pixel-art

name	pixel-art
description	Generate 2D pixel art game assets, characters, sprite sheets, background removal, and game backgrounds. Trigger for "pixel art character", "sprite sheet", "walk cycle", "game sprites", "isometric sprites", "side-scroller assets", "RPG character sprites", "idle animation", "attack animation", "jump animation", "game background", "parallax background", "isometric map", "2D game art", "pixel art animation", "top-down character", "explosion sprite sheet", "animated FX from video", "fire/magic effect". Covers character generation (nano-banana-pro / gpt-image-2), sprite sheet animation (nano/edit or fal-ai/gpt-image-2/edit), top-down 4-directional walkers, background removal (Bria), background generation (parallax layers or isometric map), and animated VFX derived from a generated video rendered with additive blend.
metadata	{"author":"vibedgames","version":"0.1.0"}

2D Game Assets

Requires the vg CLI (npm install -g vibedgames, or pnpm dogfood in this repo). The vibedgames server holds the API key; no per-machine setup.

Full pipeline for 2D pixel art game assets: character → sprite sheets → background removal → game background. Each recipe is independently invokable, run just the part you need.

Always use --json so output is machine-readable. Use --download to save files locally. Do not curl URLs manually, use the --download flag.

These recipes are the fast path — 4-frame 2×2 image sheets, great for a quick playable or near-static pose. For polished animation (attack arcs, walk/run cycles, hurt, death) use the animated-spritesheets skill: it generates one labeled pose-board image per action, slices it, and packs an engine-loadable spritesheet.png + manifest in one command, holding the character's identity consistent across the whole animation.

Craft rule (all paths): no baked shadows in the sprite. Prompt against cast/contact/ground shadows, base ellipses, and floor lines — the engine adds shadows at render time, and a baked-in shadow fights the engine's.

Craft rule: the uniform-pixel-grid rule applies to sprites and tiles only. FX, weather particles, and swung weapons may scale, rotate, and move sub-pixel — mixed pixel sizes on those layers read smoother, not wrong (every good pixel-art game cheats here). Don't pixel-snap particle/FX layers or force effects onto the sprite grid.

---

Execution rules, follow these strictly

1. Each generation call = one Bash tool call: issue each vg generate run and vg generate status as its own bare tool call. No variable assignments, no pipes, no shell redirects. This keeps every call matching the vg generate * allowlist so it runs without permission prompts.

2. Parallel jobs → async: issue each vg generate run --async as its own separate Bash tool call (not combined into one shell block). All jobs queue and run in parallel server-side; total time ≈ slowest single job. After all are fired, poll each with vg generate status sequentially (not in parallel, one failure must not cancel others).

# Step 1, fire async (each line = its own Bash tool call, returns request_id immediately)
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$WALK_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --async --json
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$IDLE_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --async --json

# Step 2, poll sequentially (each line = its own Bash tool call)
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <walk_request_id> --result --download ./walk.png --json
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <idle_request_id> --result --download ./idle.png --json

3. URL source: read the CDN url from result.images[0].url in the tool result JSON. This is the correct path for all image models (nano, gpt, Bria) and it is what you pass to the next step's --image_urls. downloaded_files is a sibling array of local file paths (plain strings), not objects — downloaded_files[0].url is undefined and will silently poison every chained call.

   # quote the path — an unquoted [0] is a glob in zsh
   vg generate run <endpoint> ... --download ./out.png --field "result.images[0].url"
   

4. Bria sync: Bria (fal-ai/bria/background/remove) has no queue endpoint and does not support --async. Run it sync. It completes in seconds.

5. --download paths are relative to your shell's cwd, not the project root. If the agent is operating in a monorepo from the repo root, a bare --download walk.png lands in the root, not next to your game. Always pass a project-relative absolute or qualified path — e.g. --download "games/my-game/public/assets/sprites/walk.png" — so the asset lands where the game's loader expects it.

6. Folder structure: always save into this layout, deriving the character slug from the character description (kebab-case, e.g. pirate-carrot):

./game-assets/
<character-slug>/
character.png
sprites/
walk.png
idle.png
attack.png
jump.png
backgrounds/
layer1-sky.png
layer2-midground.png
layer3-foreground.png

Create the folders before downloading (mkdir -p). Use this structure even for partial runs (e.g. just one sprite sheet still goes in sprites/).

