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.
Note: To use sprites, make sure the 2D Sprite package is installed in your project. For more information, refer to set up your project for 2D games.
| 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 | Generate or create the shapes that Unity uses to determine if a sprite collides with other sprites. |
| Sorting sprites | Control the order of sprites with sorting layers, sorting groups, and distance calculations. |
| Scaling sprites dynamically using 9-slicing | Set up sprites so they stretch or repeat when you resize them, so you don’t need to create multiple sprites for different sizes. |
| Masking sprites | Hide or reveal parts of a sprite or a group of sprites. |
| Packing sprites into a sprite atlas | Optimize the performance of your project by combining multiple textures into a single texture. |
| Sprite asset reference | Explore the properties of a sprite asset. |
| Sprite Renderer component reference | Explore the properties you can use to customize how Unity renders a sprite in the scene. |
| Sprite Editor window reference | Explore the properties and settings you use to create sprites from a texture, edit its meshes, and rig a sprite for animation. |
| 2D Profiler module reference | Explore the properties and settings of the 2D module in the Profiler window. |