ardu-imconvert

A simple image converter for Arduboy which focuses on real-time display and formatting of converted data.

This is a Python rewrite of the original C++ version, using PySide6.

Fast start

install it:

• from PyPI (requires Python >= 3.12): pip install ardu-imconvert.
• download an executable from releases page (Windows and Linux only).

then run it:

• as a GUI application, directly without option: ardu-imconvert or python -m arduimconvert (if installed from PyPI).
• as a CLI application, with options (see below).

Features

• Real-time data visualization.
• Supports .png and .gif image formats.
• Preview function.
• Animation playback.
• Simple raw data format display.
• Extracts mask data from alpha channel.
• Single or multiple source file export (C/C++ header format).
• Support for RLE Cabi compression mode (compatible with Arduboy2::drawCompressed).
• Support for ArdBitmap compression mode (compatible with ArdBitmap library).
• Simple assets directory browser (fast switching between images in the same directory).
• Format data for multiple drawing functions:
  • Arduboy2::drawBitmap
  • Arduboy2::drawCompressed
  • Sprites::drawExternalMask
  • Sprites::drawOverwrite
  • Sprites::drawErase
  • Sprites::drawSelfMasked
  • ArdBitmap::drawCompressed
• Basic image operations:
  • Negative (invert black and white)
  • Slice tiling
• CLI mode for scripted/batch conversions.

How to use (GUI)

• Use the mouse wheel to zoom in/out and drag to pan the image in the preview.
• Change format to display ready-to-use converted data for a specific drawing function.
• Use the Slice function to split your image into tiles (useful for tilemaps) or sprite frames.
• Export exports the current image using the selected format, creating a C/C++ header file next to the source image.
• Export Selected exports all selected images from the directory browser.
• Export All exports all images from the directory browser.
• Export As exports one or multiple images into a single C/C++ header file.

How to use (CLI)

When called with arguments, ardu-imconvert runs in CLI mode. By default it generates a complete C/C++ header file to stdout.

For example:

ardu-imconvert image.png                          # output full .h to stdout
ardu-imconvert image.png --output sprite.h        # write to file
ardu-imconvert image.png -f Sprites_drawOverwrite # use a specific format
ardu-imconvert image.png --data                   # output only the data array
ardu-imconvert image.png --mask                   # output only the mask array
ardu-imconvert tilemap.png --slice 8x8            # slice into 8x8 tiles
ardu-imconvert image.png --negative               # invert image before conversion

Development

git clone https://gitlab.com/zeduckmaster/ardu-imconvert-v2.git
cd ardu-imconvert-v2
pip install -e .[dev]
python -m pytest            # run tests
python -m arduimconvert     # run the GUI from source

Related Links

• Arduboy2 library: https://github.com/MLXXXp/Arduboy2
• ArdBitmap library: https://github.com/igvina/ArdBitmap
• Icon used: http://www.visualpharm.com/

License

GPLv3