How to Turn a Sprite Sheet into a GIF (and Back)
Preview a game sprite sheet as an animation and save it as a GIF — set the grid, speed and crisp pixel zoom. Or turn a GIF into a sprite sheet PNG. Free.
3 min read ·
To turn a sprite sheet into a GIF, open Sprite Sheet to GIF, choose Sprite sheet → GIF, add the sheet image, and set the Columns and Rows of the grid. Set the Frames per second and a Zoom (×2–×8 keeps pixel art crisp), check the animation in the preview, and make the GIF. To go the other way, choose GIF → sprite sheet and download a PNG.
Sprite sheet to GIF step by step
- Open Sprite Sheet to GIF and choose Sprite sheet → GIF.
- Add the sprite sheet — a PNG with transparency works best.
- Check the grid drawn over the sheet. For a single row (a strip), it's guessed automatically; otherwise set the Columns and Rows.
- Set Frames if the last row isn't full, and keep Skip empty cells on.
- Choose the Frames per second — 8–12 for most game animations.
- Choose the Zoom — ×2 to ×8 enlarges pixels as crisp squares.
- Watch the preview, make the GIF, and download it.
How frames are read
Frames are read left to right, top to bottom — the order most game engines and art tools use. Fully transparent cells at the end of a sheet (an unfinished last row) are skipped when Skip empty cells is on.
Choosing the speed
| Animation | Frames per second |
|---|---|
| Idle / breathing | 4–6 |
| Walk cycle | 8–12 |
| Run cycle | 12–16 |
| Attack, explosion | 15–20 |
Preview at a few speeds; animators often design for a specific frame rate.
Crisp pixel art
Pixel art is small — often 16×16 or 32×32 per frame. Shown at that size it's tiny; enlarged normally, it blurs. Zoom enlarges each pixel as a square block, so ×4 turns a 32×32 sprite into a crisp 128×128 GIF. Choose a zoom that's a whole number for the cleanest result.
GIF to sprite sheet
Need a sheet for a game engine, CSS animation or editing?
- Choose GIF → sprite sheet.
- Add the GIF.
- Download the sprite sheet (PNG) — every frame laid out in a grid, with transparency kept.
The PNG can be imported into Unity, Godot, GameMaker, Phaser or used with CSS steps() animations. To get the frames as separate files instead, use the GIF Splitter.
Uneven last rows
Sheets often end with a partly filled row. Either keep Skip empty cells on (fully transparent cells are dropped), or type the exact number of Frames — the field's hint says "Blank = all". For sheets with a solid background, empty cells aren't transparent, so set the frame count.
Sharing your animation
- Devlogs and social media: GIFs are the standard way to show game animation; zoomed pixel art reads well in feeds.
- Discord: a 128×128 zoomed sprite makes a great animated emoji — check the limit with the Emoji GIF Maker.
- Transparent backgrounds — sprites with a solid background colour can be cleaned up with the Transparent GIF Maker.
Privacy
Your art is processed in your browser and never uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
What if my sheet has spacing or margins between frames?
The tool expects frames to touch in an even grid. Remove spacing in your art tool or export without padding.
My animation plays in the wrong order — why?
Check the columns and rows: a wrong count shifts every frame. The grid overlay shows where each frame is cut.
Can I make a smooth (non-pixel) animation bigger?
Use the GIF Resizer for smooth scaling of illustrated or photographic frames.