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description: A walkthrough of SpriteLoop, a free cutout animation tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux similar to Spriter or Spine. The tool lets creators import PNG sprite...
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# SpriteLoop - Awesome FREE Animation Software - Windows|Mac|Linux

**[Gamefromscratch](https://daily.dev/sources/gamefromscratch)** · 10 min read · 3 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

A walkthrough of SpriteLoop, a free cutout animation tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux similar to Spriter or Spine. The tool lets creators import PNG sprite parts, set up hierarchies and pivot points, and animate via keyframes with onion-skinning support. It supports exporting to sprite sheets, image sequences, animated GIFs, WebP, or SPLA packages, and includes plugins for Krita and Photoshop plus a runtime extension for the Defold game engine. The video demonstrates building a simple rigged character and animating its arm and idle poses.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijAz5moKHcU>

## Questions this post answers

### What file formats can I export animations to from SpriteLoop?

SpriteLoop can export animations as a single sprite sheet, an image sequence with each frame as its own PNG, an animated GIF, a WebP file, or an SPLA package usable directly inside supported game engines. It also includes a runtime extension for playing SPLA animations directly inside the Defold game engine.

_Explore export workflows like this for sprite animation on daily.dev when picking tools for a game project._

### How do you set up bone-like hierarchies for cutout animation in SpriteLoop?

You import individual PNG parts such as head, jaw, body, arm, and forearm, arrange their draw order in a hierarchy list, set pivot points for each part, and then parent child pieces to their relevant parent piece, such as the lower arm to the upper arm. Moving a parent then moves all its children, and a smart limb feature adds an inverse-kinematics-like control point.

_Developers comparing cutout animation rigging approaches can follow tool breakdowns like this on daily.dev._

### Is SpriteLoop free and what platforms does it support?

SpriteLoop is completely free and available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, distributed through itch.io. It also has official plugins for Krita and Photoshop and a runtime extension for the Defold game engine.

_Indie developers hunting for free animation tooling can track finds like SpriteLoop on daily.dev._

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---

Tags: [#game-development](https://daily.dev/tags/game-development)

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