SpriteCast – 8-direction game sprites from one image, guided by 3D

SpriteCast is a free, MIT-licensed Claude Code plugin that turns a character illustration into game-ready sprites, especially eight-direction walks, using 3D to keep movement, camera angle, scale, and shadows consistent. Rather than asking an image model to invent each pose, it creates and animates a 3D character, renders frames from the chosen game camera, then has an image model redraw those frames in the reference art style. The results include walking and standing sprites, per-frame shadows, sprite strips, and anchors. It also supports actions such as running, jumping, and throwing; Mixamo animations; pixel-art characters; four-legged animals; seated characters; and props or posed NPCs.

The README argues that this combination solves common sprite-generation problems: inconsistent anatomy and motion, incorrect viewpoints, and missing or mismatched shadows. SpriteCast compares each finished drawing with its 3D guide and flags pose or angle deviations rather than distorting the image to fit. Props share a fixed camera, scale, and lighting so they can align on the same game floor. Users can specify isometric or other camera angles and provide their own art style. Character generation costs about $2.20 in OpenAI drawing fees plus 75 Tripo credits; props and pixel-art sheets have separate per-item costs, and paid steps require approval. A supplied rigged example can be rendered without paid services, while users with their own rigged model can skip the model-generation stage.