How to use Loocie Studio · Loocie Design

What this is

Loocie Studio is a set of tools for seamless repeating patterns — fabric, wallpaper, wrapping, stationery, and print-on-demand. It is not a drawing app. Keep making art in the tools you already like; use Studio for the repeat system.

The Studio menu has three main tools: Extract, Make Tile, and Preview. Open it from the site menu or go straight to Loocie Studio. Desktop works great; on phones and tablets, switch tools with the bottom tabs (Extract · Make Tile · Preview). Controls for the current tool open from the panel rail above the tabs.

Words you’ll hear

You only need these. After this section we stick to plain words.

Motif: One design unit you will repeat — a flower, a leaf, a bird, a shape.
Sprite: A single motif cut out (often with a see-through background) so you can place it on a tile. Same idea as “one flower cut out of a sheet.”
Sheet: One image that holds several motifs together — for example a page of flowers on a plain background. Extract cuts that sheet into separate sprites.
Tile: The square (or pattern unit) that repeats across fabric or paper. You build it in Make Tile, then download it as a PNG.
Seamless / join: When the pattern repeats with no hard line where tiles meet. Make Tile builds a seamless tile for you; use Preview to double-check how it looks repeating large.
Layer: A stacking level on the tile. In Make Tile, open Layers on the right — Background at the bottom, then motif layers (up to four). Drag rows or use ▲/▼ to reorder. Put a busy base on one layer and feature motifs on another.
Tint / Recolour: Tint is a soft colour wash (original hues still show through). Recolour dyes the motif that colour while keeping light and shadow. Both live under Colour on a layer or on a selected sprite.
PNG: A common image file type. Good for sprites with see-through backgrounds and for print-ready tiles.
Zip: A packed folder of files. When you Download sprites, Studio often gives you a zip — open it on your computer or phone to get the individual PNGs.
Project (.loocie): An optional “save everything” file: your sprites, tile layout, and background together. Use Save project when you want to come back to the same tile later.

The big picture

A path that works well for most people:

Make or collect motifs (art app, scan, or AI).
Clean them up — Extract for a whole sheet, or Sprite Clean for one motif at a time.
Build your sprite library — download the keepers into a folder you keep.
In Make Tile, place sprites on a layer, open that layer’s Arrange tab for a layout, or drag by hand.
(Optional) Open Background from the Layers list and choose a solid or pattern ground — gingham, stripes, dots, diamonds, and more.
Open Preview to see the full current tile repeating (all visible layers), then Download tile when you’re happy.

You do not have to use every tool every time. Many people only need Extract → Make Tile → Preview.

Build your sprite library

This is the habit we recommend most.

A sprite library is simply a folder of cleaned sprites you keep on your computer, phone, or tablet — organised however you like. Think of it as your personal motif collection: ready to drop into a new tile whenever you want, without starting from a messy sheet again.

After Extract or Sprite Clean, click Download sprites or Download. A zip usually lands in your Downloads folder.
Open the zip and move the PNGs into a folder you name by collection — for example “roses summer” or “botanical leaves”.
Keep the keepers. Delete rejects so the folder stays useful.
Later, in Make Tile, use Upload sprites and pick files from that folder. You can mix sprites from different collections on one tile.

Do not rely only on what is sitting in the browser. Files on the site auto-delete after a short time, and browser memory can clear. Your downloaded sprite library is the long-term copy.

Optional: when a whole tile is in progress, use Save project to download a .loocie file — sprites plus layout together. Open it later with Open project.

Extract

What it’s for: upload a sheet of motifs, let Studio find each one, tidy them, then send them to Make Tile or download them into your sprite library. (You may still see “Sprite Splitter” / “Sprite Extractor” on older labels — same tool.)

Open Studio → Extract.

Easy path (start here)

Drop your sheet into the big upload area, or click it to browse. PNG, JPG, WEBP, or SVG work. A plain, even background and a little space between drawings help most.
Wait while Studio finds each motif and cleans the paper background automatically. Thumbnails appear on the right.
Tick the sprites you want (or use Select all), then click Continue.
Choose what next:
- Send sprites to Make Tile — send them straight into the tile tool in this browser.
- Download sprites — save a zip into your sprite library (recommended).

If the results look wrong — one big box instead of many, or missing pieces — click I’m stuck — open Advanced tools (or Advanced tools in the top bar).

Advanced tools (when you need more control)

Use Upload sheet if you need a new image. You can also Upload sprites that are already cut out.
On the Source tab, pink boxes show what was found. Drag box edges to fix a crop. Use Select to draw your own box around a motif the auto-detect missed.
Click a sprite in the left panel, then open the Clean up tab. Try Remove bg, Trim, and edge tools (Crisp edges, Defringe, Smooth edges) until the cut-out looks clean.
Check several sprites and use batch Remove bg / Trim on the left panel when you want the same tidy-up on many at once.
When you’re happy: Download sprites (zip for your library) and/or Send sprites to Make Tile.

Detect sliders (Sensitivity, Min size, Merge gap, Crop padding) have a short “What do these settings mean?” note inside the tool — open that if auto-detect needs a nudge, then click Re-detect.

