Isometric Character Sprites

Overview

Characters move, so they need consistent proportions across 8 facing directions and a fixed feet-anchor (where the character touches the ground). Without this, characters appear to slide, jitter, or sort incorrectly when walking.

When to Use

• You need a player or NPC that faces multiple directions.
• Characters change size or proportion between directions.
• Movement looks like the sprite is sliding or floating.

Process

1. Lock art direction and character height in pixels.
2. Generate the same character in 8 directions (S, SW, W, NW, N, NE, E, SE) on a plain background.
3. Keep proportions identical - same height line and feet baseline across all 8.
4. Fix seed/settings; regenerate any direction that drifts in size or style.
5. Clean alpha with transparent-cutout-cleanup.
6. Define the feet-anchor (bottom-center) identically for every direction.
7. Test by cycling directions in place - the feet must not jump between frames.

Rationalizations (Stop Lying to Yourself)

Excuse	Reality
"4 directions is enough"	Diagonal movement looks broken with 4 directions in iso. Do 8.
"Slight height differences are fine"	A 3px height drift reads as bobbing. Align the baseline.

Red Flags - STOP if you catch yourself:

• Inconsistent character height across directions.
• Feet-anchor differs per direction so the sprite slides.
• Only front-facing direction exists.

Verification

You are NOT done until every box is checked:

• 8 consistent directions exist for the character.
• Feet-anchor is identical across all directions.
• Cycling directions in place shows no jump or slide.