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Tutorial

This tutorial walks you through the full workflow from an empty scene to an exported LÖVE 2D sprite sheet. You'll import a model, configure animations and lighting, set up sequences, run a workflow, and export — all using a sample project provided below.

What You'll Learn

  • Importing and removing a model
  • Changing the active animation
  • Adding a light to the scene
  • Creating animation sequences
  • Running a directional workflow
  • Adding export-time spritesheet postprocess effects
  • Exporting to LÖVE 2D format

Step 1 — Download the Sample Project

Download the sample project below and extract it to a folder on your machine.

Download sample project

The archive contains:

  • tutorial.sshProj — a pre-configured project file with a model already set up
  • character_2.glb — the 3D character model used in this tutorial

Open the project in Sprite Sheet Helper via File > Open Project and select tutorial.sshProj.

Step 2 — Import a Model

The project comes with a model loaded, but let's practice importing one from scratch.

  1. Go to File > Import Model.
  2. Navigate to the extracted folder and select character_2.glb.
  3. The model appears in the center viewport and the left panel lists it in the scene tree.

Step 3 — Remove the Model

Now remove the model you just imported so we can work with the one from the project file.

  1. In the left panel, click the model entry to select it.
  2. Right-click and choose Remove, or press Delete.
  3. The viewport clears. The project's original model is still in the scene — it was not affected.

If the viewport looks empty after removing, the project model may have been the one you imported. Re-open the project via File > Open Project to restore it.

Step 4 — Use the Existing Model

With the project model in place you should see the character standing in the viewport. Take a moment to explore the scene:

  • Left-click + drag in the viewport to orbit the camera.
  • Scroll to zoom in and out.
  • Click the model entry in the left panel to inspect its transform (position, rotation, scale) in the properties area.

Step 5 — Change the Animation

The model has several animation clips embedded. Let's switch to the walk cycle.

  1. In the Export panel on the right, find the Animation dropdown.
  2. Open the dropdown — you'll see all available clips (e.g. idle, walk, run).
  3. Select walk.
  4. The viewport updates to preview the walk animation in a loop.

To adjust the clip, open the Animations panel from the menu bar and configure speed or loop mode as needed.

Step 6 — Add a Light

The default scene has basic lighting. Let's add a directional light to give the character more definition.

  1. Open the Lighting tab from the menu bar.
  2. Click Add Light and choose Directional.
  3. A new directional light appears in the scene and in the left panel.
  4. Adjust its Intensity to around 1.2 and set the Color to a warm white.
  5. Move the light's Position so it comes from slightly above and to the left of the model — this creates a clear key light with visible shadows.

Step 7 — Add a Sequence

Sequences let you define which animation clips to include in the export and in what order.

  1. Open the Export panel on the right.
  2. Find the Sequences section and click Add Sequence.
  3. Name the sequence walk.
  4. Set the Animation to the walk clip.
  5. Set Frames to 8 and FPS to 10.
  6. Repeat to add an idle sequence using the idle clip.

You should now have two sequences queued for export.

Step 8 — Run a Workflow

Workflows automatically capture every sequence from every camera direction in one pass. For a top-down game with 4 directional movement:

  1. Open the Workflows tab from the menu bar.
  2. Select the Top-Down 4-Directional preset.
  3. Confirm the frame size (e.g. 128×128) and FPS match your sequences.
  4. Click Run Workflow.

The app rotates the model to each direction (N, E, S, W), captures all sequences, and assembles the atlas. When it finishes the export panel shows the completed sprite sheet.

The output will contain 8 labeled sequences: idle_N, idle_E, idle_S, idle_W, walk_N, walk_E, walk_S, walk_W.

Step 9 — Add Spritesheet Postprocess (Optional)

Spritesheet Postprocess runs after capture and before atlas packing. It is useful for clean 2D outlines and shadows that are easier to control on captured frames than in the 3D viewport.

  1. In the Export panel, expand Spritesheet Postprocess.
  2. Enable the section.
  3. Add Outer Outline.
  4. Choose Crisp Pixel if you want nearest-pixel edges.
  5. Use the animated preview and draggable before/after divider to compare the captured frames with the processed result.

The outline may add transparent padding so it does not clip at atlas edges. The exported JSON reflects the processed frame size.

Step 10 — Export to LÖVE 2D

  1. In the Export panel, open the Format dropdown.
  2. Select LÖVE 2D (Lua).
  3. Click Export and choose a destination folder.

The export produces:

spritesheet.png    ← the full sprite atlas
spritesheet.lua    ← Lua module with all animation definitions
main.lua           ← example usage you can paste into your game

Using the Output in LÖVE 2D

local sprite = require("spritesheet")

function love.load()
  character = sprite.load("spritesheet.png")
  current = "walk_S"
end

function love.update(dt)
  character:update(current, dt)
end

function love.draw()
  character:draw(current, 400, 300)
end

You're Done

You've completed the full workflow: imported a model, configured animations and lighting, set up sequences, generated a multi-directional sprite sheet with a workflow, and exported it ready for LÖVE 2D.

From here you can explore other export formats in the Exporting doc, or learn how to use the CLI to automate this same process as part of a build pipeline.