ImageSpriteSheetAnimator - README

Overview

ImageSpriteSheetAnimator is a Unity script that lets you play sprite sheet animations, which can be useful for creating GIF-like or frame-based animations. The script provides control over speed, looping, and animation playback, offering more flexibility than directly using GIF files in Unity.

---

Features

• Frame Control: Play animations frame by frame from a sprite sheet.
• Looping: Optionally loop the animation.
• One-shot Animation: Play the animation once and stop.
• Frame Rate Control: Adjust the frame rate to control the speed of the animation.
• Stop and Reset: Stop the animation and reset it to the first frame.

---

Setup

1. Create a UI Image: This will display the sprite sheet animation.

   • Right-click in the Hierarchy > UI > Image.

2. Import Sprite Sheet: Export your GIF as a sprite sheet.

   • Use a tool like ezgif.com to export the GIF as a sprite sheet.
   • Import the sprite sheet into Unity.
   • Set the Texture Type to Sprite (2D and UI) and Sprite Mode to Multiple in the Inspector.

3. Slice the Sprite Sheet: Use the Sprite Editor to slice the sprite sheet into individual frames.

   • Open the Sprite Editor and slice the sprite sheet into individual sprites.

4. Add the Script: Attach the ImageSpriteSheetAnimator script to the GameObject with the Image component.

   • In the Inspector, assign the Image component to the targetImage field.
   • Assign the array of sprites (sliced frames from your sprite sheet) to the animationFrames field.

---

Code Usage

Start Animation

Start the animation by calling the StartAnimation method, which will loop the animation:

public class GIFPlayer : MonoBehaviour
{
    [SerializeField] private Sprite[] gifSprites; // Array of sprites for the sprite sheet
    [SerializeField] private ImageSpriteSheetAnimator spriteSheetAnimator;

    void Start()
    {
        // Start the animation with looping
        spriteSheetAnimator.StartAnimation(gifSprites, true);
    }
}

Play One-shot Animation

If you want the animation to play once without looping, use the PlayOneShotAnimation method:

public class GIFPlayer : MonoBehaviour
{
    [SerializeField] private Sprite[] gifSprites; // Array of sprites for the sprite sheet
    [SerializeField] private ImageSpriteSheetAnimator spriteSheetAnimator;

    void Start()
    {
        // Play the animation once without looping
        spriteSheetAnimator.PlayOneShotAnimation(gifSprites);
    }
}

Stop the Animation

You can stop the animation at any time with:

spriteSheetAnimator.StopAnimation();

Set Frame Rate

You can change the frame rate (time between frames) with the SetFrameRate method:

spriteSheetAnimator.SetFrameRate(0.05f); // Adjust frame rate to 0.05 seconds per frame

---

Methods

• StartAnimation(Sprite[] animationFrames, bool loop): Starts the animation with the provided sprite frames. Loops if loop is true.
• PlayOneShotAnimation(Sprite[] animationFrames): Plays the animation once through the frames.
• StopAnimation(): Stops the current animation.
• SetFrameRate(float newFrameRate): Sets the new frame rate in seconds between frames.
• SetLoop(bool shouldLoop): Sets whether the animation should loop.

---

Notes

• Sprite Sheet Layout: Ensure your sprite sheet is laid out in a grid, with each frame placed side by side or in a grid format.
• Performance: This method is ideal for simple animations, UI effects, or games that don’t need the complexity of video files or animated textures.
• Unity Version: This script is designed for Unity's UI system and works well with Unity 2020.x and above.

---

License

This script is provided free of charge and can be used in personal and commercial projects. Feel free to modify and adapt it to fit your needs.