Top Down Sprite Maker (TDSM) is the ultimate pixel art character creator. Developers that care about an unrivalled degree of control, extensibility, and customization need look no further!
Sprite styles
While most similar programs are built around a specific sprite style (art style, directions, supported animations, etc.),
TDSM is built to support
multiple sprite styles. Furthermore, these sprite styles can be distributed as ZIP files, and can thus be
created,
modified, and
shared by the community.
Note: Sprite styles featured in promotional images and videos are freely available but distributed separately.FlexibilityTDSM sprite styles define their own
composition layers, supported
directions (whether 4, 6, or 8), and
animations.
Getting and using sprite stylesThe program launches with a basic "Default" 8-directional 32-bit sprite style that acts as a sort of tech demo.
You can download/buy additional sprite styles online. A collection of sprite styles made or approved by the developer is linked in the Help menus at
About ->
Help ->
Get more sprite styles ->
Approved collection. Sprite styles inspired by established IPs, such as
Pokémon, are always distributed for free.
Making your own sprite stylesMaking sprite styles for TDSM consists of two main components:
- Programming a manifest script file that defines the sprite style's composition logic
- Drawing the assets that are composed according to the rules defined in the script
Scripts are written in
DeltaScript (a scripting language designed by the developer) and the
TDSM scripting API.
Features
CustomizeTDSM gives you complete freedom to customize every facet of your character, yet the sprite assembly rules still ensure that sprites always look good and production-ready.
- Controlled randomization: Generate random sprites with the click of a button. Randomization can be constrained by locking customization layers you wish to exclude.
- Smart layering rules: Customization layers update dynamically based on changes to other layers they depend on.
ConfigureConfigure your sprite sheet to your exact needs. Have
TDSM adapt to your existing projects rather than having to rework code or sprite sheet slicing configurations.
- Sizing: Crop or pad individual sprites to your liking, ranging from 1x1 px to 128x128 px
- Sequencing: Determine which directions and animations to include in the export, and in which order
- Layout: Determine the axis along which directions and animations are exported in the sprite sheet, as well as how distinct animations follow one another
ExportExport sprite sheets and associated data from
TDSM in seconds.
- Sprite sheet as a PNG image
- Sprite sheet metadata as JSON (optional)
- Sprite sheet with customization layers separated as Stipple Effect project (optional)
Save and load sprite dataSprite customization data can be loaded into
TDSM by uploading a JSON metadata file that matches a sprite style present in the current program session.