🎨 Character Sprite Sheet Animator

About this character sprite animator

Character Sprite Animator builds animation out of parts rather than by redrawing every frame. You attach body parts to each other, key their position, rotation, scale and opacity over time, and it renders the finished cycle out as frames.

Because parts can be parented, moving an upper arm carries the forearm and hand with it. That is what makes a walk cycle a matter of a few keyframes per limb instead of a redraw per frame.

How to use it

1. Add body parts and set each one's parent layer so the skeleton hangs together.
2. Position the playhead, pose the part, and add a keyframe. Repeat down the timeline.
3. Choose the easing between keys — linear, ease in, ease out or ease in-out — so movement accelerates rather than sliding at a constant speed.
4. Start from the built-in walk cycle or idle cycle preset when you want a base to modify rather than a blank timeline.
5. Turn on onion skinning to see neighbouring frames, and use warp points where a part needs to bend rather than pivot.

Formats and options

• Export as a sprite sheet PNG, an animated GIF, or individual frame PNGs.
• Sheet exports take a column and row count, frame width and height, padding and a background colour.
• Undo and redo cover the whole edit history; keyframes can be copied and pasted between parts.
• A hold value in ticks lets one pose sit for several frames without duplicating keys.
• Save the rig and timeline into the browser and reopen it later.