Parallax is a Sorceress tool for creating side-scrolling 2D game backgrounds as three separate depth layers: foreground, midground, and background. It helps you turn a scene idea into coordinated layer prompts, generate each layer, remove green-screen areas from the front layers, preview parallax motion, test scale with a controllable character, and export PNG assets with a configuration file.
Logged-out visitors can view the welcome panel and tutorial. Sign in to generate layers, use the prompt helper, save projects, and download your own assets.
What it does
Parallax builds a layered scene for platformers, runners, metroidvanias, RPG side views, and other 2D games. The tool is organized around three fixed layer slots:
- Layer 1 — Foreground: the closest layer. It is intended for a low strip of ground, floor, props, rocks, foliage, rubble, coral, snow, or other detailed scenery along the bottom of the frame.
- Layer 2 — Midground: the middle depth layer. It usually contains larger forms such as tree trunks, ruins, buildings, cliffs, pillars, dunes, caves, coral towers, or other elements with gaps that let the background show through.
- Layer 3 — Background: the farthest layer. It is a full-frame scenic backdrop such as sky, mountains, distant forest, city skyline, cavern depth, ocean haze, or atmosphere.
The default foreground and midground prompts include a green-screen instruction so those layers can be keyed out and composited over the background. The background prompt does not use green screen; it is intended to remain a full opaque backdrop.
Key features
- Three-layer parallax generation for foreground, midground, and background.
- Magic prompt helper that turns a short scene idea into coordinated prompts for all three layers.
- Preset scenes for common environments.
- Editable layer prompts so you can customize or regenerate individual slots.
- Aspect ratio and resolution controls before generation.
- Background removal with an AI-assisted method and a live classic chroma method.
- Key color tools including color picker, screen eyedropper when supported, and automatic edge-color detection for generated front layers.
- Layer placement controls for scale and vertical offset.
- Mouse parallax and auto-scroll preview with pause and magnifier controls.
- Pixel-art conversion for any completed layer, with color-count and pixel-size controls.
- Test Drive mode with a controllable character for checking scale, movement readability, and ground placement.
- Project saving with load, rename, overwrite, delete, and start-over controls.
- Exports for individual PNG layers, all files, or a ZIP package with a configuration file.
Quick start
- Open Parallax and sign in.
- In the right panel, choose an Aspect ratio and Resolution.
- Prepare prompts using one of these methods:
- Load a preset scene.
- Enter a scene idea in Magic prompt helper and click Suggest.
- Edit the three layer prompt boxes manually.
- Click Generate all, or use the small Generate button beside an individual layer prompt.
- When the foreground and midground are complete, click their thumbnails and use Background removal to remove the green screen.
- Use each layer’s Scale and Vertical controls under its thumbnail to align the scene.
- Preview in the main stage. Try mouse parallax, auto-scroll, pause, magnifier, and Test Drive as needed.
- Save the project or download the finished PNG layers.
Prompt workflow
Magic prompt helper
The Magic prompt helper turns a plain-language scene idea into three coordinated layer prompts.
To use it:
- In the right panel, find Magic prompt helper.
- Type a short idea, such as “a misty desert at dawn,” “spooky graveyard,” or “underwater reef.”
- Click Suggest.
- The tool fills the Layer 1, Layer 2, and Layer 3 prompt boxes.
- Review and edit the prompts before generating.
The helper is designed to preserve the art style you request. If you ask for “16-bit pixel art haunted forest,” “anime underwater ruins,” “flat vector desert,” or another style, the generated prompts should keep that style consistent across all three layers.
The helper focuses the layers as follows:
- Layer 1 stays low and bottom-focused.
- Layer 2 contains mid-depth vertical or structural elements.
- Layer 3 fills the full frame as a distant scenic background.
Preset scenes
Use Load a preset scene… to replace the current prompts with a ready-made starting set. Available presets are:
- Forest
- Desert
- Snow
- Cave
- Ruins
- Underwater
- Volcano
- Graveyard
Presets are starting points, not locked templates. You can edit any prompt after loading one.
Manual prompt editing
Each layer has its own text box. You can generate a single layer with that layer’s Generate button, or generate all non-empty prompted layers with Generate all.
For best results:
- Keep all three prompts in the same art style, time of day, lighting, and palette.
- Make Layer 1 a low foreground strip that occupies the bottom portion of the frame.
- Make Layer 2 contain mid-depth objects with gaps or openings.
- Make Layer 3 a full scenic backdrop.
- If you want pixel art, anime, watercolor, vector, comic, low-poly, voxel, or another style, state it clearly in your scene idea or in each layer prompt.
- If you want smooth side-scrolling, keep the prompt language oriented toward repeating horizontal scenery.
Generation settings
Aspect ratio
The right panel lists the aspect ratios supported by the generator. The default Parallax aspect ratio is marked with a star and is a wide side-scrolling format.
