Icon Smith

Standalone icon generator for Unreal Engine 5.8 — turn any mesh or actor into a clean, transparent icon.

Editor-onlyFully standaloneUE 5.8

Overview

Icon Smith renders high-quality, transparent icons from your meshes and actors inside an isolated capture scene, then writes them as Texture2D assets into a folder you choose. It depends on no game system and assigns nothing automatically — it renders only what you hand it and drops the results in a folder for you to use however you like.

Open it from the play toolbar, Ctrl+Shift+I, Tools → Icon Smith, or the Content Browser. When docked full-screen, the tab includes a status bar with Content Drawer so you can still browse assets without switching tabs.

High quality

Alpha cutout against a transparent background, supersampled for crisp edges, a fixed 3-light studio rig for an identical look every time, and automatic framing so every object is perfectly centered.

Low memory & simple

One reusable preview scene and render target, sequential generation with periodic cleanup. Select meshes (or a whole folder), hit Generate, done. A live preview shows the exact result first.

Opening the Tool

Icon Smith can be opened from several places in the editor. All paths open the same dockable Icon Smith tab.

Where	How
Play toolbar	Click the gold Icon Smith button on the right-hand play toolbar (next to Play, alongside Reboot / LevelWarp and other plugin buttons). One click opens the tool.
Keyboard shortcut	Ctrl + Shift + I
Main menu	Tools → Icon Smith
Content Browser toolbar	Click the Icon Smith button on the Content Browser toolbar.
Content Browser context menu	Right-click supported assets → Generate Icon(s) (opens the tool and queues those assets).

The in-tool ? Docs button (Render Queue header) opens this documentation page in your browser.

Quick Start

Open the tool from the play toolbar, Ctrl+Shift+I, Tools → Icon Smith, or the Content Browser toolbar / right-click action.
Add sources with Add Selected (uses your Content Browser selection) or Add Folder. The first one previews automatically in the center viewport. If the main Content Browser is hidden, use the tab's Content Drawer (see Docking & Content Drawer).
Tune the look on the right (resolution, camera angle, lighting, background) and set your Output Directory.
Click Generate All (or Generate Selected). Your icons appear as texture assets in the output folder, ready to assign wherever you want.

The Interface

The Icon Smith tab contains the tool UI plus the standard editor status bar at the bottom (see Docking & Content Drawer). The tool itself is split into four areas:

Left — Render Queue: the list of sources you've added. Each row shows a thumbnail, name, type and status (Pending / Working / Done / Failed). Buttons: Add Selected, Add Folder, Remove, Clear. The ? Docs button opens this page.
Center — Live Preview: a real 3D viewport showing the selected source exactly as it will be captured. Toggle Turntable preview to spin it. Select any queue row to preview that source.
Right — Settings: all look and output options, plus Apply Preset, Save Preset, and Reset to Defaults (restores factory look/output settings without clearing the queue).
Bottom — Batch Bar: status text, a progress bar, and the Generate Selected / Generate All buttons.

Docking & Content Drawer

Icon Smith is a nomad tab — you can float it or dock it anywhere: beside the Level viewport, in a side panel, or on a second monitor.

Docked full-screen with the Level tab

When you tab Icon Smith into the main editor area (alongside your open level), it fills that workspace. The separate Content Browser panel at the bottom of the editor may no longer be visible in that layout — that is normal for full-tab docking.

Icon Smith includes the same editor status bar used by the Level Editor at the bottom of its tab. From there you can:

Open the Content Drawer to browse and select assets, then use Add Selected in the render queue.
Open the Output Log drawer if you need it.

You do not need to switch back to the Level tab to pick assets — use Content Drawer on the Icon Smith tab's status bar while Icon Smith is docked full-screen.

Recommended layouts

Full-width workflow: dock Icon Smith as a main tab and use the built-in Content Drawer for asset picking.
Side-by-side: dock Icon Smith in a narrow column on the left or right and keep the main Content Browser visible elsewhere.
Floating: undock Icon Smith to a second monitor while editing the level on your primary screen.

Preview & Navigation

The center viewport is a standard editor viewport over the isolated capture scene. Select a row in the Render Queue to load that source. To look around:

LMB drag — move/tumble the camera
RMB drag — rotate the view (hold and use W A S D to fly)
Alt + LMB drag — orbit around the object
Mouse Wheel — zoom
F — focus on the object

Changing any setting re-frames the preview to match the capture camera, so what you see is what you get. Free navigation is for inspection; the generated icon always uses the camera defined by the Camera settings.

Settings Reference

Resolution

Setting	What it does
`Resolution`	Final icon size in pixels (square), 16–4096. Default 256.
`Supersample Factor`	Renders at `Resolution × factor` then downscales for anti-aliased edges. 1–4. Default 4. Higher = crisper but slower.

Background

Setting	What it does
`Background Mode`	Transparent (alpha cutout), Solid Color, or Vertical Gradient.
`Background Color`	The fill color for Solid mode, or the top color for Gradient mode. (Hidden when Transparent.)
`Background Color Bottom`	Bottom color for Gradient mode.

Even with a solid/gradient background, the object is captured with a true alpha cutout first and composited afterward — so edges stay clean.

