MotifDeck

What is MotifDeck?

MotifDeck is an AI game art workspace where you create a 2D character, animate it and choose the frames you want to use.

Characters, props and scenes are kept together in one project, so a character can be extended to matching enemies and a world.

How does the animation workflow work?

You make a character, approve it as the source, generate motion as video, then pick frames from the extracted result.

• Create a character from an idea or a reference image
• Generate actions such as idle, run, dodge, hit and fall, or combat moves, from one character reference
• Inspect every extracted frame on a transparent background
• Keep or remove individual frames and set their timing after generation

Why video first?

Motion is generated as one continuous video and frames are extracted afterwards, so you choose the frames after you see the motion.

You can compare 8, 16, 32 or 64 frame presets and use the sprite sheet editor for frame removal, timing, alignment and playback preview. One palette change can be applied across a whole animation.

Which art styles does it support?

Pixel Art, Cartoon, Anime, Hand-painted, Flat 2D and 3D Look, or a style set by your own reference.

The 3D Look style produces 2D images, not 3D models. Outfit and expression variants keep the same character identity.

What does it cost?

There is a Free plan with 50 one-time Credits, and paid plans at $19, $39, $79 and $159 a month.

Typing a brief does not start paid generation: you review the Credits shown and then choose Generate. Downloading newly generated production files needs an eligible paid unlock for that version.

• Starter $19 a month, 1,500 Credits each month
• Creator $39 a month, 3,600 Credits each month
• Pro $79 a month, 8,500 Credits each month
• Studio $159 a month, 20,000 Credits each month

What else is in the toolset?

Besides the workspace, it has separate tools for creating, animating, editing and exporting sprites.

• Create: AI Sprite Generator, AI Pixel Art Generator, Character Mixer, Pixel Icon Generator
• Animate: AI Sprite Animator and an Idle Animation Generator for a single transparent PNG
• Edit and export: Sprite Sheet Editor, Sprite Sheet Maker, Sprite Recolor, Remove Background, Video to Sprite Sheet, Sprite Sheet to GIF, Sprite Sheet Splitter, Pixel Art Resizer

Alternatives to MotifDeck

You can make 2D character animation by drawing it in a sprite editor or by generating it. MotifDeck generates motion as video and lets you choose the frames afterwards.

• AsepriteA dedicated pixel art and sprite animation editor.aseprite.org ↗
• PixeloramaA free, open-source pixel art editor with animation support.orama-interactive.itch.io/pixelorama ↗

How MotifDeck compares

MotifDeck is a fit if you want to generate motion from a character and then curate the frames. If you prefer to draw each frame yourself, a sprite editor suits better.

Questions people ask about MotifDeck