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Replace portraits, icons, and item art

Make custom hero portraits, minimap icons, ability icons, and item art with CSDK 12's image template, then rename and pack the files.

Beginner

Replace hero portraits, minimap icons, ability icons, or item art with your own: compile your images with CSDK 12's image template, rename them, and pack them as a mod. First set up your tools with Set up your creator tools.

What you need

Source 2 Viewer

CSDK 12

GIMP

or PhotoshopYour own artThe hero's codename

Source 2 Viewer shows the original images, their names, and their sizes. CSDK 12 compiles your images with its image template. Your image editor must save PNG with transparency. Draw the art yourself or use art you have permission to share.

Keep it fair

Icon mods change art only. Other players see the normal game.

  • Keep icons at their normal size and about as easy to read as the originals.
  • Never make objective or enemy icons brighter, bigger, or glowing.
  • Never add information the game hides, such as timers or health numbers. The full list is in What's allowed and how to stay safe.

Which image is which

Hero images live in panorama/images/heroes/. Each file name starts with the hero's image codename, which can differ from the hero's other codenames in Hero names and file paths. For Haze it is haze:

FileWhere it shows
haze_card_psd.vtex_cHero portrait at the top of the HUD
haze_card_critical_psd.vtex_cPortrait when the hero is low on health
haze_card_gloat_psd.vtex_cKill streak portrait
haze_sm_psd.vtex_cSmall icon, used in the kill feed
haze_mm_psd.vtex_cMinimap icon
haze_vertical_psd.vtex_cTall portrait on hero select
backgrounds/haze_bg_psd.vtex_cHero background

Other images:

ImagesFolder
Ability iconspanorama/images/hud/abilities/<codename>/
Item artpanorama/images/upgrades/ and panorama/images/items/

Make the mod

Pick a route. The full workflow works for every image. The quick option builds the mod in your browser, with no CSDK 12.

This video by Pugzilla follows the same CSDK 12 steps as this guide.

This video uses an older interface

The video was made before the September 2026 update. The CSDK 12 launcher looks different now, but the steps work the same way.

Check the original size

Your image must be the exact same size as the original.

  1. Open Deadlock/game/citadel/pak01_dir.vpk in Source 2 Viewer.
  2. Go to panorama/images/heroes/.
  3. Double-click the image you want to replace. Write down its width and height.
  4. Repeat this for every image you plan to replace. Each image type has its own size.
  5. Optional: right-click the image and choose Decompile & export to get a PNG to use as a guide.

Duplicate the image template

CSDK 12 comes with a ready-made image addon called hero_image_template.

  1. Open the CSDK 12 launcher. Keep Steam running.
  2. Right-click hero_image_template and choose Duplicate Addon.
  3. Name the copy in lowercase with no spaces, for example hazeicons.
  4. Right-click your new addon and choose Explore Content Folder.
  5. Open panorama/images/heroes/. It holds the template's sample images for Grey Talon.
  6. Delete the sample images. If you keep them, your mod also changes Grey Talon's icons.

Make your images

  1. Create a new image at the exact size you wrote down, with a transparent background.
  2. Draw your art.
  3. Export it as PNG into content/citadel_addons/hazeicons/panorama/images/heroes/.
  4. Name it like the original, without the ending. For example, haze_card_psd.vtex_c becomes haze_card.png.

Your addon's content folder now looks like this:

image_compiler.vdata
haze_card.png

List them in image_compiler.vdata

This file in the template's panorama folder tells CSDK 12 which images to compile. Every image in your mod needs one line in it.

  1. Open panorama/image_compiler.vdata in a text editor, such as Notepad.
  2. Find the lines with the template's sample file names.
  3. Replace each sample name with one of your file names. Include the .png ending.
  4. Add a line for each extra image. Copy the format of an existing line.
  5. Save the file.

Each line points at an image in your addon's panorama/images folder. The Haze card line looks like this:

Code
panorama:"file://{images}/heroes/haze_card.png"

For ability icons or item art, put the image in the matching folder and change the path in the line.

Compile

  1. In the CSDK 12 launcher, select your addon and click Launch Tools. The Asset Browser opens.
  2. Search for image_compiler in the Asset Browser, not for your image names.
  3. Right-click image_compiler and choose Recompile, then Full. This compiles every image in the list.
  4. Close the tools.
  5. Right-click your addon in the launcher and choose Explore Game Folder.
  6. Open panorama/images/heroes/. Your compiled .vtex_c files are there.

Rename to the original names

The game only loads a file with the exact original name, and the compiled files may not have it.

  1. Make a staging folder, such as hazeicons_pack, with the path panorama/images/heroes/ inside.
  2. Copy only your compiled images into it. Leave out image_compiler.vdata_c.
  3. Rename each file to the exact original name from Source 2 Viewer. For example, haze_card_png.vtex_c becomes haze_card_psd.vtex_c.

This rename step comes from guides made before the September 2026 update. If your files already have the original names, skip it.

haze_card.png in the content folder compiles to haze_card_png.vtex_c in the game folder. You copy it to hazeicons_pack, rename it to haze_card_psd.vtex_c, and pack it as pak05_dir.vpk.

Pack and test

  1. Pack your staging folder into a VPK with Pack your mod into a VPK.
  2. Load the mod and check every image in game with Test your mod in game.

Deadlock Forge builds image mods in your browser, with no CSDK 12. Other browser tools are in Make mods without installing tools.

  1. Open Texture Forge for portraits, ability icons, and minimap icons. Open Item Forge for shop item art.
  2. In Texture Forge, pick the hero, then the image you want to replace. In Item Forge, pick the item from the Weapon, Vitality, or Spirit tab.
  3. Upload your image as PNG, JPG, or WebP.
  4. Download the VPK it builds.
  5. Rename it to a name like pak05_dir.vpk if needed. The rules are in Pack your mod into a VPK.
  6. Install it with Deadlock Mod Manager or by hand.
Texture Forge in the browser, with a grid of hero portraits under Select hero and a prompt to select a texture to replace

DeadMod is another browser tool that can replace portraits. RedMser's DeadMod video shows it from 1:39.

Common problems

More fixes are in Errors when making mods.

Next steps

Change item names and other text
Beginner

Rename the items whose art you changed.

Restyle a HUD element
Advanced

Move or restyle one part of the HUD with Panorama CSS.

Credits

This guide is based on the work of these creators. Check out their original guides.

Éditer sur GitHub

On this page

What you needKeep it fairWhich image is whichMake the modCheck the original sizeDuplicate the image templateMake your imagesList them in image_compiler.vdataCompileRename to the original namesPack and testCommon problemsNext stepsCredits
Written by the Divine Skins community. Open source on GitHub.