---name: spritecook-generate-spritesdescription: Still-image generation guide for SpriteCook. Use with spritecook-workflow-essentials when generating pixel art or detailed/HD assets, choosing models, and keeping style consistency with reference assets.---

SpriteCook Generate Sprites

Use this skill for still-image generation. Pair it with spritecook-workflow-essentials for credits, manifests, safe downloads, and shared defaults.

Requires: SpriteCook MCP server connected to your editor. Set up with npx spritecook-mcp setup or see spritecook.ai.

For a complete UI screen or cohesive UI system, stop and use spritecook-build-ui-kits instead. The UI-kit workflow creates one coherent concept before extracting reusable controls and states. Keep generate_game_art(mode="ui") for one isolated icon, badge, button, control, divider, frame, or decoration.

Tool

generate_game_art

Generate game art assets from a text prompt. Supports both pixel art and detailed/HD styles. Returns a job immediately by default; follow the returned poll.tool and poll.arguments until the assets are ready. Pass wait_seconds only when an explicit bounded wait is useful.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
prompt	string (required)	-	What to generate. Be specific about subject, pose, and view angle
width	int	64	Width in pixels (16-512)
height	int	64	Height in pixels (16-512)
variations	int	1	Number of variations (1-4)
pixel	bool	true	True for pixel art, false for detailed/HD art
bg_mode	string	"transparent"	"transparent", "white", or "include"
theme	string	null	Art theme context, e.g. "dark fantasy medieval"
style	string	null	Style direction, e.g. "16-bit SNES style"
aspect_ratio	string	"1:1"	"1:1", "16:9", or "9:16"
smart_crop	bool	true	Auto-crop to content bounds
smart_crop_mode	string	"tightest"	Use "tightest" by default. Use "power_of_2" only when explicitly requested
model	string	null	Optional generation model. Call list_generation_models for current options and costs.
mode	string	"assets"	"assets", "texture", or "ui". Use "ui" only for one isolated UI asset; use spritecook-build-ui-kits for screens or systems.
resolution	string	"1K"	"1K", "2K", or "4K"
quality	string	"medium"	GPT-Image-2 quality tier: "low", "medium", or "high". Higher quality costs more credits.
colors	string[]	null	Hex color palette, max 64
style_asset_ids	string[]	null	Owned asset IDs to use as ambient style guide images, max 10
reference_asset_id	string	null	Asset ID to use as one specific visual/context reference
edit_asset_id	string	null	Asset ID to edit/modify with the new prompt
wait_seconds	int	0	Optional bounded wait from 0-90 seconds before returning the polling contract

Referenced assets must belong to the user's account. style_asset_ids can be combined with either reference_asset_id or edit_asset_id. Do not combine reference_asset_id and edit_asset_id.

If the user provides local image file paths for these references, use spritecook-upload-assets first and pass the returned asset IDs into the appropriate reference field.

Reference Roles

• Use style_asset_ids for style guide images: ambient style, palette, proportions, rendering, and art-direction context. This is the normal choice when generating a new related asset that should match an existing collection, such as giving three existing buildings as style guides before asking for a new building type. SpriteCook already treats these images as style references; mention them in the prompt only when the user wants a specific trait called out.
• Use reference_asset_id when one specific asset is the source or context for the prompt, such as make a building in a similar style to this one, give me just the door sprite, or use this character as the visual reference.
• Use edit_asset_id when the user wants a direct modification of one existing asset, such as make this roof red, remove the sign, or change the helmet color.

list_generation_models

List available still-image generation models, pixel-art support, reference-image limits, supported quality options, and SpriteCook credit costs per image. Call this when choosing a model or when the user asks what models/costs are currently available.

list_character_workflows

List guided pixel-art character perspectives, default animation ids, source-view/prep requirements, frame counts, and credit estimates.

