0xheycat Isometric Building Sprites
Overview
Buildings are large multi-tile sprites. They need a clear footprint (how many tiles they occupy), a consistent height-to-base ratio, and a known anchor so characters can walk in front of and behind them.
When to Use
- You need houses, barns, shops, towers, or other structures.
- Buildings overlap tiles incorrectly or float.
- Characters draw in front of buildings they should be behind.
Process
- Lock art direction and the tile base size first.
- Decide each building footprint in tiles (e.g. 2x2) BEFORE generating.
- Prompt one building, isolated on a plain background, sitting on a visible diamond footprint with a soft contact shadow.
- Keep settings + seed fixed so all buildings share one style and light.
- Clean alpha with
transparent-cutout-cleanup. - Set the anchor at the front-bottom tile of the footprint for depth sorting.
- Place a character next to and behind the building to verify occlusion (see
depth-sorting-occlusion).
Rationalizations (Stop Lying to Yourself)
| Excuse | Reality |
|---|---|
| "Footprint does not matter, I will eyeball placement" | Eyeballed footprints break collision and sorting. Decide tiles first. |
| "Buildings can be a slightly different style" | The biggest objects on screen must match hardest. Fix style + seed. |
Red Flags - STOP if you catch yourself:
- No defined tile footprint per building.
- Building height/scale varies wildly across the set.
- Characters render in front of tall buildings.
Verification
You are NOT done until every box is checked:
- Each building has a documented tile footprint and anchor.
- All buildings share one style, light, and scale.
- Character occlusion in front of and behind each building is correct.