Sprite Clean

What it’s for: tidy one motif (or a few) that are already separate images — remove the background, clean edges, then download or send to Make Tile. Prefer this when you do not have a full sheet; use Extract for sheets.

Sprite Clean is marked experimental in Studio. Open it from the Studio menu when available, or go to Sprite Clean directly.

Drop one or more images into the upload area (or click to browse).
Click a thumbnail in the Sprites list to open it in the editor.
Start with Remove bg or Cut background for a soft shadow on off-white. Use Brush, Eraser, Fill, and Bg match for fiddly bits. Trim crops empty margin.
Optional: Crisp edges, Defringe, Smooth edges, or Despeckle if the outline still looks soft or dusty.
Click Download (one file, or a zip if you cleaned several) — save into your sprite library.
Or click Send sprites to Make Tile to arrange them into a tile next.

Make Tile

What it’s for: place sprites on a tile, arrange the repeat, set a solid or pattern ground, then download a print-ready PNG.

Open Studio → Make Tile, or arrive here via Send sprites to Make Tile from Extract or Clean.

Layout in short: Sprites on the left, the tile in the middle, and one screen at a time on the right — Tile, Layers, a single layer, or a selected sprite. On a phone or tablet, use the bottom tabs to switch tools, and the panel rail above them — Art, Canvas, Project — for Make Tile sheets.

Right panel — four screens

Tile — title (download filename), size (try 4096 for a crisp start), and grid/snap for the editor only.
Layers — the stack list. Add a layer with the bottom row, delete with ✕ on a row, reorder with drag or ▲/▼, hide with the eye. Tap a row to open that layer (or Background).
Layer detail — tabs Arrange · Adjust · Colour. Arrange picks a layout (Brick, Half-drop, Grid, Diamond, Scatter) and spacing — the tile updates instantly. Adjust covers opacity, size, rotate, and flip for the whole layer. Colour offers None, Tint, Recolour, or Greyscale for every sprite on that layer.
Sprite detail — click a motif on the tile. Tabs Adjust · Colour for that sprite (or multi-select). Use Move to layer to send it elsewhere, then Duplicate / Delete. Back with ‹ Layer name.

First session — build a tile

If sprites are not already there, open Sprites and use Upload sprites (or pick from your library). Click a sprite to place it on the active layer, or select several and Add to layer.
Open Layers on the right. Tap a motif layer to edit it. On Arrange, pick a layout card — spacing and advanced options sit below. You can still drag by hand afterwards; use toolbar Undo to step back.
Click a motif on the tile to select it (only sprites on the active layer can be selected — that keeps things clear). Drag to move; drag a corner to resize; use the rotate handle to turn. Ctrl+A / ⌘A selects every sprite on that layer so you can move them together.
Optional: on the layer’s Colour tab, try Tint (soft wash) or Recolour (dye while keeping shading). On a selected sprite, the Colour tab uses the same four modes for that motif only.
From Layers, open Background for the ground. Pick a style (solid, transparent, gingham, check, stripes, dots, grid, diamonds, gradients). Adjust colours, scale, and opacity — the tile updates live.
Open Tile on the right for title, export size, and editor grid.
When you’re happy, click Download tile at the top (or Preview this tile to jump straight into Preview with the full current stack).

For deeper detail on every control, open Help inside Make Tile (from More, or the ? buttons). This page is the first-session path.

Tip: Save project keeps sprites + layout + background together as a .loocie file (and signed-in projects stay with your Studio account). Use New project when you want an empty workspace — it clears sprites, tile, and background.

Preview

What it’s for: see your pattern repeating full-screen — the full current Make Tile (every visible layer), or a PNG you upload.

Open Studio → Preview after you’ve built a tile, or click Preview this tile from Make Tile.

Prefer Preview current tile when you have a Make Tile project open — that uses your live composition (all layers), not an old download.
Or upload / drop a PNG if you’re checking a file from your computer.
Use the size slider (or % / px fields) to zoom the repeat larger or smaller on screen. 100% matches Make Tile / download size when Preview knows your project size.
Click Check the seam. Follow the short tip, then jump between vertical edge, horizontal edge, and four-corner views to see how the join looks up close.
Optional: use Frame colour (Auto, Gold, Light, or Dark) so the seam frame stays easy to see on light or dark tiles. Export proof downloads a shareable overview.

Your downloaded tile is ready for print or print-on-demand. See the selling guide for where files often go next.

Saving & signing in

Sign in so nobody else can see your uploads. Studio keeps files private per account.
Files on the site still auto-delete after a short time — always download anything you want to keep.
Your sprite library on your device is the long-term habit. Browser memory can clear; a folder of PNGs does not.
Use Save project when you need the whole tile-in-progress (sprites + layout + background) in one .loocie file — or keep working in Studio while signed in so projects stay with your account.

Stuck?

Studio is in beta. Tools may change. If something breaks or a step is unclear, email loociedesign@gmail.com — include as much detail as you can, and a screenshot if possible.

Making motifs with AI? Read the beginners guide to AI. Selling patterns? See the selling guide.