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Guide · Text

Adding text in LibreSprite

LibreSprite has no text tool you click on the canvas, but it has a text command: you type your words in a dialog, pick a font and size, and paste the result as pixels.

Checked with LibreSprite 1.3Updated 2 min read
On this page 5 sections
  1. Step by step
  2. Crisp pixel text
  3. Editing text later
  4. Where to get fonts
  5. FAQ

Short answer

How do I add text in LibreSprite?

Press T (Edit → Insert Text). Type the text, set the Font Size (32 by default), pick a font with the font button or its drop-down list of system fonts, choose a colour, and press OK. The text appears as a floating selection: drag it into place and press Enter. Untick Anti-aliasing filter for crisp pixel text.

Step by step

  1. Make a layer for the text

    Layer → New Layer (Ctrl+Shift+N), so you can move or delete the text without touching your art.

  2. Open Insert Text

    T or Edit → Insert Text. The dialog has Text, Font Size, Font, Color and Anti-aliasing filter.

  3. Choose the font

    Click the font button to pick a .ttf or .otf file anywhere on your computer, or use its drop-down arrow for a list of the fonts installed on your system (LibreSprite scans the system font folders).

  4. Place it

    OK pastes the text as a selection you can drag, scale or flip. Enter drops it onto the layer.

Crisp pixel text

  • Untick Anti-aliasing filter. Anti-aliased text has soft, semi-transparent edge pixels: nice for big headings, muddy at pixel sizes.
  • Use a pixel font at its native size. Pixel fonts are designed for one size (often 8, 16 or a multiple). At other sizes letters become uneven. The font’s download page usually states the size.
  • Never scale pasted text by odd amounts. Set the right Font Size in the dialog instead.
  • For tiny text (5–7 px tall), hand-placing pixels often looks best; free pixel fonts are a great guide.

Editing text later

The text becomes ordinary pixels: there is no editable text layer. To change it, delete it (select and Del, or clear the text layer) and insert it again. Keeping text on its own layer makes this painless.

Where to get fonts

Any TrueType or OpenType font works. Check the licence before using a font in a game or commercial art; many free pixel fonts are released under the SIL Open Font License or similar terms. Installing a font in your system makes it appear in the drop-down list; otherwise pick the file directly.

FAQ

Is there a text tool in LibreSprite?

There is a text command, Edit → Insert Text (T), not a click-to-type tool.

How do I change the font of the interface?

That is part of the theme, not the text command: themes.

My text looks blurry.

Untick Anti-aliasing filter and use a pixel font at its intended size.

Can I add an outline or shadow to text?

Insert it on its own layer, duplicate the layer, recolour the copy (Replace Color), move it down or one pixel diagonally, or run the outline script on it.

Keep going

ToolsAll 23 tools, their options and their keys.Canvas & selectionSprite size, canvas size, crop, rotate, flip and selections.ThemesInstall a dark or light skin, and the community themes we tested.

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