Choose the aspect ratio before generating. Changing it later affects future generations, not images already created.
Resolution
Resolution options are:
- 1K
- 2K
Use 1K for faster iteration and 2K when you want a larger generated image. If you use AI background removal on a 2K layer, the tool may show a note that removal uses a capped processing tier and the matte may look slightly softer.
Background removal
After a layer is generated, click its thumbnail to select it. The left panel opens Background removal controls for that layer.
Foreground and midground layers are the main candidates for background removal because their prompts are designed with green-screen backgrounds. The background layer usually does not need removal because it is meant to be the opaque back layer.
Removal methods
Parallax offers two visible removal methods.
AI background removal
Use AI for cleaner cutouts and despilling around edges.
- Select a completed layer.
- Choose AI in the background removal section.
- Check the Key color and Tolerance.
- Click Remove background.
- The layer thumbnail and main preview update when removal finishes.
If removal fails, a Retry button appears on the layer thumbnail. If a timeout message appears, wait briefly and try again.
Classic chroma
Use Classic chroma for live keying based on color distance.
- Select a completed layer.
- Choose Classic chroma.
- Set the Key color and Tolerance.
- Watch the preview update live.
Classic chroma saves automatically after the preview updates.
Classic chroma includes one extra option:
- Flood from edges only: removes matching color connected to the image edges while preserving enclosed green areas inside the artwork. Use this when the layer includes intentional green details, such as leaves, moss, slime, glowing effects, or grass.
Key color
The default key color is the green used by the layer prompts. You can change it in several ways:
- Click the color swatch to open the color picker.
- Use the eyedropper button to sample a color from the screen, if your browser supports it.
- Let the tool auto-detect the edge color on newly generated foreground and midground layers.
Tolerance
The Tolerance slider controls how broadly the key color is removed.
- Lower values remove only colors very close to the selected key color.
- Higher values remove a wider range of similar colors.
If green remains around the edge, increase tolerance gradually. If parts of the artwork disappear, lower the tolerance.
Restore green
After AI removal, the tool can despill the green from the cutout. The Restore green slider blends some of the original color back into the non-edge interior of the layer.
Use this when the artwork contains legitimate green areas and the cutout looks too desaturated. The immediate edge stays protected so green halos do not return as easily.
Show original and restore removed background
If a layer has a saved transparent version, use Show original to temporarily view the generated green-screen original. Use Restore removed background to return to the cutout.
This is useful for checking whether missing details came from the original generation or from the removal settings.
Layer placement and preview
Each completed layer has placement controls below its thumbnail.
Scale
Scale controls how large the layer appears in the preview.
- Range: 0.3× to 3×
- Smaller values make the layer appear farther away or reveal more of it.
- Larger values make the layer feel closer or fill more of the frame.
Vertical
Vertical moves the layer up or down.
- Range: -100% to +100%
- Positive values move the layer down.
- Negative values move the layer up.
Use this to place the foreground ground strip, align a horizon, position cliffs or trees, or decide how much sky is visible.
Hide/show layer in preview
The eye button under each completed layer hides or shows that layer in the preview. This is a preview-only toggle; it does not delete the layer or prevent it from being available for download.
Reset placement
Each completed layer card includes a Reset control that returns that layer’s scale and vertical offset to the default placement.
Preview controls
The main stage supports two preview styles:
- Mouse parallax: moving the mouse over the stage shifts layers by depth. The foreground moves the most, the background the least.
- Auto-scroll: layers loop horizontally at different speeds. The foreground scrolls fastest and the background slowest.
Additional preview tools appear when at least one layer is complete:
- Pause / Resume: stops or resumes preview motion.
- Magnifier: shows a circular zoomed inspection view. This is useful for checking cutout edges and pixel-art conversion.
The preview draws layers back-to-front: background, then midground, then foreground.
Convert to pixel art
Select a completed layer to open Convert to pixel art in the left panel.
Options:
- Colors: sets the target color count for conversion. Range: 2 to 256.
- Pixel size override: leave blank for Auto detect, type a number, or use quick buttons for 1PX, 2PX, 3PX, 4PX, or AUTO.
To convert a layer:
- Select a completed layer.
- Adjust Colors and, optionally, Pixel size override.
- Click Convert to pixel art.
- If the layer has already been converted, use Re-convert to apply new settings.
- Use Restore from pixel art to return to the pre-conversion cutout when available.
Pixel-art conversion becomes the working version of that layer for preview, downloads, Test Drive, and saved projects.
Test Drive
Test Drive places a controllable character into your parallax scene. Use it to check character scale, readability, jump space, foreground alignment, and whether the background scroll feels right during movement.
To use it:
- Generate at least one layer.
- Click Play test character in the left panel.
