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Your characters, alive in pixel art

Choose a picture or describe a character, then choose what they do or type it. Each move comes back as a looping sprite with a Discord emoji.

10 Gold a move. The base sprite and downloads are free.

Click anyone

Heroes, shopkeepers, monsters in boxes

Fifteen pictures from the CharGen gallery. Choose a move on a card to play it, or open the card to see how it was made and what you download.

Character
Captain Candor Vane
Character
Bubblespark the Skater
Monster
The Hungry Chest
Character
Emberstring Minstrel
Monster
Owlbear at Tidefall
Monster
The Thorn-Crowned Witch
New: 8 directions

Your character, walking in every direction

Make one picture into a walk in 8 directions for a top-down game. Then add game moves, like a weapon swing or a spell, in the facings you need.

  • Walk in 8 directions 80 Gold
  • Game move 25 Gold a facing
  • Portrait moves 10 Gold

Game moves copy real motion

Each game move follows a recorded 3D move, so steps and swings look real. Your character keeps its own look and what it holds.

  • Weapon swingfacing E
  • Castfacing SE
  • Jumpfacing SE
  • Rollfacing E
  • Punchfacing E
  • Deathfacing SE

Effects and items, part by part

Start from an example or describe your own. Each part is its own short loop, so a fireball can form, fly and burst.

Fireball3 parts, 26 Gold

Effects

Items

Recorded in the sprites library: pick Fireball, press Make, and each part arrives when it is drawn.
Price
The first part is 10 Gold and each more part is 8 Gold. If a part does not draw, its Gold comes back to you.
Touch up
Change a colour in every frame at one time, or fix single pixels with the pencil and the eraser. It is free, for characters too.

From portrait to pixels

Three short films made from real output. The drawing wait is cut. A first set of four takes about a minute.

Take them to the table

Put the sprites where your group already plays: in chat, on the map and in your notes.

Discord

An emoji for each move, small enough for Discord's 256 KB limit.

Your battle map

Animated tokens for virtual tables. The big GIF stays sharp when you zoom in.

SESSION 14 · THE SUNLIT TANKARD

The innkeeper poured three ales before anyone asked, then charged for four.

The bard played until the oni stopped glaring.

Notes and recaps

A GIF works in recaps, handouts and any note app that shows pictures.

Animated GIFFine pixels at full size, for pages and overlays.
Big GIFFour times larger and still sharp, for maps and slides.
Discord emojiSquare and animated, ready for your server.
Sprite sheetAll 8 frames in a row, for game engines.

Your character next

Start from your own picture, or describe a character and CharGen draws the portrait first for 3 Gold.

Example picture: Emberstring Minstrel
Example

What happens next

  1. Choose a picture of one character, or describe one.
  2. Pick one animation: a move like Idle or Hello, or your own words; a game move like a weapon swing; or a walk in 8 directions.
  3. CharGen draws it in 1 to 3 minutes. You can leave the page while it works. Then pick the next one.
A move
10 Gold
A game move, each facing
25 Gold
Walk in 8 directions
80 Gold
Base sprite and downloads
Free

Anything that does not draw gives its Gold back.

Gold is CharGen's credit for pictures, video and sprites. Every plan includes Gold each month, from 900 Gold with Plus at £9.99. Free accounts get 10 Gold a day, up to 100. See plans

Questions

What is a pixel sprite?

A small piece of pixel art of your character. Each move is a short loop, such as a wave or a spell, saved as a GIF.

What is Gold?

Gold is CharGen's credit for pictures, video and sprites. Every plan includes Gold each month, from 900 Gold with Plus at £9.99. Free accounts get 10 Gold a day, up to 100. One move costs 10 Gold.

Is the base sprite the same as Idle?

No. The base sprite is a still picture of your character, and it is free. Idle is a looping move where the character breathes and shifts, and it costs 10 Gold like any other move.

Can I type my own move?

Yes. Any move in an order can be one you type, at the same 10 Gold. Write what the character does, for example “pours ale from a jug into a tankard”. Each order makes one animation.

How does the walk in 8 directions work?

CharGen draws your character standing in 8 directions, then makes one walk video of all 8 at once and cuts a looping 24-frame walk out of each. It costs 80 Gold for all 8. If one direction does not come out, its 10 Gold comes back to you.

What are game moves?

Moves for games, such as idle, run, weapon swing, punch, cast, hurt, death, jump and roll. Each one copies a recorded 3D move, so the steps and swings look real. Pick the facings you need: each facing is 25 Gold.

Does it work for monsters and creatures?

Yes. Anything with a body works: a chest with teeth, an eel, an owlbear, a cube of jelly. Use a clear picture of one creature.

Can I make spell effects and items?

Yes. Start from an example, such as a fireball, a potion or a chest, or describe your own. Each part is its own loop: a fireball can form, fly and burst. The first part is 10 Gold and each more part is 8 Gold.

Can I change a sprite after it is drawn?

Yes, with Touch up. Change a colour in every frame at one time, or fix single pixels with the pencil and the eraser. Touch up is free.

How long does it take?

About a minute for a move, and about 3 minutes for a walk in 8 directions or a game move. You can leave the page. Your sprites keep drawing and wait for you in Pixel Sprites.

What if a move does not draw?

Its 10 Gold comes back to you.

Make your party next

One picture each, then 10 Gold a move.

Free accounts get 10 Gold a day, enough for one move.