Generating Game Items & Icons

Items and icons appear everywhere in a game: inventories, shops, HUDs and loot drops. They have to read at a glance at small sizes. In this guide we'll generate a consistent item set.

Set up the generator

In the image generator:

1. Set Type to Object. Objects come back centred on a transparent background.
2. Pick a Size: 32 px for pixel-art icons, 64 px for more detail, or 512 for smooth, high-resolution art.
3. Choose a Style and Colour Palette, and keep them the same for the whole set.

Write the prompt

Name the item and one or two defining features:

• "a red health potion with a cork stopper"
• "a golden coin with a star stamp"
• "a steel sword with a leather grip"

Ask yourself whether a player could identify it at a glance in a cluttered inventory. If not, simplify the shape.

Keep the set consistent

• Use the same Style, Palette, model and size for every item.
• Keep the framing similar so items sit evenly in their slots.
• Make tiers by changing one word: wooden sword, iron sword, golden sword.

Finish for the inventory

• Add an outline with the free Sprite Outline Generator if your UI uses one; it helps icons read on busy backgrounds.
• Make colour variants with the free Palette Swap tool instead of generating new ones.
• If you need an exact small size from a larger image, use Pixelate (1 credit).

Simple flat icons

For plain flat icons (abilities, stats, menu glyphs), the free Game Icon Generator is another option and costs nothing.