Hey fellow developers,
You know that feeling. Your core game mechanics are finally working, and you're excited about building a playable version. Then you open your asset list and realize you need: a settings gear, a save button, a pause icon, an arrow...
You open up Inkscape or Aseprite, stare at the blank canvas, and just sigh. This isn't creative work; it's just a chore. It can completely drain your dev momentum.
As an indie dev, I found myself spending way too much time on this. I needed a way to quickly get a "good enough" vector icon without interrupting my "code flow," something I could throw into my game for a prototype. I don't need a masterpiece; I just need something that lets me keep moving forward.
To solve this "prototype roadblock" problem, I built a little tool called SVG Spark.
The idea is super simple: You tell it what you want in plain English, and it uses AI to draw the basic shape for you.
For example, you type simple settings gear icon, line art, and a few seconds later, it will give you the editable SVG code.
My new workflow looks like this:
- In SVG Spark, I type in my icon concept and get a base version.
- Copy the SVG code and paste it directly into Inkscape for a few tweaks to match my game's art style.
- Export and drag it into my game engine.
The whole process goes from "an hour of tedious work" to "five minutes of quick iteration."
You can find the tool here: SVG Spark - SVG Code to PNG
(It mainly generates SVGs, but it also has a handy svg to png converter for when you need to quickly export an image for a teammate.)
I'm sharing this to see if this little tool can also solve a problem for you. It's especially useful for:
- Quick Prototyping: When you need a bunch of placeholder icons to test a feature.
- Breaking Creative Blocks: When you're stuck on how to draw a "backpack" and just need 3 different starting points from the AI.
- Filling Gaps: When your asset pack is missing that one, single, darn pause icon.
It's still in its early stages, but it's already saved me countless hours. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, or how you guys handle this "boring UI" problem?