Quickstart: your first scene

This walkthrough takes a single scene from a flat image to a finished, layered PSD — running every step once and taking the defaults the whole way. You will upload a scene, let the AI find its objects, accept each step's default, and export a layered Photoshop file you can open in any tool. Set aside about 15 minutes.

New to the product? What is Pixploder explains the pipeline first.

The walkthrough

1. Upload your scene. On Step 1 · Generate or Upload, drag a PNG or JPG onto the drop zone that reads Upload your 2D game art, or click it to browse. Your scene fills the canvas and the right panel becomes Source Art Review, showing the image's pixel dimensions.

1. Continue past the review. In Source Art Review, click Continue to Extend Canvas. Your scene stays exactly as-is; you are just moving to the next step.
2. Leave the canvas as it is. Step 2 · Extend Canvas is optional, and a first scene rarely needs more room. Don't drag any handles — just click Continue to move on to Step 3 · Locate & Segment.
3. Find the objects. On Step 3 · Locate & Segment, click Find Objects. The AI reads the scene and lists every object it finds, each with a tag and a mask outlined on the canvas. This spends a credit; the price is on the button.

1. Confirm the detected objects. The defaults are fine for a first pass — you can refine masks later. Click Confirm & Proceed to move to Step 4 · Background.
2. Rebuild the background. On Step 4 · Background, click Generate take. The AI lifts your objects out and repaints what was behind them, dropping a thumbnail into the Takes strip. Generate a couple, then click the thumbnail you like best to put it in use — the tile reads ✓ In use. Click Continue to Mask Sprites.
3. Approve your sprites. On Step 5 · Mask Sprites, every object you detected is now a sprite keyed to clean alpha. Accept the default key for a first pass, then click the ✓ approve toggle on each sprite you want to keep. Only approved sprites carry through to the export. Click Continue to Shadow.
4. Keep the automatic shadows. On Step 6 · Shadow, a soft contact shadow is fitted under each sprite to ground it. Leave the defaults untouched and click Continue to Repixelize to reach Step 7 · Harmonize.
5. Harmonize and move on. On Step 7 · Harmonize, the AI-filled areas are healed to match your art. Keep the default settings, then click Continue to Reconstruct & View.
6. Preview the diorama. On Step 8 · Reconstruct & View, your finished layers are staged in a live 2.5D diorama. Drag it to orbit and check that every piece sits where you expect.
7. Export a layered PSD. In the Export panel, click Export PSD (layered Photoshop). Pixploder builds the file and your browser downloads it — groups as folders, every sprite a positioned layer with its shadow baked in, and the rebuilt background underneath.

Where to go next

You now have a game-ready, layered file. Open it in Photoshop, Krita, or anything that reads PSD, and each sprite is already isolated and positioned.

Want a Unity package, a sprite sheet, or a JSON scene instead? They all build from the same Step 8 snapshot, so they always agree with your PSD — see Export formats.