gavinmcfall/art-pipeline

art-pipeline

The best art pipeline is the one you actually use. Start simple. Automate later.

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Capsule: SourceOfTruth

Invariant Every asset has one source file and one export target. The source file is the editable original (layers, vectors, animation frames). The export is the game-ready file. Never edit exports directly.

Example player_idle.ase (source, Aseprite) → export → player_idle.png (game-ready). Need to change the player? Edit the .ase, re-export. Never open the PNG in a pixel editor. //BOUNDARY: Quick one-off assets (placeholder rectangles, debug markers) can skip the source file. But anything that will ship needs a source.

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Folder Structure

project/
├── assets/                    ← game-ready exports (committed to git)
│   ├── sprites/
│   │   ├── player/
│   │   ├── enemies/
│   │   ├── items/
│   │   └── effects/
│   ├── tilesets/
│   ├── ui/
│   ├── backgrounds/
│   └── audio/                 ← see sound-designer skill
│
├── art-source/                ← editable source files
│   ├── sprites/               ← mirrors assets/ structure
│   │   ├── player/
│   │   ├── enemies/
│   │   ├── items/
│   │   └── effects/
│   ├── tilesets/
│   ├── ui/
│   └── backgrounds/
│
└── marketing/                 ← Steam capsule, screenshots, trailer
    ├── capsule/
    ├── screenshots/
    └── trailer/

Key Rules

• assets/ mirrors art-source/ in structure. Same subfolders, same naming.
• Source files go in art-source/. Exports go in assets/.
• art-source/ can be gitignored if files are too large — but back them up (MinIO, external drive).
• marketing/ is separate because marketing assets have different requirements (resolutions, formats, Steam specs).

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Naming Conventions

[subject]_[variant]_[state]_[frame].png

| Component | Examples | Notes | |-----------|----------|-------| | subject | player, slime, sword, tile_grass | What the asset is | | variant | red, elite, rusty | Optional — for variations | | state | idle, run, attack, dead | Animation state | | frame | 01, 02, 03 | For sprite sheets / animation frames |

Examples:

• player_idle_01.png
• slime_red_attack_03.png
• sword_rusty.png (no state — static item)
• tile_grass_center.png

Rules:

• All lowercase
• Underscores between components, never spaces or hyphens
• Zero-padded frame numbers (01 not 1)
• No special characters, no unicode

Source vs Export naming: Aseprite stores all animation frames in one .ase file. The source file is named without frame numbers: player_idle.ase. On export (File -> Export Sprite Sheet or batch export), frames become player_idle_01.png, player_idle_02.png, etc. One source file, many export files.

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Tools for Getting Started

Pick ONE tool per category. Learn it. Switch only if it genuinely blocks you.

Pixel Art (Recommended Start for 2D)

Aseprite — The standard for pixel art. Costs ~$20 or compile from source for free.

• Sprite creation, animation, sprite sheet export
• Tileset support built in
• Layer management, onion skinning

LibreSprite — Free, open-source fork of older Aseprite. Fewer features but functional.

2D Illustration

Krita — Free, open-source. Full painting/illustration tool.

• Good for larger-scale 2D art, concept art, backgrounds
• Overkill for pixel art (use Aseprite instead)

Tile Map Editors

LDtk — Modern tile map editor by the creator of Dead Cells.

• Exports JSON that most engines can read
• Auto-tiling, entity placement, level design

Tiled — The long-standing standard. More features, steeper learning curve.

3D (If Needed)

Blender — Free, does everything. Steep learning curve but enormous community and tutorials.

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Asset Types and Specs

Sprites

| Property | Recommendation | |----------|---------------| | Format | PNG (lossless, transparency) | | Size | Power of 2 not required for modern engines, but keep consistent within a category | | Resolution | Choose one base resolution and stick with it. Common: 16x16, 32x32, 48x48, 64x64 | | Color depth | 32-bit RGBA |

Tilesets

| Property | Recommendation | |----------|---------------| | Tile size | 16x16 or 32x32 for pixel art; match sprite scale | | Format | Single PNG atlas with consistent grid | | Padding | 1px between tiles to prevent bleeding | | Export | Atlas + JSON metadata (LDtk or Tiled export) |

UI Elements

| Property | Recommendation | |----------|---------------| | Format | PNG with transparency | | Style | Match game's art style but prioritize readability | | 9-slice | Use 9-slice/9-patch for resizable panels and buttons |

Sprite Sheets

Combine animation frames into a single image:

player_idle_sheet.png (4 frames, 32x32 each = 128x32 total)
┌────┬────┬────┬────┐
│ 01 │ 02 │ 03 │ 04 │
└────┴────┴────┴────┘

Export from Aseprite: File → Export Sprite Sheet → choose layout.

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Art Production Sizing

Art takes longer than you think. Use these estimates for sprint planning:

| Asset | Size | Estimate (Beginner) | |-------|------|---------------------| | Simple sprite (16x16, few colors) | S | 30-60 min | | Detailed sprite (32x32, animated) | M | 2-4 hours | | Character with full animation set | L | 1-2 days | | Tileset (basic, 20-30 tiles) | L | 1-2 days | | Full tileset (60+ tiles, autotile) | XL | 3-5 days | | UI mockup (one screen) | M | 2-4 hours | | Background/parallax (one layer) | M | 2-4 hours |

These are beginner estimates. They get faster with practice, but NOT as fast as you hope.

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Version Control for Art

What to Commit

• assets/ (exported PNGs) — always commit. These are small and essential.
• art-source/ — commit if files are reasonable size (<50MB total). Otherwise gitignore and back up separately.

Large File Strategy

If source files are large (PSD, Blender files):

1. Add art-source/ to .gitignore
2. Back up to MinIO bucket (see n8n-workflow-builder for automation)
3. Keep a art-source/README.md listing what's stored and where the backup lives

Git LFS

For projects with many large source files, consider Git LFS. But for a solo dev starting out, the gitignore + backup approach is simpler.

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Constraints

• One source file per asset. Never edit exports directly.
• Follow naming conventions. No exceptions.
• Folder structure mirrors between art-source/ and assets/.
• Pick one resolution per asset category and stick with it.
• Back up source files that aren't in git. Lost source files can't be recreated.
• Art tasks in sprint-manager use the production sizing estimates, not optimistic guesses.

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For AI Assistants

When helping with art pipeline:

1. Check the folder structure: Does it follow the convention? If not, help set it up.
2. Enforce naming: If the user names something Player Idle (2).png, gently redirect to player_idle_02.png.
3. Size honestly: When the user plans art tasks, reference the production sizing table. "A full character animation set is an L — that's 1-2 days for a beginner."
4. Source file discipline: If the user edits an export directly, flag it. "Edit the source file and re-export. This way you keep layers and can change it later."
5. Scope check: If art production plans seem large, invoke scope-guardian. "50 unique enemy sprites at M each is 100-200 hours of art. Is that Core scope?"

When the user is choosing art tools:

• Recommend Aseprite for pixel art, Krita for 2D illustration
• Discourage tool-shopping: "Pick one, learn it for a month, then evaluate"
• Check if the tool exports to formats the game engine supports

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Deeper

• The scope-guardian skill — Art scope is content scope
• The prototype-coach skill — Art tests validate style feasibility
• The gdd-writer skill — Art Direction section
• The n8n-workflow-builder skill — Automating asset processing
• The sound-designer skill — Audio assets follow similar pipeline patterns

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Organized assets compound. Messy assets multiply. Name it right the first time.