Sprite Databases

For those not in the know, in game development and computer graphics in general, the term "sprite" refers to 2D images and animations which are put together to produce scenes as their generating software runs. In other words, when a certain plumber envoys on rescuing that princess gal, it is all about sprites: he is a sprite, she is a sprite, the turtles in between are sprites, even the ground and the sky are. Generally, sprites are either whole images which display, each, a character or object wholly, or tiled, in which case they portray sections of larger objects that must be organized and repeated in order to build things - as is usually the case with the floors in most platformers.

Even though the use of sprites for displaying graphics dates back to the late seventies, they are still a recent art form and thus remain contemporary and full of potential for aesthetic and technical innovation. Being so, I prepared a careful selection of online sprite databases for your reference. It is a great journey from the past to our days, regardless of your being a developer or merely an enthusiast. On the other hand, if you are a developer, those are the best of such resources I know and use as reference for drawing my own.


CAUTION: Be aware that the absolute majority of the sprite sheets you will find belongs to others! Being so, be respectful as you use that material as reference. Moreover, you do not want people to look at your work and recognize its been ripped right out of Mega Man, do you? Nonetheless, be creative and good luck!


Sprite Database:

http://sdb.drshnaps.com/index.php

Game Sprite Archives:
http://www.gsarchives.net/index2.php


Reiner's Tileset:
http://reinerstileset.4players.de/


SpriteLib GPL:
http://www.flyingyogi.com/fun/spritelib.html


Molotov.nu:
http://www.molotov.nu/?page=graphics


Fireball:
http://www.fireball20xl.com/sprites.html


Bogleech.com's Videogame Bestiary:
http://www.bogleech.com/games.html


Bonzo Industries:
http://bonzo_industries.webs.com/sprites.htm


The Leaf Forest Zone:
http://dioxaz.free.fr/