Frequently Asked Questions
• What is this website?
We have a very handy and simple about page with that information. Check it out!
• How do I use the sprites / models / textures / sounds on this site?
There are many ways the content on this site can be used. First, you have to decide what you want to use the sprites for - are you making a comic? Are you working on a poster of some sort? Or are you making a game? If you're interested in these things, the best option is generally to search on Google for a tutorial on the subject specifically.
If you want to learn to sprite, then the first thing you should do is get to grips with the basics of a digital image application. For most spriters, the built in Paint application from Windows is great. It's simple, and does exactly what you need. For a bit more versatility though, Paint.NET (free), GIMP (free), or if you have access to it, Photoshop (paid) can all do quite a bit more.
• Can I use the sprites / models / textures / sounds on this site in my own projects?
That depends. Is your project commercial in any way (as in, do you stand to make money from it by selling it, advertising in or around it, including in-app purchases in games, or in any other way)? If so, then no, you can't. These resources are all copyrighted works and as such, cannot be used in any commercial project without express written consent from their copyright holders. We do not own and cannot license any of them to you.
That said, if your project is 100% free (e.g. a free fan-game or non-monetized YouTube video - basically any project that was made just for the sake of making it and will not be used in any way to make you money), use away! This is one of the primary reasons we collected all of these resources and we'd love to see what you do with them!
As a special side note, we'd also caution against using anything from these sites in games published to any established market place (like Steam, Apple's App Store, or Google Play), even if they're completely free and contain no ads or in-app purchases. Because it's a formal publication at that point, it's still likely not allowed.
A note regarding credit: If you are going to use custom work in your project, commercial or otherwise, it is common courtesy to credit the original artist. Some submissions will show "no credit needed" or similar but many of these were created long before the idea of them being used in videos seen by millions was even a pipe dream so please consider crediting them regardless. In all other cases, proper credit should be given to the IP holder regardless of what the submission states (e.g. if you are using a sprite of Mario, Nintendo should be credited). To put it simply, always credit the original artist - it's just the right thing to do.
• I'm the copyright holder for some of the content you have on your site and would like it removed. Who should I get in touch with?
While we would love to see all of the content we host remain online and accessible, we fully respect the rights and wishes of the content creators and owners. If you are the owner of a piece of content on any of our sites and would like it taken down for any reason, please just email us using the contact form. You'll be asked to verify you are who you say you are and then the content will be removed, no further questions asked. Formal DMCA takedown notices are not necessary - a quick email is all that's required.
• How do I rip my own sprites?
That depends on how you want to go about ripping. Of course the first thing you need to do is pick a game. After that, you can check if we have a tutorial written for that console specifically, and if we don't, you can look into using a screen capturing style technique to rip your game.
• You don't have X sheet, can you rip X sheet?
We generally don't take requests, not because we don't want to help you out, but because we already have a lot on our plate as it is. However, if you want to make a request, you must first be a part of the community. Requests are only allowed on the Discord (in the #requests channel) but there are no requirements other than joining the server to make one. Just keep in mind that more often than not, your request won't be picked up, especially if you're joining simply to make that request. I'm afraid that's just the way it is...
• Why hasn't my submission been approved yet?
We get thousands of submissions per month and have an extremely small staff to review them at the moment. The staff volunteer their time when they're able to but they all have lives and can't be looking through the queues 24/7. If you still see your submission in the queue, nothing is wrong and contacting us to ask about it will not help. Submissions with icons, where appropriate, tend to be accepted more quickly though so if you did not include them, that would be a good place to start.
• Who are you guys?
This website is run by many people - it's a community driven website, and we don't by any means feel we should take any more credit than those who have ripped the content on the site. You can find out more about us, our staff, the community, and the site's history on the about page though.
• How long have these sites been around?
The Spriters Resource was founded in June 2003. Models Resource, Textures Resource, Sounds Resource, and the VG Resource were all founded in June 2010. Originally, the community forum was hosted under the Spriters Resource but in June 2013, we converted the VG Resource to be the central forum for the rest of the network. Additional details and snapshots of The Spriters Resource's evolution can be found on the about page.
