A pixel art idle animation in LibreSprite

#The four frames

Only two parts move, and never more than one pixel. The head follows the body one frame late; that small delay (called overlapping action) is what makes it feel soft instead of mechanical.

#Make it in LibreSprite

1. Start from a finished pose

   Draw the character standing (or open one: our first character guide builds Pip). Keep the feet on the bottom rows with some empty space above the head, so it can move without leaving the canvas.

2. Add three copies

   Tab shows the timeline. Alt+N adds a new frame that copies the current one; press it three times.

   

3. Frame 2: move the body down

   Go to frame 2 (→). With the Rectangular Marquee (M), select from the neck to the belt, across the full width. Press ↓ once to move the selection one pixel. Fill the gap it leaves under the chin by extending the neck or collar by one pixel; the trousers get one pixel shorter, which reads as bent knees.

4. Frames 3 and 4

   Frame 3: do the same with the head (select the hair and face, ↓ once). Frame 4: start from frame 3 and move the body back up, leaving the head down. On the next loop, frame 1 brings the head up.

5. Check with onion skin

   F3 shows the previous frame faintly under the current one. Here, on frame 3, you can see the head of frame 2 one pixel higher. Every edge should move by exactly one pixel, never two.

   

6. Set the timing

   Press P on a frame to set its duration in milliseconds. 250 ms each makes a one-second breath. To linger on the poses, try 400 ms on frames 1 and 3 and 150 ms on frames 2 and 4. Select several frames in the timeline first to change them all at once.

   

7. Name it and play

   Select the four frames and use Frame → Tags → New Tag to call the range “idle”. Enter plays it in the editor; the Preview window (F7) plays it at actual size, which is how players will see it.

#Export

• GIF to share: File → Export, name it idle.gif, Resize 400–800 %. Each frame keeps its own duration (our GIF has 250 ms per frame).
• For a game: File → Export Sprite Sheet with JSON data. LibreSprite’s JSON lists every frame’s position and its duration, and the tag “idle” when you add --list-tags on the command line. Engine guides: Godot, Unity.
• Command line: libresprite -b --list-tags idle.ase --sheet idle.png --data idle.json --format json-array.

#Make it more alive

• Blink: add a second, rarer animation where the eyes close for one 100 ms frame. Play it every few seconds from your game code instead of building it into every loop.
• Secondary motion: hair, a scarf, ears or a tail can move one frame after the head, just as the head follows the body here.
• Weapons and props bob with the hands; a cape or flag can sway sideways instead.
• Bigger characters (64 px and up) can use 6–8 frames and add shoulders rising separately from the chest.
• Keep it subtle. If the idle loop is more eye-catching than the walk cycle, it is too strong.

#FAQ

Found something wrong or out of date? Tell us: hello@libresprite.dev. We fix mistakes within a day.