AniSprite – Unity Tool

Roles: Developer
Project: 2D Unity Tool
Length: January 2015 – March 2015
Snapshot: This is a animation tool that provides a simple way to animate sprites in Unity without having to use Unity’s default animation.

Gif demo of various features

Showing AniSprite’s four main features. Left-to-Right, auto play, call saved animations, using call backs for interaction, and stitching animations.

Overview

While working for a 2D project in Unity we were animating a sprite sheets. However, in Unity the default animation system requires animation files and then animation controllers which can become a hassle for plain and simple 2D sprite animation. I decided to develop an editor tool to help with providing basic animation. At one point I did consider submitting it to teh asset store and even created a trailer for it.

A trailer made in Blender when I was thinking of sharing it on the asset store

Details

AniSprite uses Unity’s native multiple sprite format. A user can pull animations from the same sheet for different objects to save on draw calls in the game for increased performance. Starting from the idea to keep it simple once sprites are defined you can run the game and it will loop through the sprite sheet as an animation.

Of course I added more features to increase useability. See this documentation I wrote for using the asset linked here.

image of editor in unity with the various panels and sprite sheet

Example of editor in Unity with the various panels and controls and example sprite sheet

Features

  • Set frame rate, looping and play direction.
  • Can save set frames, name them and load them for animation control.
  • Can save animations in groups for state-like control.
  • A view window for the sprite sheet. Can zoom and pop out the window.
  • Can add an extension script to object to combine and loop saved animations for more complex scenes.
  • Uses managed co-routines to keep up performance.
  • Supports end animation callbacks.