• Can I become a member of staff?
We typically employ a "don’t come to us, we'll come to you" policy for selecting staff members so in general, asking for a position just for the sake of being on staff isn’t going to get you anywhere. That said, we are always in need of qualified individuals who are willing to help out with the queues, especially for models. So, if you have a history of approved submissions, are willing to volunteer some of your time, and want to help out reviewing submissions, please reach out via the contact page. Otherwise, we will reach out to those we feel would be a good fit if and when we see them.
• I want to start my own sprite archive, can I take some of your sheets?
Site archiving is basically going onto tSR, downloading a sheet, and then sticking it onto your website without asking the sheet maker's permission. This is most likely one of the most crucial rules we have, in that we are entrusted to have these sheets, and you are not. As such, you do not have permission from the sheet maker to host the file on your website. If you do want to put a sprite sheet onto your website, feel free to contact the sheet maker and ask them for permission. We suggest that it's the least you do if you plan to put their content on to your website though you should consider crediting the original ripper as well as linking back to the original submission as well.
• I want to show my friends some of these sheets! I want to post the images on a forum!
Another thing that we are not too keen on is if you directly link to our images. On a forum or message board, that's all well and fine, but if you make a sprites section on your site and you want to link to a certain sprite, be sure to link to the page that the sheet is on rather than the image directly. The reason for this is simply that linking directly to the image will use up our bandwidth needlessly, and give us no benefit at all. It's pretty much using our resources, which we pay for, and taking them for your own. And that's not very nice, now is it?
If you want to link to our entire website, feel free! Link to the front page!
• Can I subscribe to games, submissions, comments, etc. and get notifications of new content?
Not directly via email or PM but we do provide a number of RSS feeds you can subscribe to for direct notification of new uploads, comments, and updates with various filters described below:
Uploads
All Uploads: This RSS link on the home page and in the footer will give you an unfiltered feed of all uploads to the site. You can also subscribe by clicking here.
Filtered Uploads: We also provide feeds filtered by individual game, category, or genre. To find these specific feeds, go to the game, category, or genre you'd like to subscribe to and look for the RSS icon in the info box at the top of the page.
Comments
All Comments: The RSS icon at the top of the comments page will subscribe you to a feed of all comments posted on all submissions on the site (but not on games or home page updates). You can also subscribe by clicking here.
Submitter-Specific Comments: We also provide feeds filtered to a specific submitter. Usually, this would be used to be notified of new comments on any of your own submissions but you can subscribe to anyone else you might want as well. You can find the link for these feeds at the top of every submitter profile.
Updates
All Updates: Finally, we provide a feed for updates to the home page of each site. You can find the link in the "Browse Updates" table when viewing an individual update or by clicking here.
• What about Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, Square and Other Companies... Do they know about this site?
The sprites on this website are all related to the original company that they originate from. Their character design or original drawings are the rightful property of said companies, and as such, we claim no rights over them. We have nothing to do with their original creation (in most cases, at least) and claim no credit for how they came into original existence. Although we compile ripped sprites into sheets, and obtain them from games, we do not have any rights over the images.
Custom sprites, although drawn by us, use designs created by the original company, and so we do not claim any creation to the character design. We are however, the original artists of the specific sheets, and have rights over such art.
Although we have not obtained permission from these companies to host their sprites on this website, we do anyway, in the hopes that these companies understand that our intention is not to steal their works, but to appreciate their work, and to distribute it as a fan service to help others research and use as they please.
We have received very few requests by publishers / rights holders to have content removed and at least one was due to the game having not been released yet. It was then later put up again. Several companies know of our existence, and have been in contact with us for other purposes. We have no knowledge of their taking to the content of this site.
• How do I change my avatar / profile picture?
This is done from the User CP on the forum. If you’re logged in, you can click here to go directly to the avatar editor.
• How do I view "hidden" content?
If you see category counts that include "x hidden", it means you have the NSFW filter enabled. This filter, which is enabled by default, completely removes all NSFW content from the site. To view this content, click on the warning icon / triangle (
) at the top right of the window (under the user info box) on the desktop layout or at the bottom of the right menu on mobile.
