Questions people ask

Is it really free?

Yes. The editor is free, it always has been, and there is nothing to buy to use it. If it saves you a day you can buy me a coffee — that is the whole business model.

Do I have to install anything?

No. It is a web page: open it and it runs. It keeps working offline once it has loaded, because your browser holds a copy.

Where do my projects go? Is anything uploaded?

Nothing is uploaded. It runs on your machine, your projects are files you save yourself, and there is no account and no sign-in anywhere.

Can I sell what I make with it?

Yes. What you make belongs entirely to you, and you may use, publish and sell it without restriction, attribution or royalties.

What you may not do is to the software, not to your work: sell or redistribute Ottomancer itself, modify it, or build it into another product. The licence, in full.

Does it export to Spine?

Yes — a JSON skeleton and its atlas, written in the dialect your editor expects: 3.8, 4.0, 4.1 or 4.2, chosen in the export dialog. The version used is written into the report beside the files, so you never have to guess what a folder contains. More on the Spine route.

What else can it export?

A PNG sequence, GIF, MP4, WebM, WebP, SVG, and a self-contained web bundle that plays the effect in a browser with nothing else installed. What it does.

Why doesn’t my Spine file look exactly like the preview?

Usually it does, and you do not need Spine installed to export. Every export is TESTED by round-tripping it through Spine itself — imported, edited, exported again, then loaded and animated with Esoteric’s own runtime — and the limits that survive that are named rather than hidden.

The big one is that the JSON writes one bone and slot per particle, so a very dense effect makes a heavy skeleton; use the image sequence for those. Anything a format cannot carry is listed in the export dialog before you press the button. The honest limits.

Can I use my own art?

Yes, and there are two ways to use it. Import it as a SPRITE and an emitter throws copies of it as particles. Place it as an IMAGE LAYER and it stays one picture you can warp, ripple, flip in depth or break into pieces — those effects belong to the layer, not to the particles.

Does it work on a phone?

It opens, but it is a desktop tool. Below 700 pixels wide the side panels fold away so the effect gets the screen, and real work wants a mouse and a keyboard.

What are the ready-made effects for?

To start from. Every one opens as an ordinary project you can pull apart and change — they are examples, not a locked library. Browse them.

How do I report a bug, or ask for something?

The feedback page. No account and no email needed.

Who makes this?

One person, in their own time. A bit more here.