Perspectives and preset animations:

Perspective	Defaults	Presets
platformer	idle, walk, jump	idle, walk, jump, run, attack, hurt, death
isometric	idle, walk_down, walk_right	idle, idle_back, walk_down, walk_right, jump_back, jump_front, run_down, run_right, attack, hurt, death
topdown	idle, walk_up, walk_right, walk_down	idle, idle_back, idle_right, walk_up, walk_down, walk_right, attack, hurt, death

generate_character

Generate a base pixel-art character with SpriteCook's recommended character settings: 64x64, transparent background, 1K square, tight smart crop, and the perspective-specific character prompt rewrite. Returns a job immediately by default; when complete, the first generated asset is the character_id.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
prompt	string (required)	-	Character description
perspective	string (required)	-	platformer, isometric, or topdown
model	string	null	Optional generation model. Call list_generation_models for current options and costs.
quality	string	"medium"	GPT-Image-2 quality tier: "low", "medium", or "high"
wait_seconds	int	0	Optional bounded wait from 0-90 seconds before returning the polling contract

generate_character_animations

Generate preset and/or custom animations for a base character asset. Returns a character-animation run immediately by default; follow the returned polling contract until canonical assets entries are ready.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
character_id	string (required)	-	Base character asset id returned by generate_character
perspective	string (required)	-	Same perspective used for the base character
animation_ids	string[]	perspective defaults	Preset ids from list_character_workflows
custom_animations	object[]	null	Custom animations with { id, label, prompt, source_view, output_frames }
bg_removal_provider	string	"basic"	basic or photoroom
wait_seconds	int	0	Optional bounded wait from 0-90 seconds before returning the polling contract

Custom animations use the custom prompt as the final animation prompt and skip preset prompt enhancement. source_view defaults to front_idle; if another source view needs prep, SpriteCook uses the matching workflow prep dependency for that perspective.

Example custom animation:

{
  "label": "Spin Attack",
  "prompt": "Spin in place with a quick sword slash, looping cleanly.",
  "source_view": "right_walk",
  "output_frames": 8
}

check_character_animation_run

Check a guided character animation run by id. Returns run status, item statuses, canonical generated assets, prep state, failures, and credits.

Async Result Contract

• Follow the returned poll.tool with its exact poll.arguments; use check_job_status for jobs and check_character_animation_run for character-animation runs.
• Treat operation_id as the generic operation identifier while retaining job_id or run_id for the matching poll tool.
• On success, use each asset's asset_id and sprite_url. Use spritesheet_url only when an animation also provides a spritesheet.
• If a successful response contains warning.code="asset_output_unavailable", execute the supplied warning.recovery tool call instead of searching arbitrary nested URL fields.

Working Style

• Be specific about subject, pose, camera/view angle, and key materials.
• Call list_generation_models when current model names, pixel-art support, quality options, or credit costs matter.
• When the user asks to use a saved preset, use list_presets and get_preset_settings first, then map the returned prompt, style, model, size, color, and reference guidance into generate_game_art.
• Use list_character_workflows, generate_character, and generate_character_animations when the user wants a directly usable animated character set.
• Route menus, HUDs, inventories, dialogs, settings screens, overlays, and other complete UI compositions to spritecook-build-ui-kits.
• Default to pixel art unless the user asks for HD, detailed, smooth, realistic, or high-res output.
• When the user wants the same character or item in multiple outputs, generate one canonical still asset first and reuse that asset ID.
• Use style_asset_ids for follow-up generations that should keep the same visual style, especially when a preset returns settings.reference.styleAssetIds.
• Use reference_asset_id when the prompt depends on one specific visual/context reference asset.
• Use edit_asset_id when directly modifying one existing SpriteCook asset.
• Do not generate multiple independent still variations when the real goal is one consistent character plus later animations.
• Prefer smart_crop_mode="tightest" unless the user explicitly asks for "power_of_2".

Consistency Rules

• For a motion set like idle, walk, attack, or hurt: generate the base character once, then animate that exact asset_id separately for each motion.
• For asset variations that should stay recognizably the same design, prefer edit_asset_id for direct modification or style_asset_ids for style guidance over a brand-new unreferenced generation.
• Only skip a reference when the user explicitly wants different designs to explore.

Pixel Art vs Detailed Art

Pixel art (pixel: true, default):

• Crisp hard edges, no anti-aliasing, visible pixel grid
• Automatic pixel-perfect post-processing for clean grid alignment
• Best for retro games, indie games, and 8-bit/16-bit projects

Detailed/HD art (pixel: false):

• Smooth gradients, fine detail, anti-aliased edges
• Higher fidelity output without pixel grid constraints
• Best for HD 2D games, concept art, and marketing assets

Choose based on the game's art direction. When the user does not specify, default to pixel art.