Camera

Setting	What it does
`Projection`	Perspective or Orthographic.
`Camera Preset`	3/4 View, Front, Side, Top, or Custom.
`Camera Yaw / Pitch`	Orbit angles around the object (Custom preset only).
`Field Of View`	Perspective FOV in degrees, 5–170 (Perspective only).
`Frame Padding`	Margin around the object. `1.0` = tight, `1.15` = 15% padding. Default 1.15.

Framing is automatic: the object's bounds are measured and the camera distance/zoom is set so it fits the icon with your chosen padding, no matter the object's real-world size.

Lighting

Icon Smith uses a fixed, self-contained studio rig inside an isolated preview scene: the preview scene's key directional light plus separate fill and rim directionals. Every icon is lit the same way regardless of your open level. Capture uses deferred lighting; the live preview may show a harmless editor warning about multiple directionals — it does not affect output quality.

Setting	What it does
`Key Light Intensity`	Brightness of the main light. The fill and rim scale from this. Default 3.0.
`Key Light Rotation`	Direction the key light points (the whole rig orients from this).
`Light Color`	Color of the key and fill lights.
`Sky Light Intensity`	Ambient fill from the preview scene's sky light.
`Brightness`	Overall multiplier applied to the captured color (0.01–4). Default 1.0. Values near zero produce solid black icons — use Reset to Defaults if output looks wrong.

Output & Naming

Setting	What it does
`Output Directory`	Content folder the textures are written to. Defaults to `/Game/GeneratedIcons`.
`Naming Pattern`	Asset name pattern. `{Name}` is replaced with the source's name. Default `T_Icon_{Name}`.
`Overwrite Existing`	When on, re-generating updates the same-named asset in place, so any references you wired up by hand stay valid.
`Also Export PNG`	Additionally write a `.png` copy to disk.
`PNG Directory`	Disk folder for the PNG copies (when enabled).

Each generated texture is created in the UI texture group with sRGB on, an alpha channel, and no mipmaps — ready to drop straight into UMG or materials. The tool never opens or edits your source assets.

Presets

A preset is a small IconSmithPreset data asset that stores a complete look (everything under the Look settings). To use one:

Create a preset: right-click in the Content Browser → Miscellaneous → Data Asset → Icon Smith Preset.
Assign it to the Preset field in the settings panel.
Save Preset stores your current look into it; Apply Preset loads the look back out.

Reset to Defaults restores all look and output settings to the plugin's factory values (including Brightness and lighting). It does not clear the render queue. Use it if icons come out black or settings were changed accidentally.

Great for sharing one consistent icon style across a team or project.

Content Browser Integration

Icon Smith integrates with the Content Browser in three ways:

Toolbar button — opens the Icon Smith tab from the Content Browser toolbar.
Right-click action — select one or more static meshes, skeletal meshes, or actor Blueprints, right-click, and choose Generate Icon(s). Supported assets are queued and the tool opens if it is not already. Unsupported selections are ignored.
Add Selected — with assets selected in the Content Browser (or Content Drawer), click Add Selected in the render queue to add them without using the context menu.

When Icon Smith is docked full-screen, use the tab's Content Drawer on the status bar instead of the main Content Browser panel. See Docking & Content Drawer.

Tips & Quality

Crisper edges: raise Supersample Factor to 4. For very fine detail, also raise Resolution and let it downscale.
Consistent set: lock a Camera Preset and lighting, save a preset, and reuse it for every icon so they match.
Object too small/large in frame: adjust Frame Padding (lower = bigger in frame).
Flat or dark result: nudge Key Light Intensity, Sky Light Intensity, or the overall Brightness (keep it at or above 1.0 for typical icons).
Batch a folder: use Add Folder to queue an entire content path at once, then Generate All.
Full-screen docking: keep the Content Drawer on the Icon Smith tab's status bar handy — you won't need to undock or switch tabs to pick assets.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
Preview is empty	Add a source and select its row — the first added source previews automatically.
"Add Selected" does nothing	Select supported assets (static mesh, skeletal mesh, or actor Blueprint) in the Content Browser or Content Drawer first.
Can't reach Content Browser when docked full-screen	Use Content Drawer on the status bar at the bottom of the Icon Smith tab (not the Level tab).
Generated icon is solid black (silhouette alpha only)	`Brightness` is at or near zero. Click Reset to Defaults in settings, or set `Brightness` to 1.0, then re-generate.
Preview looks dark but icon should be fine	Check `Brightness` and key/sky light intensities. The tool auto-corrects saved `Brightness` below 0.01 on open.
Orange "multiple directional lights" in preview	Harmless editor preview message. Icon capture is unaffected.
Icon is cut off	Increase `Frame Padding` slightly (e.g. 1.2–1.3).
"Already exists" on generate	Turn on `Overwrite Existing`, or change the `Naming Pattern` / `Output Directory`.
Generate button disabled	The queue is empty, or a batch is still running.
Settings seem wrong after experiments	Click Reset to Defaults (does not clear the queue).

Standalone Guarantee

Icon Smith links against no game module, hard-codes no other plugin's class paths, and never opens, reads, or edits any game asset or source. It only renders the meshes and actors you explicitly add, and writes new Texture2D assets into your chosen output folder. You assign the finished icons yourself, wherever you want.

Icon Smith — editor-only plugin for Unreal Engine 5.8. Bundled at Plugins/IconSmith/Docs/index.html. Open from the tool via ? Docs or the play-toolbar button. · ← Back to Darksaint Games Docs