Getting started

Five minutes from an empty canvas to a sprite you can use.

1. Start #

When the program opens it shows the start screen.

On the left, the ways in: Open..., Import sprite sheet..., the Library and this User guide.
In the middle, a card for each preset size, and under them the files you opened recently, each with a picture of its own (the first time, there are three ways into this guide instead).
On the right, the details of the new document (name, size, background and the starting palette) and a tip below.

Pick a preset card (Tile 32 x 32 is a good first one) and press Create, or choose Start with a blank canvas. For a canvas of your own size, set the width and height on the right. File > New (Ctrl+N) brings the start screen up for the same questions.

You can bring the start screen back any time with File > Start screen.

2. Draw #

The pencil is chosen already. Press B for it any time.
Click a colour in the Palette panel on the left, then click and drag on the canvas.
Press E for the eraser, G to fill an area, I to pick a colour from the canvas.
Press R for a rectangle, U for an ellipse, L for a line. Drag them out, then drag their handles: a shape stays a shape.
Scroll the wheel to zoom, hold Space and drag to pan, Ctrl+0 to fit the canvas to the window.

Made a mistake? Ctrl+Z undoes, Ctrl+Shift+Z (or Ctrl+Y) redoes, as far back as the undo depth in Preferences allows.

3. Use layers #

The Layers panel on the right lists the layers. Add makes a new one above the picked one. A layer holds elements, one per colour you painted in plus any shapes; the Elements panel lists them. Everything is described in Layers and elements.

4. Make it move (optional) #

Press T to open the timeline. + Frame adds a frame; draw on it; press Enter to play. The timeline opens over the canvas when you want it and tucks away when you do not; Pin keeps it docked. See Animation.

5. Save #

File > Save (Ctrl+S) asks where to put a .lsprite file, which keeps everything: layers, frames, palettes, shapes and history of what each element is.

6. Get it out #

For use in a game or on the web, File > Export PNG writes a picture at 1x to 16x, Export animation writes a GIF, animated PNG or WebP, and Export sheet lays the frames into one image with a description a game engine can read. After the first export, File > Export again (Ctrl+Shift+E) repeats it to the same file with the current settings. See Opening, saving and exporting.

Next #

Drawing for every tool.
Colour and palettes for the slot system.
Panels, themes and preferences to make the program look and feel the way you want.

This is the guide that ships inside the program (F1).