Image to Cursor - Editor Docs

Converting external design assets (logos, sketches, photographs, vector drawings, or animations) into active cursor layers is one of the most powerful workflows in the editor. You can import any image and refine it using the canvas tools.

Supported File Formats

The editor includes lazy-loaded client-side decoding libraries to parse and import a wide range of web and system assets (up to 10 MB maximum per file):

Raster Images: Transparent PNGs, WebP, JPG, JPEG, and browser-standard ICO files.
Vector Graphics: SVGs (Scalable Vector Graphics), which scale cleanly to any resolution preset without edge blur prior to commit.
Animations: Animated GIFs and animated WebP containers.
Cursor Formats: Existing Windows static cursors (.cur) and animated cursors (.ani) to extract and edit pre-made designs.

Interactive Import Placement Controls

Dragging a file onto your canvas immediately opens the Import Overlay. This overlay displays a floating crop box with a bottom action dock side-by-side with these controls:

Image import placement crop overlay controls

Fit to Canvas

Proportionally rescales the imported artwork so that it fills the maximum available drawing canvas width and height, centered.

Real Size (100%)

Restores the image frame to its true, unscaled pixel dimensions. Highly recommended when importing small sprites or pre-scaled pixel art to ensure exact pixel alignment.

Recenter Placement

Moves the crop placement frame back to the absolute center of your editor canvas, resetting any custom mouse drags or pans.

Commit Import

Finishes the positioning mode and commits the pixel crop onto your active drawing layer. Once committed, the pixels become part of your drawing canvas and can be painted on.

Cancel Import

Aborts the active import preview completely, closes the overlay, and returns your canvas and layers to their pre-import state without altering any existing work.

Resize Scaling Methods

Before clicking Commit, select a resize Method to govern how the canvas scales your image down to standard cursor sizes:

Smooth (Lanczos Resampling)

Uses high-quality mathematical interpolation to blend edges. Perfect for photographs, smooth gradients, detailed logo illustrations, and SVG icons to prevent jagged lines.

Crisp (Nearest-Neighbor)

Maintains razor-sharp edges without any pixel blending or color smoothing. Essential for importing custom pixel art, sprite sheets, and retro cursor designs, guaranteeing that pixel boundaries remain perfectly crisp.

Animated & Multi-Frame Imports

The editor supports multi-frame animated imports to build moving cursor files:

GIF & WebP Animation: Dropping an animated GIF or animated WebP onto the canvas automatically populates the bottom animation timeline, instantiating new frames and automatically reading the source file's frame delays in milliseconds.
CUR & ANI Extraction: Dropping pre-existing system cursors extracts all embedded frames, cursor hotspots, and multi-resolution sizing cards, letting you restore and edit pre-built cursor packs instantly.

Import Mode Workspace Lock

While the import crop preview overlay is active, the editor pauses all drawing activities. You will not be able to draw, select, manage layers, add timeline frames, undo/redo, or export files. You must click either Commit or Cancel to release the workspace lock.

Post-Commit Workflow Check

To finish your custom design after committing the crop:

Pixel Touch-ups: Use the Picker to sample colors, and the Pencil and Eraser to touch up pixel edges.
Hotspot Registration: Dragged images default their hotspot click point to (0,0). Use the Set Hotspot tool (`my_location`) to assign the exact pixel that triggers operating system clicks.
Multi-Size Scaling: Scale the committed design across other resolution cards (e.g. 48px, 64px) to ensure your custom cursor remains sharp and compatible across all screens.

Marathon Bold Set