7. End summary: after all downloads complete, print a summary listing every file path and its CDN URL. Format:

=== Game Assets: pirate-carrot ===
character game-assets/pirate-carrot/character.png
https://...
walk game-assets/pirate-carrot/sprites/walk.png
https://...

8. 400 on status poll: vg generate status --result fetches the result once; it does not poll automatically. A 400 with "Request is still in progress" means the job is still running, wait 10 seconds and retry the exact same vg generate status call with the same request_id. Do not re-fire the original vg generate run --async (the job is already running server-side). Keep retrying every 10–15 seconds until you get a successful result.

---

Models in the stack

• Nano Banana Pro: fal-ai/nano-banana-pro, character + background generation; better quality and faster, recommended default
• Nano Banana Pro Edit: fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit, sprite sheet generation from character image
• GPT-Image-2: openai/gpt-image-2, character + background generation; slower than nano, use when user prefers it or wants cheaper output (quality=low)
• GPT-Image-2 Edit: openai/gpt-image-2/edit, sprite sheet generation; slower than nano, requires model-specific walk prompt; use quality=low for cheaper runs
• Bria RMBG 2.0: fal-ai/bria/background/remove, background removal on all sprite sheets

---

Recipe 1. Generate character

Ask the user: character description (text) or an existing image to convert. Ask model preference: nano (default, better quality + faster) or gpt (slower; use quality=low if user wants cheaper output).

Define the prompt vars $CHARACTER_STYLE_PROMPT and $IMAGE_TO_PIXEL_PROMPT from references/prompts.md (Recipe 1), then:

# Text → pixel art character (nano)
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro \
 --prompt "$CHARACTER_STYLE_PROMPT Character: <character_desc>" \
 --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" \
 --download ./game-assets/<slug>/character.png --json

# Text → pixel art character (gpt)
vg generate run openai/gpt-image-2 \
 --prompt "$CHARACTER_STYLE_PROMPT Character: <character_desc>" \
 --image_size "square_hd" --quality "high" \
 --download ./game-assets/<slug>/character.png --json

# Existing image → pixel art (nano), upload source image first, then run edit
vg generate upload /path/to/image.png --json
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit \
 --prompt "$IMAGE_TO_PIXEL_PROMPT" \
 --image_urls "[\"<uploaded_url_from_above>\"]" \
 --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" \
 --download ./game-assets/<slug>/character.png --json

Read result.images[0].url from the tool result — that is CHARACTER_URL, needed for all sprite sheet recipes. (downloaded_files holds local paths, not urls.)

---

Recipe 2. Generate sprite sheets

Pass CHARACTER_URL from Recipe 1. Choose --style side (side-scroller) or --style iso (isometric RPG). Choose model: nano or gpt.

Side-scroller sheets: 4-frame 2×2 grid animations. Covered types: walk, jump, attack, idle. Do not generate additional animation types (hurt, death, run, etc.) unless the user explicitly requests them.

Define the side-scroller prompt vars ($WALK_PROMPT, $WALK_PROMPT_GPT, $JUMP_PROMPT, $ATTACK_PROMPT, $IDLE_PROMPT) from references/prompts.md (Recipe 2 — side-scroller). Fire all sheets async (each is its own Bash tool call), then poll sequentially:

# Fire all 4 async, each is its own Bash tool call
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$WALK_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --async --json
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$JUMP_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --async --json
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$ATTACK_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "21:9" --resolution "1K" --async --json
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$IDLE_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --async --json

# Poll each, each is its own Bash tool call, run sequentially
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <walk_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/walk.png --json
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <jump_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/jump.png --json
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <attack_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/attack.png --json
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <idle_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/idle.png --json

# GPT variants: replace fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit with openai/gpt-image-2/edit
# Walk must use WALK_PROMPT_GPT (not WALK_PROMPT)
# Replace --aspect_ratio with explicit --image_size:
# 1:1 → --image_size "square_hd"
# 21:9 → --image_size "{\"width\": 2688, \"height\": 1152}"

Isometric RPG sheets: 3/4 overhead perspective. Covered types: walk-down, walk-up, walk-side, attack-down, attack-up, attack-side, idle-iso. Do not generate additional animation types unless the user explicitly requests them.

Top-down 4-directional games (Bomberman, Zelda-like, twin-stick): the walk-down / walk-up / walk-side set IS your 4-directional movement set — render walk-side once and mirror it (setFlipX) for left, so you only generate three sheets. Use idle = frame 0 of the matching direction. This is the cheapest path to a believable top-down walker.

Generate attack-down first, attack-up and attack-side both reference it for style consistency.

