How to Use Android Asset Studio Icon Generator: A Complete Guide

When developing an Android app, one of the essential components you'll need is a set of app icons. These icons are the face of your app and are crucial for user recognition and engagement. Whether it's the launcher icon on the home screen, icons for various sizes, or adaptive icons that adjust to different screen sizes and resolutions, getting your app icons right is important.

The good news is that creating these icons doesn't have to be complicated. Android Asset Studio is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that allows you to generate all the necessary icons for your Android app. It’s an online tool that can save you time, ensuring your icons are optimized for different screen densities and sizes.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to use Android Asset Studio's Icon Generator, its features, and how to customize your icons for your Android app.

What Is Android Asset Studio?

Android Asset Studio is a web-based tool developed by Roman Nurik, a Google developer advocate, designed to assist Android developers in generating various app assets like icons, launcher images, and more. The tool is widely used because it’s simple, intuitive, and saves developers time when dealing with the technicalities of image resolution and format.

Among its various features, the Icon Generator is one of the most popular. It allows you to quickly create Android app icons that are properly sized for all device resolutions and screen densities.

Why Use Android Asset Studio for Icon Generation?

  • Automatic Scaling: It generates multiple icon sizes for different screen resolutions automatically, so you don’t have to worry about manually creating various sizes.
  • Easy Customization: You can customize your icons with text, shapes, and colors before downloading them.
  • Saves Time: Instead of manually designing and resizing icons, Android Asset Studio handles everything for you.
  • Supports Adaptive Icons: The tool supports Android’s adaptive icon format, which allows for icons to look great on various Android versions and devices.

How to Use the Android Asset Studio Icon Generator

Follow these simple steps to generate your Android app icons using Android Asset Studio.

Step 1: Access the Android Asset Studio Icon Generator

  1. Open your web browser and visit the Android Asset Studio website. The direct link to the Icon Generator is:

  2. You’ll be directed to the Icon Generator page where you can begin creating your app icons.

Step 2: Choose the Icon Type

On the main page of the Android Asset Studio, you’ll see several different options for creating various types of assets. For generating an app icon, you’ll be working specifically with the Launcher icon section.

  1. Choose Your Icon Type:

    • Image: You can upload an image (such as a PNG or JPG file) to be used as the base for your app icon.
    • Clip Art: The tool offers a set of clip art symbols that you can use as the basis for your icon.
    • Text: If you prefer to use a letter, number, or any text as your app icon, you can simply add the text and customize it.

  2. Once you’ve decided on your icon’s base, you’ll have the option to further customize it using the available settings.

Step 3: Customize Your Icon

Depending on the type of icon you selected (Image, Clip Art, or Text), you’ll see different customization options. Here's what you can do in each case:

For Image Icons:
  • Upload Image: Click the “Upload” button to select an image from your computer. The image will be used as the base for your app icon.
  • Crop and Scale: Adjust the cropping and scaling of the image so that it fits within the circular or square boundaries of the icon.
  • Padding and Border: You can adjust the padding and border radius to fit your design needs.
For Clip Art Icons:
  • Choose a Clip Art: Select one from the available icons and customize it.
  • Adjust the Icon Style: Change the color, size, and background of the icon to fit your app’s theme.
  • Background: You can set a background color or transparency for the icon.
For Text Icons:
  • Enter Text: Type the text (usually a letter or a number) that you want to use for the icon.
  • Font Style and Size: You can adjust the font style, size, and color.
  • Background: Choose a background color and adjust the padding to make sure the text fits within the icon’s boundaries.

Step 4: Generate the Icon

Once you’ve customized your icon, the next step is to generate the necessary icon sizes for various screen densities.

  1. Scroll down to the “Download” section.
  2. The tool will automatically create multiple sizes of the icon optimized for different screen resolutions (hdpi, mdpi, xhdpi, xxhdpi, xxxhdpi).
  3. Download Icons: You’ll see a Download ZIP button. Clicking this button will download a ZIP file containing all the correctly sized icons for your app.

Step 5: Using the Generated Icons in Your App

  1. Unzip the File: Once you’ve downloaded the ZIP file, unzip it on your computer.

  2. Place Icons in the Res Folder: Inside the unzipped folder, you’ll find different icon sizes. Place these icons in the appropriate directories within your Android project’s res folder:

    • mdpi: res/drawable-mdpi/
    • hdpi: res/drawable-hdpi/
    • xhdpi: res/drawable-xhdpi/
    • xxhdpi: res/drawable-xxhdpi/
    • xxxhdpi: res/drawable-xxxhdpi/

    If you're using adaptive icons, you’ll find the appropriate resources in the mipmap folders, including foreground and background images.

  3. Update the AndroidManifest.xml: Make sure to point your AndroidManifest.xml to the correct icon resource:

    xml
    <application
    android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
    android:label="@string/app_name">

  4. Test the Icon: Once the icons are in place, test them on different devices and screen sizes to ensure they display correctly.

Additional Features of Android Asset Studio Icon Generator

Besides just generating app icons, Android Asset Studio offers several other tools to create various assets for your Android app, including:

1. Adaptive Icons

  • Adaptive icons are icons that adapt to different shapes (such as circles, squares, or rounded rectangles) on different Android devices. This feature is supported from Android 8.0 (Oreo) onwards.
  • The Icon Generator lets you create foreground and background images for adaptive icons. You can select a shape for the background and add any icon or image for the foreground.

2. Icon Shape Customization

  • You can select from various shape options like circular, square, or more complex geometric shapes. This ensures your app icon fits well within Android’s diverse UI designs.

3. Legacy Icons

  • If you need to support older versions of Android (pre-Oreo), you can generate legacy icons that work well with older devices that don’t support adaptive icons.

4. Launcher Icons for Multiple Screen Resolutions

  • The tool automatically scales the generated icon into different resolutions, including mdpi, hdpi, xhdpi, xxhdpi, and xxxhdpi, ensuring compatibility with all Android devices.

5. Icon Preview

  • You can preview how your icon will look on different Android devices before you download it, ensuring it looks great on all screen types.

Conclusion

Using Android Asset Studio’s Icon Generator is an easy and efficient way to create high-quality app icons for your Android app. Whether you need adaptive icons for newer Android versions or simply want to generate icons for multiple screen resolutions, this tool simplifies the process and saves time.

By following the steps in this guide, you can customize and generate app icons that look professional and perform well on all devices. Remember to always check the icon on real devices or emulators to ensure it meets your expectations before publishing your app.

Now that you know how to generate and implement app icons, your app can have a visually appealing and functional icon that stands out on users’ home screens. Happy coding!