# Sprite atlases

> Learn about sprite atlases and how to use them to optimize performance.

If you use a separate texture for each of your sprites, Unity has to create and send a separate [draw call](/engine/6000.3/manual/analysis/graphics-performance-profiling/reduce-draw-calls/draw-call-batching/draw-call-batching.md) to the GPU for each texture. As a result, performance can decrease.

To reduce the number of draw calls, create a sprite atlas. A sprite atlas combines multiple textures into a single texture. Unity only needs to create one draw call for all the sprites in a sprite atlas.

> **Note:**
>
> If you use the [Scriptable Render Pipeline Batcher](/engine/6000.3/manual/analysis/graphics-performance-profiling/in-urp/reduce-draw-calls-urp/srpbatcher/srpbatcher.md), the number of draw calls might not decrease, but performance still improves a similar amount.


**A sprite atlas texture in the Preview window. Seven crystals of different sizes are packed into one texture in different orientations.:**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.3/media/images/sprite_atlas_preview.png)

For more information, refer to [Create a sprite atlas](/engine/6000.3/manual/unity2d/sprite/atlas/create-sprite-atlas.md).

## Assigning sprites to different sprite atlases

To avoid Unity sending multiple sprite atlases in a draw call, the recommended best practice is to create separate sprite atlases for the following:

* Each set of sprites you use at the same time, for example a different sprite atlas for each scene. This avoids Unity loading unused sprites into memory, or creating multiple combined textures for a large number of sprites.
* Sprites that need different compression settings. For example, create a sprite atlas for highly detailed character sprites, and a separate sprite atlas for less-detailed environment sprites.
* Frequently used and infrequently used sprites.

## Additional resources

* [Sprite atlas best practices in Unity 6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXlpnwD-TgY) on the Unity YouTube channel
* [2D game art, animation, and lighting for artists](https://unity.com/resources/2d-game-art-animation-lighting-unity-6-3-lts?isGated=false)