Create item sprites

Sprite sources produce transparent 16×16 PNGs with deterministic pixel placement, shading and grain. They can be used by general games or Minecraft item packs. The current minecraft-item-v1 profile name selects the sprite compiler's rules; it does not restrict where the resulting PNG may be used.

Build a complete sprite

Save this complete source as gem.ashfox in a folder without an ancestor workspace:

ashfox-model 1
sprite gem {
  profile = "minecraft-item-v1";
  canvas = (16px, 16px);
  palette { edge = #392b59; light = #bca3ef; }
  paint crystal {
    at = (5px, 4px);
    rows = ["..ee..", ".elle.", "elllle", ".elle.", "..ee.."];
    colors { e = edge; l = light; }
  }
}

npx --no-install ashfox build gem.ashfox --json

Use the actual export directory from the response. It contains gem.png. In a configured project, register the file as an entry and add a PNG export as shown in Project configuration.

Paint and compose

Rows have equal width. . leaves a pixel transparent; every other character must have a color binding. Coordinates are integer pixels from the canvas's top-left. Layers run in declaration order, so later paint can cover earlier work.

Part masks use 1 and .. Materials define a three-color shadow/base/light ramp or a generated ramp with a declared preset. The part's shade declares flat, round or bevel, light: top_left and contrast 0–2. Bevel also requires its axis. Grain uses mode: clustered-v1, amount 0–1 and an integer seed. Patches have local at, rows, colors and protection width 0–2 and must remain inside the part mask. Use patches = []; when there are none.

Start with apple source and its shared module for complete part, ramp, patch and reusable-shape examples. Keep both files. Standalone imports must stay below the entry directory. A configured project must declare every imported module. Use explicit relative paths; sprite package-name imports are not supported.

The canvas is fixed at 16×16 in the current profile. Out-of-bounds placement, unbound row characters, unknown settings and invalid shading parameters fail compilation. Enlarging a preview does not increase the delivered resolution.

Review pixels

npx --no-install ashfox capture gem.ashfox --scale 16 --background checker --output gem-preview.png
npx --no-install ashfox inspect gem.ashfox

Check the native image as well as the enlarged view. inspect returns a receipt and pixel ownership evidence. On sources with shaded parts, use --stage silhouette, --stage shade or --stage grain to inspect the construction.

See observation controls for PNG input, transparency and memory output.

For a general engine, bind the PNG export in game assets and choose sprite filtering and pixels per unit. For Minecraft, bind it to an item resource ID in Minecraft packs.