• What is the registration token?
We have a very handy and simple about page with that information. Check it out!
• How do I use the sprites / models / textures / sounds on this site?
There are many ways the content on this site can be used. First, you have to decide what you want to use the sprites for - are you making a comic? Are you working on a poster of some sort? Or are you making a game? If you're interested in these things, the best option is generally to search on Google for a tutorial on the subject specifically.
If you want to learn to sprite, then the first thing you should do is get to grips with the basics of a digital image application. For most spriters, the built in Paint application from Windows is great. It's simple, and does exactly what you need. For a bit more versatility though, Paint.NET (free), GIMP (free), or if you have access to it, Photoshop (paid) can all do quite a bit more.
• Can I use the sprites / models / textures / sounds on this site in my own projects?
That depends. Is your project commercial in any way (as in, do you stand to make money from it by selling it, advertising in or around it, including in-app purchases in games, or in any other way)? If so, then no, you can't. These resources are all copyrighted works and as such, cannot be used in any commercial project without express written consent from their copyright holders. We do not own and cannot license any of them to you.
That said, if your project is 100% free (e.g. a free fan-game or non-monetized YouTube video - basically any project that was made just for the sake of making it and will not be used in any way to make you money), use away! This is one of the primary reasons we collected all of these resources and we'd love to see what you do with them!
As a special side note, we'd also caution against using anything from these sites in games published to any established market place (like Steam, Apple's App Store, or Google Play), even if they're completely free and contain no ads or in-app purchases. Because it's a formal publication at that point, it's still likely not allowed.
A note regarding credit: If you are going to use custom work in your project, commercial or otherwise, it is common courtesy to credit the original artist. Some submissions will show "no credit needed" or similar but many of these were created long before the idea of them being used in videos seen by millions was even a pipe dream so please consider crediting them regardless. In all other cases, proper credit should be given to the IP holder regardless of what the submission states (e.g. if you are using a sprite of Mario, Nintendo should be credited). To put it simply, always credit the original artist - it's just the right thing to do.
• I'm the copyright holder for some of the content you have on your site and would like it removed. Who should I get in touch with?
While we would love to see all of the content we host remain online and accessible, we fully respect the rights and wishes of the content creators and owners. If you are the owner of a piece of content on any of our sites and would like it taken down for any reason, please just email us using the contact form. You'll be asked to verify you are who you say you are and then the content will be removed, no further questions asked. Formal DMCA takedown notices are not necessary - a quick email is all that's required.
• How do I rip my own sprites?
That depends on how you want to go about ripping. Of course the first thing you need to do is pick a game. After that, you can check if we have a tutorial written for that console specifically, and if we don't, you can look into using a screen capturing style technique to rip your game.
• You don't have X sheet, can you rip X sheet?
We generally don't take requests, not because we don't want to help you out, but because we already have a lot on our plate as it is. However, if you want to make a request, you must first be a part of the community. Requests are only allowed on the Discord (in the #requests channel) but there are no requirements other than joining the server to make one. Just keep in mind that more often than not, your request won't be picked up, especially if you're joining simply to make that request. I'm afraid that's just the way it is...
• Why hasn't my submission been approved yet?
We get thousands of submissions per month and have an extremely small staff to review them at the moment. The staff volunteer their time when they're able to but they all have lives and can't be looking through the queues 24/7. If you still see your submission in the queue, nothing is wrong and contacting us to ask about it will not help. Submissions with icons, where appropriate, tend to be accepted more quickly though so if you did not include them, that would be a good place to start.
• Who are you guys?
This website is run by many people - it's a community driven website, and we don't by any means feel we should take any more credit than those who have ripped the content on the site. You can find out more about us, our staff, the community, and the site's history on the about page though.
• How long have these sites been around?
The Spriters Resource was founded in June 2003. Models Resource, Textures Resource, Sounds Resource, and the VG Resource were all founded in June 2010. Originally, the community forum was hosted under the Spriters Resource but in June 2013, we converted the VG Resource to be the central forum for the rest of the network. Additional details and snapshots of The Spriters Resource's evolution can be found on the about page.
• Can I become a member of staff?