Define the isometric prompt vars ($WALK_DOWN_PROMPT, $WALK_UP_PROMPT, $WALK_SIDE_PROMPT, $ATTACK_DOWN_PROMPT, $ATTACK_UP_PROMPT, $ATTACK_SIDE_PROMPT, $IDLE_ISO_PROMPT) from references/prompts.md (Recipe 2 — isometric), then:

# Fire walk sheets + idle async, each is its own Bash tool call
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$WALK_DOWN_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --async --json
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$WALK_UP_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --async --json
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$WALK_SIDE_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --async --json
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$IDLE_ISO_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --async --json

# Poll walk results sequentially
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <walk_down_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/walk-down.png --json
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <walk_up_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/walk-up.png --json
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <walk_side_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/walk-side.png --json
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <idle_iso_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/idle-iso.png --json

# Attack-down sync, needed as reference before firing attack-up and attack-side
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$ATTACK_DOWN_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"$CHARACTER_URL\"]" --aspect_ratio "9:16" --resolution "1K" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/attack-down.png --json


vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt  --image_urls  --aspect_ratio  --resolution  --async --json
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt  --image_urls  --aspect_ratio  --resolution  --async --json

vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <attack_up_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/attack-up.png --json
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit <attack_side_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/attack-side.png --json

---

Recipe 3. Remove backgrounds

Bria has no queue endpoint, run sync (no --async). Each is its own Bash tool call:

vg generate run fal-ai/bria/background/remove --image_url "<walk_url>" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/walk-transparent.png --json
vg generate run fal-ai/bria/background/remove --image_url "<jump_url>" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/jump-transparent.png --json
vg generate run fal-ai/bria/background/remove --image_url "<attack_url>" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/attack-transparent.png --json
vg generate run fal-ai/bria/background/remove --image_url "<idle_url>" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/sprites/idle-transparent.png --json

Bria is segmentation, not chroma-key. It removes the background even when the subject shares the background's color — a white-armored character on a white background comes out clean, with the white armor intact. Do not reach for ffmpeg colorkey/chromakey to cut sprite backgrounds: it punches holes in any same-colored part of the subject. Bria also handles a multi-frame sheet (2×2 walk grid) in a single call, keeping every frame. After Bria, the sheet keeps its original dimensions, so a 1024² 2×2 sheet stays 1024² with 512² frames.

---

Recipe 4. Generate backgrounds

Pipeline note: Layer 1 (sky) and the isometric map only need CHARACTER_DESC, no image reference. Fire Layer 1 async immediately after character generation so it runs in parallel while you generate sprite sheets. Layers 2 and 3 are sequential (each needs the previous layer's URL from the tool result).

Side-scroller, 3-layer parallax — define $LAYER1_SKY_PROMPT, $LAYER2_MID_PROMPT, $LAYER3_FG_PROMPT, $ISO_MAP_PROMPT from references/prompts.md (Recipe 4).

# Layer 1, sky/backdrop. Fire async (no image dep) so it runs in parallel with sprite generation
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro --prompt "$LAYER1_SKY_PROMPT" --aspect_ratio "21:9" --resolution "1K" --async --json

# Poll Layer 1 (after sprite sheets are done), then read its URL from the result
vg generate status fal-ai/nano-banana-pro <layer1_request_id> --result --download ./game-assets/<slug>/backgrounds/layer1-sky.png --json

# Layer 2, midground (needs CHARACTER_URL + layer1 URL from above result)
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$LAYER2_MID_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"<character_url>\", \"<layer1_url>\"]" --aspect_ratio "21:9" --resolution "1K" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/backgrounds/layer2-midground.png --json

# Bria bg-remove on layer 2 (sync, no queue endpoint)
vg generate run fal-ai/bria/background/remove --image_url "<layer2_url>" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/backgrounds/layer2-transparent.png --json

# Layer 3, foreground (needs CHARACTER_URL + layer1 URL + layer2-transparent URL from above result)
vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro/edit --prompt "$LAYER3_FG_PROMPT" --image_urls "[\"<character_url>\", \"<layer1_url>\", \"<layer2_transparent_url>\"]" --aspect_ratio "21:9" --resolution "1K" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/backgrounds/layer3-foreground.png --json

# Bria bg-remove on layer 3 (sync, no queue endpoint)
vg generate run fal-ai/bria/background/remove --image_url "<layer3_url>" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/backgrounds/layer3-transparent.png --json

