Import From Sprites¶

The Character Editor imports PNG and GIF files as sprite frames. You can import when creating a character, or at any time afterwards by dropping files onto the editor.

What Gets Imported¶

PNG files become individual sprite frames.

Animated GIF files are split into their frames, and the GIF's own timing is converted into frame durations automatically.

Prefer GIFs. Importing an animated GIF gives you a working animation with sensible timing in one step, where importing loose PNGs leaves you setting every duration by hand.

Imported sprites are copied into the character folder and registered in spriteSettings.json, named by index in the order they were added.

Imported sprites are custom art. They do not require Use Sprites from, even when the character uses a Classic character as its logic reference. Those are separate concepts — see below.

Where to Drop Them¶

The drop target decides what happens, which makes this the fastest part of the editor once you know it:

Drop onto	Result
All Sprites panel	Adds sprites to the character's library without touching any animation.
Preview	The currently selected frame uses the dropped art. Good for replacing one reference frame with custom art.
Timeline	Adds or replaces animation frames. Dropping over existing placeholder or reference frames fills them while keeping the animation's structure.
An animation in the left panel	Creates or fills that animation's frames.

Reusing Another Entity's Art¶

Use Sprites from is not part of sprite import and most characters should leave it empty.

Set it only when this entity should genuinely reuse another entity's whole sprite library — a playable version of an enemy, or an enemy version of a playable character. It is a real commitment: the reused art must follow the referenced entity's palette layout, and should stay compatible with palettes made for that entity.

When Use Sprites from is set, an extra action appears in animation settings: Fill From Ref, which replaces the current animation from one of the referenced entity's animations.

What it copies depends on the mode you are in, and the difference matters:

Mod characters — copies the frame art and the animation logic, replacing existing hit boxes, body boxes, events, script references and throw data. This applies whether the referenced art comes from Classic or from another mod entity.
Classic Reskins — copies frame and art data only. The Classic reference logic is left intact.

So for a mod character, Fill From Ref is destructive to work you have already done on that animation. Use it early, not late.

Import Tips¶

Keep canvas size and sprite scale consistent across frames. Inconsistent canvases mean every frame needs its own pivot correction, and the boxes drift with them — this is the single biggest source of avoidable alignment work.

After importing, work through Pivots and Offsets, then Animations and Frames, then Body and Hit Boxes, in that order.