Sprites are a type of 2D assetAny media or data that can be used in your game or project. An asset may come from a file created outside of Unity, such as a 3D Model, an audio file or an image. You can also create some asset types in Unity, such as an Animator Controller, an Audio Mixer or a Render Texture. More info
See in Glossary you can use in your Unity project. Use this section to learn how to set up your spritesA 2D graphic objects. If you are used to working in 3D, Sprites are essentially just standard textures but there are special techniques for combining and managing sprite textures for efficiency and convenience during development. More info
See in Glossary and manage them with different components.
If you’re used to working in 3D, sprites are similar to standard textures but there are special techniques to combine and manage sprite textures for efficiency during development.
Important: You must have the 2D Sprite package installed to have the following features. This package is part of the 2D feature set and is automatically installed if you select the 2D template when creating a new project. You can also manually install this package via Unity’s Package Manager.
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Add placeholder sprites | To quickly test sprites, create temporary placeholder sprites. A placeholder sprite is a simple white shape, for example a triangle, a square, or a capsule. |
| Import a sprite or spritesheet texture | Import an image and use it as a sprite or set of sprites in a 2D sceneA Scene contains the environments and menus of your game. Think of each unique Scene file as a unique level. In each Scene, you place your environments, obstacles, and decorations, essentially designing and building your game in pieces. More info See in Glossary. |
| Cut out sprites from a texture | To create sprites from a texture, use the default Sprite Editor tab of the Sprite Editor window. |
| Crop a sprite | Remove transparent pixelsThe smallest unit in a computer image. Pixel size depends on your screen resolution. Pixel lighting is calculated at every screen pixel. More info See in Glossary from a sprite or crop the sprite to a custom shape. |
| Create collision shapes for a sprite | Edit the geometry of a ColliderAn invisible shape that is used to handle physical collisions for an object. A collider doesn’t need to be exactly the same shape as the object’s mesh - a rough approximation is often more efficient and indistinguishable in gameplay. More info See in Glossary 2D component. |
| Sprites sorting | Sort your sprites in Unity. |
| Sorting Group | Use Sorting Groups to group GameObjectsThe fundamental object in Unity scenes, which can represent characters, props, scenery, cameras, waypoints, and more. A GameObject’s functionality is defined by the Components attached to it. More info See in Glossary together with Sprite RenderersA component that lets you display images as Sprites for use in both 2D and 3D scenes. More info See in Glossary. |
| Reuse an image at various sizes without multiple assets | Apply 9-slicing to reuse your sprites in various sizes. |
| MaskCan refer to a Sprite Mask, a UI Mask, or a Layer Mask More info See in Glossary |
Hide or reveal parts of a sprite or a group of sprites. |
| Sprite AtlasGraphics: A utility that packs several sprite textures tightly together within a single texture known as an atlas. More info. 2D: A texture that is composed of several smaller textures. Also referred to as a texture atlas, image sprite, sprite sheet or packed texture. More info. See in Glossary |
Optimize the performance of video memory in your project. |
| Sprite asset reference | Explore the properties of a sprite asset. |
| Sprite Shape Renderer reference | Explore the properties and settings of the Sprite Shape Renderer component. |
| Sprite Editor window reference | Explore the properties and settings of the tabs in the Sprite Editor window. |