MagicPixel

Components: reusable art with masters & instances

Components are MagicPixel’s answer to the “edit it once, update it everywhere” problem. Save an artboard as a component, drop instances of it across your documents, and any change you make to the master propagates automatically. Perfect for tilesets, character bases, UI chrome — anything you’ll reuse more than once.

Common workflows

Build a reusable tile or character

  1. 1Draw the artwork on an artboard at the size you want it reused.
  2. 2Right-click the artboard → "Save Artboard as Component" (⌥⌘K) and give it a clear name.
  3. 3Open another artboard (same dimensions) and drag the component from the Library onto it.
  4. 4Repeat anywhere you want the same art — every placement stays in sync with the master.

Update art everywhere at once

  1. 1In the Library, right-click the component row → "Open Master" to load it as a document.
  2. 2Make your edits as you would on any artboard.
  3. 3Edits to the master auto-publish in the background — no extra step. Marketplace listings stay a separate explicit action via "Submit to Marketplace".
  4. 4Switch to any document with that component placed: the instances refresh on their own.

Customise a single placement

  1. 1Right-click the artboard holding the instance you want to diverge → "Detach from Component".
  2. 2The layer unlocks and the link is cleared — the pixels become regular editable art.
  3. 3Edit freely. Other instances of the master remain linked and continue to receive updates.
  4. 4If you want this variation reusable too, save THIS artboard as a new component.

In depth

Master vs instance

A component has one master — the source of truth, stored in the Components tab of your Library. Everywhere you place that component on an artboard, you create an instance: a layer that points back to the master. Edit the master, every instance refreshes. Edit an instance, only that copy changes (and only after you detach it).

Where components live

The Library has two scopes: Art and Components. Folders, names, and search are namespaced separately, so a "tree" component and a "tree" sprite can coexist. Drag-and-drop, rename, tag, and folder organisation all work the same way as regular assets.

Save an artboard as a component

Right-click any artboard with art on it and pick "Save Artboard as Component" (⌥⌘K). The artboard becomes the master and lands in your Components library, ready to drop onto other artboards. Empty artboards can’t be saved — there’s nothing to reuse.

Place an instance

Drag a component row from the Library straight onto an artboard — it lands as a new locked layer that mirrors the master pixel-for-pixel. The same component can be placed on as many artboards (and as many times) as you like.

Updating the master propagates

Open the master (right-click the row → "Open Master") and edit it. Changes propagate automatically — every instance of that component in any open document refreshes silently to the latest version, and the master is saved back to your library in the background. No manual publish step. (Marketplace listings remain a separate explicit action.)

Renaming a master updates instance labels

Rename the component in the Library and every instance picks up the new name on its layer label automatically. No manual relinking, no broken references.

Dimensions are locked once placed

Instances assume the host artboard’s size matches the master. If you change the master’s dimensions, existing instances will NOT auto-refresh — that would warp the host artboard’s grid. Place a fresh instance (or resize the host) to pick up the new shape. The original instance keeps showing the last compatible version.

Detach to customise one instance

Need a one-off variation? Right-click the artboard → "Detach from Component". The link is severed, the layer unlocks, and the pixels become regular editable art. The master is untouched and other instances stay in sync.

When a master is deleted

Trashing a component master automatically detaches every open instance and shows a one-time toast per component so nothing is silently broken. The pixels stay on the artboard — just no longer linked. To relink, place the component again from your Library.

Components vs Marketplace assets

Components are personal building blocks for your own projects — they live in your Library and update across your documents. Marketplace assets are shared art you publish or buy, with versioning, attribution, and the 80/20 revenue split. Use components for your own reuse; use the Marketplace when you want to sell or share with the community.