Editor tools and shortcuts | 2D Animation | 4.1.1
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    Editor tools and shortcuts


    Labelled 2D Animation Skinning editor tools

    The Skinning Editor tools are split-up into the following groups:

    A. Editor toolbar

    B. Bone tools

    C. Geometry tools

    D. Weight tools

    Editor toolbar

    Tool Default Shortcut Function
    Reset Pose
    Reset Pose
    Shift + 1 Restore a character’s bones and joints to their original positions.
    Toggle View Mode
    Toggle View Mode
    Shift + 2 Switch between the Character and Sprite Sheet view
    Copy
    Copy
    Ctrl + C Copy the data from the current selection.
    Paste
    Paste
    Ctrl + V Pastes the copied data.
    Paste
    Paste
    Shift + B Show additional pasting options.
    Visibility eyecon
    Visibility
    Shift + P Toggles the Sprite visibility panel, which controls the visibility of the Sprite Meshes and bones in the editor window.
    Toggle Tool Text Shift + ` Show or hide text on tool buttons.

    Bone tools

    Tool Default Shortcut Function
    Preview Pose
    Preview Pose
    Shift + Q Preview character poses after rigging.
    Edit Bone
    Edit Bone
    Shift + W Reposition the bones into a new position. These changes are automatically saved as the default bind pose for the Restore Bind Pose tool.Sprite geometry does not deform with the bones in this mode, even if the bones are attached as influencers.
    Create Bone
    Create Bone
    Shift + E Click and drag to create bones.
    Split Bone
    Split Bone
    Shift + R Splits the selected bone.

    Bone panel

    Property Function
    Name Displays the name of the selected bone. Enter a new name here to rename the selected bone.
    Depth Displays the Depth value of the selected bone that determines its render order, or enter a new value (which can be negative) to change the render order. See the bone tab and hierarchy tree page for more information about how the Depth value affect the way the Sprite Mesh is rendered and deformed.

    Geometry tools

    Tool Default Shortcut Function
    Auto Geometry
    Auto Geometry
    Shift + A Select to auto-generate Meshes for Sprites. When this tool is selected, the Geometry panel becomes available at the bottom-right of the Skinning Editor.
    Edit Geometry
    Edit Geometry
    Shift + S Edit generated Meshes by repositioning vertices.
    Create Vertex
    Create Vertex
    Shift + D Create new vertices to create geometry.
    Create Edge
    Create Edge
    Shift + G Create new edges to create geometry.
    Split Edge
    Split Edge
    Shift + H Split an existing edge into two.

    Geometry panel


    Visible only when Auto Geometry is enabled.

    Property Function
    Outline Detail Use the slider to adjust the accuracy of the generated geometry’s outline to the outline of the Sprite. Smaller values create simpler outlines, while larger values create denser outlines that fit to the Sprite’s outline more accurately.
    Alpha Tolerance Use the slider to set the alpha value threshold to consider when generating geometry. Pixels with an alpha value lower than the set tolerance value are considered transparent during outline detection when the geometry is generated.
    Subdivide Use the slider to adjust the tessellation of the Sprite Mesh by adding or decreasing the number of vertices inside the generated Mesh.
    Weights Enable to automatically assign weights between the generated geometry Mesh and nearby bones.
    Generate For Selected/Generate For All Visible Select this button to generate a geometry Mesh for selected Sprites based on the property settings above. To generate geometry for all Sprites in the Skinning Editor, do not have any Sprite selected when you select this button.

    Weight tools

    Vertices in the generated geometry meshes are influenced by different bones which affect how the meshes deform during animation. The percentage of influences from different bones for each vertex is contained in the weight information assigned to that vertex, which you can control with the following weight tools.

    To add weights to your Sprites, you can first ensure that there are bones overlaying the Sprites and geometry has been generated.

    Tool Default Shortcut Function
    Auto Weights
    Auto Weights
    Shift + Z Auto-generate weights between the geometry and bones. When this tool is selected, the Weights panel becomes available at the bottom-right of the Skinning Editor that displays the available settings and the option to generate weights for
    Weight Slider
    Weight Slider
    Shift + X Use the slider to adjust weights.
    Weight Brush
    Weight Brush
    Shift + N Adjust weights by painting with a brush.
    Bone Influence
    Bone Influence
    Shift + V Select which bones influence a Sprite.

    Weights panel

    The weights panel appears at the lower-right of the Sprite Editor window when Auto Weights is selected.

    Property Function
    Associate Bones Select this box to automatically associate bones to the Sprite geometry they overlay.
    Generate/Generate All Select this button to generate weights for the currently selected Sprite, or for all Sprites if no Sprite is selected. This does not do anything if geometry has not been generated for the Sprites, or if no bones are associated with the Sprite geometry.
    Normalize Normalizes the weights of the selected Sprite, or all Sprites if no specific Sprite is selected.
    Clear Clear the weights of the selected Sprite, or of all Sprites if no specific Sprite is selected.

    Weight Slider

    Property Function
    Mode The current behavior of the Weight Slider tool.
        Add and Subtract Use the slider to increase or decrease the selected bone’s (currently displayed in the Bone property) influence on selected vertices. Increasing in
        Grow and Shrink Use the slider to increase or decrease the weight on vertices that are already influenced by the selected bone.
        Smooth Averages the weights of all vertices with their neighbors to create an even distribution of weight across all vertices.
    Bone (unavailable if Mode > Smooth) Displays the currently selected bone. Use the drop-down menu to select a different bone, or select another bone
    Normalize Select this to ensure the total normalized weight of all vertices of a selected Sprite mesh is equal to one.
    Amount Amount of weight applied on selected vertices.
    Vertex Weight Adjust the bone weights of selected vertices.

    Weight Brush

    Property Function
    Mode The current behavior mode of the weights tool.
        Add and Subtract Use the slider to increase or decrease the influence on vertices around the selected bone.
        Grow and Shrink Use the slider to increase or decrease the influence on vertices that are already affected by the selected bone.
        Smooth Averages the weights of vertices with their neighbors to create a smoother distribution of weights.
    Bone The bone that the Brush is painting influence for. Select a different bone via the drop-down menu.
    Normalize Enable to ensure the normalized weight of painted vertices will equal to 1.
    Size Size of the weight brush cursor.
    Hardness Amount of weight applied by the brush per brushstroke. Higher values increase the weight per brushstroke, up to the maximum of 100 where the full weight is applied at once.
    Step Number of increments needed to apply the full weight of brush.

    Bone Influences panel

    This panel shows a list of bones that are currently influencing the selected Sprite Mesh. To add a bone to the list, first select it in the Sprite editor window and then select Add (+). To remove a bone from the list, select the bone in the list and then select Remove (-).

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