# GPT variant: replace nano endpoints with openai/gpt-image-2 and openai/gpt-image-2/edit
# Use --image_size '{"width": 2688, "height": 1152}' for 21:9 with gpt

Isometric, single top-down map

vg generate run fal-ai/nano-banana-pro --prompt "$ISO_MAP_PROMPT" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "1K" --download ./game-assets/<slug>/backgrounds/map.png --json

---

Recipe 5. Animated FX from a generated video (explosions, fire, magic)

Real fire/explosion motion beats an AI-drawn frame strip, and you can sidestep alpha extraction entirely with one trick: generate the effect on pure black, then render it additively (BlendModes.ADD), where black contributes nothing — no background removal needed.

1. Generate a short clip on a pure-black background. Use $EXPLOSION_PROMPT from references/prompts.md (Recipe 5) — it prompts hard for a locked-off camera and no smoke/grey haze (grey survives ADD blend and shows as a haze square):

REQ=$(vg generate run bytedance/seedance-2.0/fast/text-to-video --prompt "$EXPLOSION_PROMPT" --aspect_ratio "1:1" --resolution "720p" --async --field request_id)
# then, once it completes — keep the URL, you need it in step 2:
VIDEO_URL=$(vg generate status bytedance/seedance-2.0/fast/text-to-video "$REQ" --result --field result.video.url)

2. Extract a frame strip. Sample the active window (skip the empty lead-in, include the decay tail so it fades out), scale each frame to a power-of-two, and tile into one horizontal sheet. Pin exact dims so Phaser's load.spritesheet math is unambiguous — 16 frames at 128² makes a 2048×128 strip.

   Decoding video is the one step in this whole skill that Node can't do, so extract the frames remotely, from the URL you already have — no local install, and nothing to upload since the clip is already hosted. Find the utility endpoint the same way you find any other:

vg generate models "extract frames" --category video-to-video --json

Then run it against $VIDEO_URL with your chosen frame rate and window, download the frames into one directory, and pack them locally:

# scale each frame to the cell size (Lanczos, same filter ffmpeg would use)
for f in ./fx-frames/frame-*.png; do
  node .claude/skills/pixel-snapper/scripts/image-util.mjs resize "$f" "$f" --size 128x128
done

# tile into a single-row strip + a manifest with the frame box
node .claude/skills/animated-spritesheets/scripts/pack-spritesheet.mjs \
  --input-dir ./fx-frames --out ./game-assets/<slug>/fx/explosion.png \
  --fps 32 --action explode --json-out ./game-assets/<slug>/fx/explosion.json

If you already have ffmpeg locally, it does the same job in one line and is faster — it just isn't a dependency this skill assumes:

# 16 frames over the burst→decay window, each 128², into a 2048×128 strip
ffmpeg -y -ss 0.5 -to 3.05 -i explosion.mp4 -vf "fps=6.3,scale=128:128:flags=lanczos,tile=16x1" -frames:v 1 explosion.png

3. Render additively — black reads as transparent, flames glow, frames can overlap/jitter without looking wrong:

this.load.spritesheet("explosion", "assets/explosion.png", { frameWidth: 128, frameHeight: 128 });
this.anims.create({
  key: "explode",
  frames: this.anims.generateFrameNumbers("explosion", { start: 0, end: 15 }),
  frameRate: 32,
});
// per blast tile:
this.add.sprite(x, y, "explosion").setBlendMode(Phaser.BlendModes.ADD).play("explode");

This same pattern works for muzzle flashes, magic bursts, impact sparks, and portals — anything that reads as emitted light. For solid/opaque FX (smoke, debris) you still need real alpha (Bria per frame), so prefer ADD-friendly subjects when generating.

---

Parameters

• Model: nano is the default: better quality and faster. gpt is slower; use it when the user specifically requests it or asks for the cheapest option, in that case set --quality "low" to significantly reduce cost
• Walk + gpt-image-2: always use WALK_PROMPT_GPT, not WALK_PROMPT. GPT needs explicit side-profile orientation instructions to get the direction right
• Attack aspect ratio: 21:9 (nano) or 2688×1152 (gpt) for side-scroller attacks. Isometric attacks: 9:16 for down/up, 16:9 for side
• Isometric attack-up and attack-side: always pass ATTACK_DOWN_URL as second reference image to keep attack style consistent across directions
• Background layers: generate in order (1 → 2 → 3). Each references previous layers. Layer 1 keeps background; layers 2 and 3 get background-removed