We typically employ a "don’t come to us, we'll come to you" policy for selecting staff members so in general, asking for a position just for the sake of being on staff isn’t going to get you anywhere. That said, we are always in need of qualified individuals who are willing to help out with the queues, especially for models. So, if you have a history of approved submissions, are willing to volunteer some of your time, and want to help out reviewing submissions, please reach out via the contact page. Otherwise, we will reach out to those we feel would be a good fit if and when we see them.
• I want to start my own sprite archive, can I take some of your sheets?
Site archiving is basically going onto tSR, downloading a sheet, and then sticking it onto your website without asking the sheet maker's permission. This is most likely one of the most crucial rules we have, in that we are entrusted to have these sheets, and you are not. As such, you do not have permission from the sheet maker to host the file on your website. If you do want to put a sprite sheet onto your website, feel free to contact the sheet maker and ask them for permission. We suggest that it's the least you do if you plan to put their content on to your website though you should consider crediting the original ripper as well as linking back to the original submission as well.
• I want to show my friends some of these sheets! I want to post the images on a forum!
Another thing that we are not too keen on is if you directly link to our images. On a forum or message board, that's all well and fine, but if you make a sprites section on your site and you want to link to a certain sprite, be sure to link to the page that the sheet is on rather than the image directly. The reason for this is simply that linking directly to the image will use up our bandwidth needlessly, and give us no benefit at all. It's pretty much using our resources, which we pay for, and taking them for your own. And that's not very nice, now is it?
If you want to link to our entire website, feel free! Link to the front page!
• Can I subscribe to games, submissions, comments, etc. and get notifications of new content?
Not directly via email or PM but we do provide a number of RSS feeds you can subscribe to for direct notification of new uploads, comments, and updates with various filters described below:
Uploads
All Uploads: This RSS link on the home page and in the footer will give you an unfiltered feed of all uploads to the site. You can also subscribe by clicking here.
Filtered Uploads: We also provide feeds filtered by individual game, category, or genre. To find these specific feeds, go to the game, category, or genre you'd like to subscribe to and look for the RSS icon in the info box at the top of the page.
Comments
All Comments: The RSS icon at the top of the comments page will subscribe you to a feed of all comments posted on all submissions on the site (but not on games or home page updates). You can also subscribe by clicking here.
Submitter-Specific Comments: We also provide feeds filtered to a specific submitter. Usually, this would be used to be notified of new comments on any of your own submissions but you can subscribe to anyone else you might want as well. You can find the link for these feeds at the top of every submitter profile.
Updates
All Updates: Finally, we provide a feed for updates to the home page of each site. You can find the link in the "Browse Updates" table when viewing an individual update or by clicking here.
• What about Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, Square and Other Companies... Do they know about this site?
The sprites on this website are all related to the original company that they originate from. Their character design or original drawings are the rightful property of said companies, and as such, we claim no rights over them. We have nothing to do with their original creation (in most cases, at least) and claim no credit for how they came into original existence. Although we compile ripped sprites into sheets, and obtain them from games, we do not have any rights over the images.
Custom sprites, although drawn by us, use designs created by the original company, and so we do not claim any creation to the character design. We are however, the original artists of the specific sheets, and have rights over such art.
Although we have not obtained permission from these companies to host their sprites on this website, we do anyway, in the hopes that these companies understand that our intention is not to steal their works, but to appreciate their work, and to distribute it as a fan service to help others research and use as they please.
We have received very few requests by publishers / rights holders to have content removed and at least one was due to the game having not been released yet. It was then later put up again. Several companies know of our existence, and have been in contact with us for other purposes. We have no knowledge of their taking to the content of this site.
• How do I change my avatar / profile picture?
This is done from the User CP on the forum. If you’re logged in, you can click here to go directly to the avatar editor.
• How do I view "hidden" content?
If you see category counts that include "x hidden", it means you have the NSFW filter enabled. This filter, which is enabled by default, completely removes all NSFW content from the site. To view this content, click on the warning icon / triangle (
) at the top right of the window (under the user info box) on the desktop layout or at the bottom of the right menu on mobile.• What is the registration token?