Icefox ✦ LabSurface and light
Compare Flat, Round and Bevel surface candidates. Adjust the light direction and strength.
ASEPRITE EXTENSION v0.4.0
Pixel Shade
Try a new light on flat-color pixels.
Select a pixel object, compare shadows, highlights and material previews, then apply to a layer and keep retouching by hand. Designed for small, mostly flat-color props and icons.
Offline plugin prototype · English / 中文 UI · Aseprite 1.3 stable+
PREVIEW, THEN APPLY
Compare the light before you apply it.
Tones per source color
Choose 3, 4 or 5 tones per source color, including the original. Optionally replace the lightest tone with a white highlight. The original palette is not guaranteed to stay locked.
Keep room for retouching
Apply to the current layer, or output separate shadow and highlight layers. It does not automatically identify object faces or cast ground shadows; complex shapes still need manual cleanup.
THE WORKBENCH
Try each option inside Aseprite.
Each selection is a separate edit. Later lighting changes do not automatically relight previous applications. For semi-transparent art, start with current-layer mode. Separate-layer output has opacity, blend-mode, parent-group and cel Z constraints; see the included guide.
Read the official feature and usage notes
SEVEN MATERIAL STYLES
One object, different surfaces.
- Matte
- Plastic / paint
- Stylized metal
- Ceramic / glaze
- Rubber
- Satin
- Fabric / folds (experimental)
These are stylized candidates, not a physical simulation. Fabric / folds is experimental.
CURRENT SCOPE
Check that it fits your artwork.
- Version
- v0.4.0 · Plugin prototype
- Aseprite
- 1.3 stable+Windows runtime tests used a locally compiled 1.3.18.6-dev / API 41.
- Artwork scope
- RGB / RGBA pixel layers, current frameNot full-animation processing; indexed mode is not supported.
- Size limit
- Up to 262,144 pixels in the current cel
- Platform testing
- Tested on WindowsmacOS and Linux have not been tested.
- Local operation
- No runtime AI model or APINo account or cloud upload required. Development was AI assisted.
CHOOSE FOR YOUR TASK
Do you need an extension, or just Shading Ink?
If you want to paint light and shadow using a palette you have chosen, start with Aseprite’s built-in Shading Ink. It changes pixel colors along a selected color ramp as you paint with the left or right mouse button. Include the current base color in the selected ramp. You may not need another tool.
Pixel Shade takes a different approach: select a small, mostly flat-color object, compare generated surface previews, then apply a first pass and refine it yourself.
- Paint each shadow by hand using a selected color ramp
- Aseprite’s built-in Shading Ink.
- Compare Flat, Round and Bevel previews for one selected object
- Pixel Shade.
- Keep every new shade inside a locked palette
- Do not rely on Pixel Shade: it derives tones from each source color.
- Relight an entire animation
- Pixel Shade 0.4.0 does not process whole animations.
- Identify a box’s faces, automatically preserve outline strokes, or understand existing shading
- Pixel Shade does not provide this; plan on manual work.
A small first exercise
Use one of the bundled practice images rather than starting with a finished character. Work on a copy, use an RGB/RGBA pixel layer in the current frame, and select the whole object. Open Edit → Pixel Shade, compare the previews, and try current-layer output first. Inspect the edges and shading before bringing the result into your own artwork. Keep the full compatibility notes above in view: the 3, 4 or 5 tones apply to each source color, including the original, not to the whole image’s total color count.
This is a guide to the documented workflow, not a new independent runtime comparison or a speed benchmark. The interface and sphere examples above are existing published material, not results of this exercise.
START WITH A SMALL OBJECT
Download, practice, then try your own art.
The official ZIP includes the plugin, a bilingual offline illustrated START-HERE.html guide and 22 practice images. Follow the included guide and the official listing for installation and detailed constraints.