Sprites are images that can be moved around, scaled or rotated in the same way as a figure. A sprite is actually a type of figure segment and so lines and circles can be connected to it by editing it in the
figure builder. A sprite image can be created in MS Paint or other graphics application or downloaded from the web.
A sprite can be loaded into the frame editing area by clicking 'Load Sprite Image' in the File menu. Image formats that are supported are Bitmap, GIF and PNG.
Using large sprite images can cause lag when moving figures.
Transparency
Sprites are displayed with a transparent background. The transparent colour is determined from the colour of the bottom-left pixel of the sprite image. If you don't want any transparency then simply set the bottom left pixel to any colour that doesn't appear in the rest of the sprite image or add a vertical or horizontal line of that colour to the left or bottom of the image.
Left: How it looks in Paint. Right: How it looks in Pivot.
The problem: The bottom left pixel is black, so all black pixels are transparent and everything else is opaque.
Left: How it looks in Paint. Right: How it looks in Pivot.
The solution: A line has been added below the feet so that the bottom left pixel matches the background.
The background has been changed from white to green to avoid the eyes becoming transparent.
Note that transparency saved in PNG files is not currently supported.
Joining Sprites
It is possible to join sprites together using the
join feature to create very realistic stick-men or other objects that can be moved in the same way as a figure. This is demonstrated in this
video.
The first step for doing this is to create your sprite images and load them into the frame editing area.
The second step is to reposition the handles so that the sprite joints are at the right places.
This can be done by clicking the edit button to open the sprite in the figure builder and adding new lines to the locations of the new joints/handles. You can then set these lines to zero thickness and set all but one to static so that only the two new handles are seen. Then use the origin tool to move the origin point to one of the new handles.