Sprite Bump

Sprite Bump is a lightweight yet powerful piece of software that enables you to generate maps for 2D sprite characters. While the characters are 2D, you should keep in mind that you can significantly enhance their appearance by tweaking the different lighting conditions of your 3D engine.

The setup is simple, quick and uneventful, especially since it entails following a few standard steps you probably got accustomed to by now. When you launch the application, you can specify whether you would like to load a previous project or start a new one and load the original image you are going to be working with.

While it can help you get results comparable to 3D, it is necessary to mention that the app solely supports PNG images. You should know that the program generates a standard map and an ambient occlusion map whenever you start a new project, the latter having the role of making your images look more realistic when employed with a physically based renderer.

Even though the utility may seem minimalistic at first sight, do not let the appearance fool you. The idea behind the tool is to help you generate character map that can be used in game engines such as Unity, Unreal or any other that relies on the Pixel Shader pipeline.

The highlight of the application stems from Smart Surface, a function that permits you to paint on top of the normal map and hence, seamlessly modify the surface of the 2D characters more efficiently. The app includes direct brushes, custom texture and blur brushes, so you should not have a hard time editing the depth and texture in no time.

Sprite Bump is an application that can help you create characters for budget-tight projects as well as allow you to hone your designer skills and talent.