KA-L04 — 2D Sprites: First Asset Imports

1

Create Your Folders First

Organisation before importing — 3 min

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Before you drag anything into Unity, set up a clean folder structure. This keeps your project organised and makes finding files easy later on.

Folder Structure to Create

[ Your Unity Project Panel ] Assets/ ├── Sprites/ │ ├── Player/ │ ├── Backgrounds/ │ ├── Tiles/ │ └── Items/ └── Scenes/

How to Create Folders

In Unity, look at the Project window at the bottom of the screen.
Make sure you are inside the Assets folder (click it once to select it).
Right-click in the empty space of the Project window.
Choose Create → Folder.
Name the folder Sprites and press Enter.
Double-click into Sprites, then repeat to create: Player, Backgrounds, Tiles, and Items.
Go back to Assets and create one more folder called Scenes.

⚠️

Spelling matters! Always double-check folder names. Unity is case-sensitive on some platforms and typos now cause confusion later.

2

Import Your Background

Your first sprite import — 5 min

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File to Import

File	Location	Purpose
bg.png	Base pack/	Sky background for your level

Import Steps

Open File Explorer on your computer (outside Unity).
Navigate to your downloaded Kenney pack: kenney_platformer-art-deluxe/Base pack/
Find bg.png and drag it from File Explorer into the Assets/Sprites/Backgrounds/ folder in Unity's Project window.
Wait for Unity to import — you will see a small loading bar at the bottom.
Click on the imported bg.png file in Unity to view its settings in the Inspector panel.

Unity Inspector Settings

With bg.png selected, check these settings in the Inspector panel on the right:

Texture Type: Sprite (2D and UI)
Filter Mode: Bilinear

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If you change any settings, you must click the Apply button at the bottom of the Inspector. Otherwise your changes will be lost!

Add Background to Your Scene

Drag bg.png from the Project window into the Scene View (the big window in the centre).
With the background selected, look at the Inspector → Sprite Renderer component.
Click Sorting Layer → Add Sorting Layer and create a new layer called Background.
Go back to your bg object and set its Sorting Layer to Background.
Press R to activate the Scale tool, then drag the handles to stretch the background across the full camera view.

💡

Press F while a sprite is selected in the Hierarchy to quickly frame/focus the camera on it in the Scene View.

3

Import Your Player Character

Choose your hero — 5 min

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Pick one character to be your player. You can always change later, but start with one.

Choose ONE File

File	Location	Character
p1_front.png	Base pack/Player/	Pink/beige character
p2_front.png	Base pack/Player/	Girl with pink hair
p3_front.png	Base pack/Player/	Boy with green hat

Import and Setup Steps

In File Explorer, navigate to kenney_platformer-art-deluxe/Base pack/Player/
Drag your chosen p1_front.png, p2_front.png, or p3_front.png into Assets/Sprites/Player/ in Unity.
Drag the imported sprite from the Project window into the Scene View.
In the Inspector → Sprite Renderer, set the Sorting Layer to a new layer called Player.
Position the character so they are standing on the ground area (you can move them with the Move tool — press W).
In the Hierarchy window (top-left), click on your character's name and rename it to Player.

✅

Nice! You now have a background and a player character in your scene. Things are starting to look like a game!

4

Import Ground Tiles

Building the ground your player stands on — 8 min

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Files to Import

File	Location	Purpose
grassMid.png	Base pack/Tiles/	Flat grass surface
grassLeft.png	Base pack/Tiles/	Left edge of platform
grassRight.png	Base pack/Tiles/	Right edge of platform
dirtCenter.png	Base pack/Tiles/	Underground fill

Import and Arrange Steps

In File Explorer, navigate to kenney_platformer-art-deluxe/Base pack/Tiles/
Select all four tile files (grassMid.png, grassLeft.png, grassRight.png, dirtCenter.png) and drag them into Assets/Sprites/Tiles/ in Unity.
Drag grassLeft.png from the Project window into the Scene View — this is the left edge of your platform.
Drag grassMid.png next to it — this is the middle section. Select it and press Ctrl+D to duplicate it. Repeat to create several middle tiles.
Drag grassRight.png and place it at the right end — this caps off the platform.
Drag dirtCenter.png below the grass tiles to fill in the underground.
Select all your ground tiles, and in the Inspector → Sprite Renderer, set the Sorting Layer to a new layer called Midground.

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Pro tip: Hold V while moving a tile to activate Vertex Snapping — this snaps tiles perfectly edge-to-edge with no gaps. Drag from one corner of the tile to the matching corner of its neighbour.

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Gaps between tiles? If you see thin lines between tiles, zoom in and nudge them closer. Vertex Snapping (V) is the easiest fix. Tiny gaps are a very common beginner mistake — don't worry!

5

Add Decorations

Making your scene look alive — 5 min

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Decoration Files to Import

File	Location	Purpose
cloud1.png, cloud2.png, cloud3.png	Base pack/Items/	Sky clouds
bush.png	Base pack/Items/	Ground decoration
plant.png, plantPurple.png	Base pack/Items/	Ground decoration
rock.png	Base pack/Items/	Ground decoration
cactus.png	Base pack/Items/	Ground decoration

Import and Place Steps

In File Explorer, navigate to kenney_platformer-art-deluxe/Base pack/Items/
Select all the decoration files listed above and drag them into Assets/Sprites/Items/ in Unity.
Drag the cloud sprites into your Scene View and position them in the sky area. Set their Sorting Layer to Background.
Drag bush.png, plant.png, plantPurple.png, rock.png, and cactus.png into the scene. Place them on top of or near the ground tiles.
Set all ground decorations (bushes, plants, rocks, cactus) to the Midground Sorting Layer.

✅

Looking good! Scatter decorations naturally — don't line them up perfectly. Real environments have variety. Try different sizes and positions to make it feel organic.

6

Sorting Layers — The Layer Cake

Understanding draw order — 4 min

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In 2D games, Sorting Layers control what draws in front of what. Think of it like layers of a cake — the bottom layer is the furthest back, and the top layer is closest to the camera.

Create Your Sorting Layers

Go to Edit → Project Settings → Tags and Layers, expand Sorting Layers, and create these layers in this exact order:

Order	Layer Name	What Goes Here
1 (furthest back)	Background	bg.png, clouds
2	Midground	Ground tiles, bushes, plants, rocks
3	Foreground	Items that appear in front of the player
4 (closest to camera)	Player	Your character sprite

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Order matters! Layers at the top of the list in Project Settings render behind layers at the bottom. Background must be above Midground in the list, and Player must be at the very bottom.

Visual Reference

What Your Scene Should Look Like

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If your player disappears behind the ground, the Sorting Layer is wrong. Select your Player in the Hierarchy, go to Sprite Renderer, and make sure it is set to the Player sorting layer.

7

Extension Assets

Extra files for extension challenges — optional

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Finished early? Import these extra assets to make your scene even more detailed.

Extra Files

File	Location	Purpose
hill_small.png, hill_large.png	Base pack/Tiles/	Background hills
sign.png, signLeft.png, signRight.png	Base pack/Tiles/	Direction signs
fence.png, fenceBroken.png	Base pack/Tiles/	Decorative fences
coinGold.png	Base pack/Items/	Preview of collectibles

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Hills work great on the Background layer — place them between the sky and the ground to add depth. Signs and fences go on the Midground layer next to your platforms.

✅

coinGold.png is just a preview for now — we will set up proper collectibles with scripting in a later lesson!