.

The main features of this tool include:

• This tool allows the user to both create new and load different art pieces, giving the user the ability to edit pre-existing art assets and also create new art assets that can be added to the game

• The tool provides a canvas space for the user to work within that allows the user to paint different images within the work space. This canvas comes with two main features, Layering and Frames.

  • Similar to other existing art programs this tool has a built in layering system allowing an artist to build different layers for them to work within so create more complex art pieces.

  • Alongside layering there is also frame integration, so the artist can create multi-frame art animations to create sprite sheets for 2D animations that are commonly seen within games. This also comes with a play system that will scroll and loop through the different frames, to allow the artist to preview the animation they are making

• The tool provides multiple brushes that can be used to paint inside the canvas that are commonly seen within other art based programs

  • Paintbrush - the paintbrush can be used to draw different images on the canvas

  • Eraser - the eraser is used to erase areas that have been painted

  • Fill - the Flood fill tool is used to fill in an area using a queue based approach to fill a designated area a certain colour, stopping when it reaches a border

  • Eyedropper - the eyedropper tool is used to set the current colour to the colour that is being hovered over

• To go alongside the different brushes, the user can also increase and decrease their brush size so they can paint over a larger area, this also comes alongside to brush modes so the user can paint using a circular or square brush

• The tool has a Undo/Redo system in place so the user can undo any mistakes they have made within the tool, and if necessary bring them back if they go to far. The Undo/Redo feature uses a stack approach, and has a finite size so the user can only store a certain number of changes

• There is also copy and paste integration so the user can copy different layers and transfer them over to a new layer or frame 

• To make the tool more accessibility there is hotkey integration so they user can easily switch between different brushes and alternate their chosen brush size, as well as have quick access to features such as the Undo/Redo system and copying and pasting

• For the brushes the tool also provides a way to switch colours so they can paint images using a variety of colours, and alongside this there is swatch integration so different colours can be stored and switched between with ease

• For the layering and frame system, for more accessibility the user has the ability to rename different layers, and move the order of both layers and frames so the artist can freely edit their work. There is also the ability to delete layers and frames so they are not permanent. Each of these features are logged as changes within the Undo/Redo system so deleted things can be brought back, and this also prevents any errors when logged changes prior don't line up with the new layering order

• There is also a visibility toggle integrated into each layer so the user can toggle on and off different layers to view each individual layer of their art piece, and so they can also remove it.

• The tool also provides a symmetry tool so the user can paint with a line of symmetry down the middle so drawing certain art pieces can be done more effectively

• The tool has a built in export feature that allows the user to export the art piece they have made, into either a sprite or sprite sheet depending on what they have made into a png format that can be used, combining the different layers into one image

• The tool also has built in custom file saving. This means that the user can save their current paint project into a save file that can later be loaded retaining all of the information that was within there paint project such as the frames and layers so the user can later re-visit their project, just like other paint tools offer so the artist does not lose any of the work they have made.