How to use CSE

1. The Tools

Pencil Tool (P): Left-click to draw, right-click for eyedropper. Use the toolbar to switch between raw input and pixel-perfect modes

Rubber or Eraser Tool (P): Left-Click to replace a pixel with transparency

Color Picker Tool (C): Left and Right click to set the Primary and Secondary colours, respectively

Line Tool (L): Left-click to add a point to the Line, right-click to Finish

Shape Tool (H): Left-click to start and finish shapes. More options are available on the toolbar

Select Tool (S): Left-click and drag to make a selection. Left-click dragging a corner changes the selection size, right-click dragging stretches the selection. The rotation button can be left-click dragged or right-click dragged for rougher angle quantization. Ctrl+C, X, and V are copy, cut and paste, respectively.

Magic Wand Tool (W): Left-click for contiguous pixel detection, right-click for non-contiguous. Sensitivity settings on the toolbar

Fill Tool (F): Same as the Magic Wand

Dither Tool (D): Draws a pattern of the Primary and Secondary colours. Left-click to operate, with weighting for the two colours on the toolbar.

2. Undoing

Undoing is per-layer: creation and deletion of layers, frames, and animations cannot be undone.

3.  Palettes

Use X to switch your primary and secondary colours. 

Colours can be dragged onto the palette from the palette or the main colours, and can be selected from the palette with left and right click.

If saved, a palette is stored as a png file in AppData\Roaming\Godot\app_userdata\SpriteEditor

4. Normal maps & Lighting

A layer can be set as a normal map through the layer properties. Normal maps are visible only when a normal layer is selected, and are best edited with the palette colour mode set to vector. 

When the layer selected is not a normal, the normals are displayed according to the lighting. Try changing the ambient lighting and adding directional lights in the "Lights" tab (next to the Palette).

Very basic auto-generation can be accessed under the "Tools" drop-down.

5. Animation Workflow

Animations in CSE are sorted into animations and then frames. You can add animations on the right side of the screen, and when an animation is selected its frames will be displayed underneath the animations panel. Here frames can be added, deleted, duplicated, and reordered.

The speed of each animation can be set in its properties.

Onion-skinning can be activated under the "Tools" menu at the top of the screen.

6. Importing images

Images can be imported into the currently selected layer via the "Import Image..." option under the "File" menu

7. Exporting

The CSE export menu can be accessed through the "File" menu. It provides options for splitting Animations into separate image files according to several parameters:

Split: whether to store frames in individual files, with other frames from their animations, or with all other frames in the project

Normals: Whether or not a frames normal layer will be stored in the same file

Export Layers: each layer has an "export layer" property which allows for it to be exported separate from the rest of its frame, as a different file or in the same one.

Optimization: Optimizing for size wastes the least possible space in an image whereas readability will store each animation and each layer thereof on a separate line in the final spritesheet