Working with Layers
All the commands for creating and working with layers are available in the Layers palette. Each layer has a layer name and its own unique settings that define how the layer interacts with other layers. The layer type is identified by the appropriate icon to the left of the icon name.
Note
There is no way to convert layers to a different type. Each layer holds a unique set of content.
Creating a New Layer
When you click the New Layer button at the top of the Layers palette, a small pop-up menu, shown in Figure 4.2, appears from which you can select the type of layer you want to create. When a new layer is created, it is automatically added directly above the currently selected layer. New layers are automatically named Layer followed by a sequential number.
Figure 4.2. New Layer selection list.
Tip
If the number of layers exceeds the space available in the Layers palette, then a scroll bar appears that you can use to access the layers on the bottom of the palette. When the mouse cursor is over the Layers palette, you can use the scroll wheel to move the layer list up and down.
Selecting a Layer
To select a layer, simply click it. The selected layer in the Layers palette is colored blue. If you hold down the Shift or the Ctrl/Cmd key while clicking on layers in the Layers palette, you can select multiple layers at once, but only one layer can be active at a time. The active layer is colored darker than the rest and has the down arrow to the right for accessing the pop-up menu. All selected layers are highlighted in blue and double-clicking the selected layer makes the Layer Settings dialog box appear for the active layer.
New Feature
The ability to select multiple layers at once is new to Anime Studio 6.
Changing Layer Visibility
In the left column of the Layers palette is an icon for controlling the visibility of each layer. If the layer is visible, then an icon showing a pair of googly eyes is visible. If the icon is blank, then the layer is hidden. Hidden layers can be made visible by simply clicking the visibility icon.
Using this visibility option only affects whether the layer is visible in the working area and cannot be animated. Within the Layer Settings dialog box is another Visible setting that can be animated.
Note
The current selected layer is always visible while it is selected, even if the Layer Visibility toggle is disabled.
Tip
If you hold down the Alt/Opt key while clicking the visibility icon, all layers on the same level are hidden and the layer that you clicked remains visible. This provides a quick way to hide everything but the current layer.
Renaming Layers
To rename the current layer, simply double-click the layer to open the Layer Settings dialog box. In the General panel of the Layer Settings dialog box is a Name field that you can use to rename the current layer. The Name field is also available in the Layer pop-up menu. When the Layer Settings dialog box is opened, the Name field is already selected, so you can begin typing the new name immediately without having to click the Name field to select it. Layer names aren’t restricted to specific characters and can include spaces, upper- and lowercase letters, and symbols like the $, #, and *. However, some of these symbols may cause trouble if you try to use them in a script.
Tip
Renaming layers is helpful as a project gets more and more complex. A project with unnamed layers makes it hard to locate objects and difficult to interpret scripts that access layers.
The layer name can also be found and changed using the pop-up menu shown in Figure 4.3, which appears when you click the down arrow located to the right of the layer name for the selected layer. This menu also includes some of the same options found in the Layer Settings dialog box, which is explained later in this chapter along with many of the display quality settings found in the Display Quality pop-up menu that are discussed in Chapter 3, “Managing and Configuring the Workspace.” The difference between the Display Quality pop-up menu and the Current Layer display settings is that the latter are applied only to the current layer.
Figure 4.3. Current Layer pop-up menu.
The Current Layer pop-up menu can be closed by right-clicking in the working area away from the menu.
Caution
The Layers palette allows you to name two different layers with the same name. Naming two layers the same could cause problems for any scripts that access those layers. Two layers with the same name also will not work in a Switch layer.
Duplicating a Layer
When you click the Duplicate Layer button at the top of the Layers palette, a copy of the currently selected layer is added to the Layers palette directly above the current layer. The new copy is named the same as the original layer but with a sequential number. For example, if you select a layer named Arm, then the new duplicated layer will be named Arm 2. Duplicating a layer that includes sublayers creates a copy of all the sublayers also.
Reordering Layers
Remember that in the Layers palette if the content on two layers overlaps in the working area, then the layer that is closest to the top in the Layers palette appears on top of the other one, so it becomes important to order your layers correctly and make sure that any background objects are on layers positioned at the bottom of the Layers palette. If you need to reorder any layers, you can do it directly in the Layers palette.
If you drag a layer or multiple layers in the Layers palette, a red line appears in between the existing layers. If you drop the layer when this red line is visible, then the dragged layer or layers are moved to a new position where the red line appeared.
Note
The action of moving layers cannot be animated. If you move a layer at any frame other than frame 0, no keys are set. If you need to change the stacking order, you can animate the Raise and Lower Shapes commands in the Draw menu.
Creating Sublayers
Some layers can hold sublayers, including the Group, Switch, Bone, and Particle layers. Layers that can hold sublayers are also identified by a small arrow icon located to the left of the layer type icon. This small arrow icon is used to expand and contract all the sublayers. When you drag a layer over a layer type that can have sublayers, then the entire layer is highlighted red. If you drop the layer when the layer is highlighted, as shown in Figure 4.4, then the dropped layer becomes a sublayer of the highlighted layer. Sublayers are indented under the layer that contains them.
Caution
You can only drop sublayers onto a layer that is expanded to show all its sublayers. Anime Studio doesn’t allow you to drop sublayers onto a contracted layer. This is also a simple way to lock a group so that new sublayers aren’t added to it by accident.
Deleting Layers
To delete a layer or a sublayer, simply select the layer and click the Delete Layer button at the top of the Layers palette. This button causes a warning dialog box to appear that warns that this action cannot be undone. When a layer containing sublayers is deleted, all its sublayers are deleted also.
Note
When you click the Delete Layer button, only the active layer is deleted, even if multiple layers are selected.
To practice working with layers in the Layers palette, follow these steps:
1. | Open the Award.anme file from the Chapter 4 folder on the included CD. This file includes three layers with a plaque, some text, and a star. |
2. | If you render the opened file with the File, Preview (Ctrl/Cmd+R) command, only the wood plaque is visible. Drag the text and the star layers above the plaque layer in the Layers palette. The star and text are now visible. |
3. | To edit this award to be a four-star award, select the star layer and click the Duplicate Layer button at the top of the Layers palette three times to create four star layers. |
4. | With one of the star layers selected, choose the Translate Layer tool (1) in the Tools palette and drag in the working area to reposition one of the stars. Select each of the other star layers and move them into a line of stars under the text. |
5. | Click the New Layer button in the Layers palette and select the Group option from the pop-up menu. Double-click the new layer and name the layer stars in the Layer Settings dialog box. Then drag each of the star layers and drop each one on the new group layer. |
Figure 4.5 shows the resulting four-star award along with its layers. With all the star layers grouped together in a group layer, you can move all the stars together, and it helps to keep the content organized.
