SpriteBench
Guide · Unity

Sprite sheets in Unity

Unity's built-in path slices a sheet in the Sprite Editor — for uniform grids you don't need a data file at all. Start with a sheet from the Sheet Maker.

What you need

  • A sprite sheet PNG. A uniform grid is easiest; the Maker's grid mode produces exactly that.
  • The 2D Sprite package (Window → Package Manager → 2D Sprite), which provides the Sprite Editor in modern Unity versions.

Step 1 — import settings

  1. Drag the PNG into your project's Assets folder and select it.
  2. In the Inspector set Texture Type to Sprite (2D and UI).
  3. Set Sprite Mode to Multiple.
  4. For pixel art, set Filter Mode to Point (no filter) and Compression to None — otherwise Unity blurs and re-compresses your crisp pixels.
  5. Click Apply, then open the Sprite Editor from the Inspector.

Step 2 — slice the sheet

  1. In the Sprite Editor, open the Slice menu.
  2. For a uniform grid choose Grid By Cell Size and enter the cell width/height in pixels (for example 48×48), or Grid By Cell Count and enter the column/row counts you packed with.
  3. For irregular sheets, Automatic slicing finds rectangles from transparency — it works best on untrimmed art with clear gaps between sprites.
  4. Click Slice, then Apply. Each cell is now a named sprite under the texture in the Project window.

Step 3 — animate

  1. Select the sprites of one animation in order (Ctrl/Cmd-click in the Project window).
  2. Drag them into the Scene or Hierarchy view. Unity offers to save an AnimationClip and creates a GameObject with a Sprite Renderer and Animator wired up.
  3. Open Window → Animation → Animation to adjust the clip's sample rate (frames per second) and loop setting.

When do I need the .tpsheet file?

The Maker can also export a Unity (.tpsheet) file — a text format listing each frame's rectangle. Unity does not read it natively; it is consumed by the third-party TexturePackerImporter asset from the Asset Store, which some teams use to keep sprite names and pivots in sync with a packed (non-grid) atlas. If you are slicing a grid in the Sprite Editor, skip it. If you packed a trimmed MaxRects atlas and need exact rectangles and names, it saves re-typing coordinates.

Pivot note: sliced sprites default to a centre pivot. For characters standing on a ground line, set the pivot to Bottom in the Sprite Editor (or a custom pivot per sprite) so scale and rotation behave around the feet.

Next steps

Make the sheet · Cut an existing sheet · Phaser instead? See the Phaser guide.