Normal Map Inspector (+ Aseprite plugin)

This tool allows you to observe rendered pixel art in real time while drawing it in Aseprite. You can easily observe the final rendering of your diffuse textures, normal maps and specular maps.

Features:

• Load images from file or connect with Aseprite plugin live.
• You can play with lights freely by changing colors, position, intensity and more.
• Two lighting modes:
  • uniform lighting (best for rendering),
  • point light (best for inspecting).
• Selectable backgrounds useful for semi transparent images.
• Exporting the rendered image with transparency preserved.

What's included:

• NM Inspector application,
• NM Inspector plugin for Aseprite (open source),
• few template and example projects.

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FAQ:

What's a normal map?

It's an image that stores information about the direction each pixel is facing. It's used to create realistic shadows with the illusion of depth and surface detail. Colors represent different directions, with red for the X-axis, green for the Y-axis, blue for the Z-axis. Normal maps can be hand drawn or generated automatically with proper software. Today popular game engines support this feature for 3D as well as 2D rendering.

What's a specular map?

It's an additional layer of the image that controls the shininess and reflectivity of the surface. Each pixel determines the degree of reflection, with brighter pixels being more reflective and darker ones less so.

What's a diffuse texture?

It's the main layer in an image that defines the base color of each pixel. 

How can I use normal maps in my game?

Today popular game engines support this feature for 3D as well as 2D rendering. E.g. in Godot you can use the CanvasTexture (which consists of Diffuse texture, Normal map and Specular map textures) in Sprite2D or Tilemaps. When a light is placed, everything happens automatically!

Can I modify the Aseprite plugin?

Yes you can! Just remember to share it, as it's GPL3 licence. It's currently shared on github.

Can I write my own plugins for other software?

Yes you can! It would be appreciated if you would also share it with the community.

Will there be plugins for software other than Aseprite?

Yes, I plan to make some. Let me know in the comments which interests you the most.

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How to install the plugin:

1. Select the NM_Inspector.lua file and copy it.
2. Open Aseprite and go to File -> Scripts -> Open scripts folder.
3. Paste the NM_Inspector.lua file in freshly opened directory.
4. Restart Aseprite.

How to use the Aseprite plugin with the NM Inspector app:

1. Start the NM Inspector app.
2. Open the template project in Aseprite.
3. Go to File -> Scripts -> NM_Inspector.
4. Assign desired layers and click OK.

Plugin limitations:

• The plugin works best with Aseprite version 1.3 (currently beta, but not for long). In Aseprite v1.2 layer groups are not supported.
• Due to Aseprite API limitations, the plugin only works with RGB Color mode. (That's the default mode, but can be changed here: Sprite -> Color Mode -> RGB Color).

License

Buyers are permitted to use the Normal Map Inspector in both commercial and non-commercial projects, and to publicly showcase it. You are not permitted to alter, decompile, or tamper with the Normal Map Inspector in any way, nor to reproduce or resell it. The Normal Map Inspector respects the copyright of any data provided by the user, and therefore any output data generated by the software should not be used in violation of the copyright of the original data loaded into the software.

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Big thanks to PixelFranek for great collaboration! Check out his fantastic artwork made with NM Inspector: