# Phaser: Sprites

> Learn how to add sprites in Phaser with this.load.sprite and this.add.sprite, and why sprites differ from images: they can be animated.

Author: [Flavio Copes](https://flaviocopes.com/about/) | Published: 2021-04-22 | Topics: [Phaser](https://flaviocopes.com/tags/phaser/) | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/phaser-sprites/

> This post is part of a Phaser series. [Click here](https://flaviocopes.com/phaser-setup/) to see the first post of the series.

We saw how to add images using:

```js
function preload() {
  this.load.image('apple', 'apple.png')
}

function create() {
  this.add.image(200, 200, 'apple')
}
```

Another key GameObject in Phaser is **sprites**.

```js
function preload() {
  this.load.sprite('dog', 'dog.png')
}

function create() {
  this.add.sprite(400, 200, 'dog')
}
```

Sprites and images look similar, except for a very big difference: sprites can be **animated**.