- Move the character and inspect the scene.
- Click Exit Test Drive or press Esc to return to the editor.
Controls:
- A / D or Left / Right: move
- W / S or Up / Down: reposition the character’s resting ground line
- Space: jump
- Q or click: attack
- Esc: exit
Test Drive uses your current layer visibility, scale, vertical offsets, cutouts, recolor edits, and pixel-art conversions.
Saving projects
Projects save to your signed-in account and can be loaded later. A saved Parallax project includes the scene prompts, aspect ratio, resolution, generated layers, background-removal settings, key colors, tolerances, restore-green values, layer visibility, pixel-art state, and layer placement.
Save a new project
- Click Save project.
- Enter a project name, or leave the name blank to use the default.
- Click Save new.
Save changes
If a project is active, the main save button changes to Save changes to “Project Name”. Click it to overwrite the active project with the current scene.
Save as or overwrite
When a project is active, use Save as / overwrite to either:
- Save the current scene as a new project, or
- Overwrite another existing project.
Load, rename, or delete
Use the project dropdown to load a saved project. When a project is active, the project bar lets you rename or delete it.
Start over
Start over clears the current three layers, resets the prompts to the default forest scene, resets generation settings to the default wide aspect and 1K resolution, and clears editor adjustments. Saved projects are kept.
Downloads and export
The Downloads section appears in the left panel.
Options:
- All files: downloads each completed layer as an individual PNG and also downloads a configuration file.
- As ZIP: downloads a ZIP containing completed layer PNGs and a configuration file.
- Individual layer buttons: download only the foreground, midground, or background layer.
Layers download as PNG files. If a layer has a transparent cutout or pixel-art conversion, the downloaded PNG uses the current working version.
The exported configuration file records practical setup information such as layer order, aspect ratio, resolution, scale, vertical offset, transparency state, pixel-art state, restore-green amount, preview-hidden state, suggested parallax factors, and prompts.
Composite order is back-to-front:
- Background
- Midground
- Foreground
Mobile layout
On smaller screens, Parallax uses a compact toolbar with two panels:
- Background Remover opens the project, Test Drive, background removal, pixel-art, and download tools.
- Prompts opens generator settings, prompt helper, presets, prompt boxes, and Generate controls.
Tap outside an open mobile panel to return to the main preview.
Tips and troubleshooting
My foreground or midground still has green around it
Try these steps:
- Select the layer.
- Confirm the Key color matches the green in the image.
- Increase Tolerance a little at a time.
- Try AI removal if Classic chroma leaves halos.
- If the subject loses too much color, reduce tolerance or use Restore green after AI removal.
Background removal removed parts of my art
Lower the tolerance. If you are using Classic chroma, enable Flood from edges only so enclosed green areas are preserved.
The AI removal timed out
Wait about 30 seconds and click Remove background again. The layer thumbnail may also show a Retry button.
My 2K cutout looks softer than expected
For 2K layers, background removal may run at a capped processing tier. The generated image remains high resolution, but the transparency matte can be slightly softer. If edge sharpness is critical, try 1K or refine the layer with Classic chroma.
The preview looks misaligned
Use each completed layer’s Scale and Vertical sliders. Foreground strips often need vertical adjustment so the playable ground sits near the bottom of the frame.
The auto-scroll loop has visible seams
The default prompts encourage horizontally repeating edges, but individual generations can still produce visible seams. Edit the prompt to emphasize a repeating side-scrolling background and regenerate that layer.
I only want to regenerate one layer
Use the small Generate button beside that layer’s prompt. Regenerating replaces that slot and clears the old cutout, restore-green, and pixel-art state for that layer.
I cannot generate or use the prompt helper
Make sure you are signed in. If your account is still loading, wait a moment and try again.
A layer looks correct in the editor but not in Test Drive
Check whether the layer is hidden in preview, whether Show original is enabled, and whether the layer’s scale or vertical offset is pushing it outside the visible stage. Test Drive uses the current working layer setup.
FAQ
Do I need to remove the background from all three layers?
Usually no. Foreground and midground are designed for green-screen removal. The background layer is intended to be a full opaque backdrop.
Can I use my own art style?
Yes. Put the style in your scene idea or directly in each prompt. The prompt helper is designed to keep the requested style consistent across all three layers.
Can I make pixel-art parallax backgrounds?
Yes. You can request pixel art in the prompts, and you can also use Convert to pixel art on completed layers.
Are hidden layers exported?
Hidden layers are still available for download. Hiding only affects preview and Test Drive visibility.
What format are layers downloaded in?
Layers download as PNG files. When the green screen has been removed, the exported layer uses the transparent version.
Can I use the export in a game engine?
Yes. Download the PNG layers and use the included configuration file as a guide for order, scale, vertical offset, and suggested parallax movement.