normal-map

pixelkiln normal-map --from art/hero-walk.png --frames 6 --convention opengl --out art/hero-walk-normal.png

Makes the normal map of a sprite with PixelLab's /normal-map, so a game engine can light it. The map is the input's size: RGB is the way each pixel faces, and alpha is 255 where the sprite shows and 0 elsewhere.

• --from must be a PNG: its alpha marks where the sprite is. For an animation, pass a horizontal strip of equal frames and --frames <n> (1–32, default 1). PixelLab shapes the first frame and carries that to the others, so the light stays steady, and returns the map as a strip of the same layout.
• Each frame must be 8 to 512 pixels per side, and the strip's width must divide evenly by --frames. Both are checked before anything is sent.
• --convention opengl (the default) is green up, for Godot, Unity, and Phaser; --convention directx is green down, for Unreal.
• 0.5 generation per call, a whole strip included, charged only when the map is delivered (PixelLab's documented price; not yet measured here). The command prints that and asks first; --yes skips the question, --budget <n> refuses when n is below it, and --dry-run sends nothing.
• --out defaults to <input>.normal.png beside the input, and the input is never overwritten. An existing --out is replaced only with --force.
• --json prints the job id, the map's size, the frame count, the convention, and the billed usage.

It writes a loose file and leaves the lockfile alone. For a manifest asset or a loop, declare a normal-map revision instead: it tracks the parent and cuts a loop's map back into per-frame files.