2 questions: z depth and exported canvases

scenario:
layer1: arm left
layer2: body
layer3: arm right

Problem: Id like to put the 2 arms into 1 exported canvas.

Q1) If I put the 2 arms into 1 canvas (obviously the orders will be ruined)
Now its solvable by using a mask. But it would be much easier to use Zdepth (as a global depth, not just local to the canvas). Is it possible or it will never be possible to use zdepth is such a global way?

Q2) if I dont put the 2 arms together in the same canvas, is still possible to somehow put them into the same “exported canvas” eg “arms” ?

thanks.

Not possible as far as I know.

You can do this:

-Paste Canvas Layer (arms)
–Paste Canvas Layer (left)
—Arm left
–Paste Canvas Layer (right)
—Arm rigth

Then export the outer canvas parameter first (arms) and then opening that canvas in its own window, export the two inner canvas parameters (left) (right)

Then on the root canvas you can use the individual arms like that:

-Paste Canvas (arms:left)
-Body layers
-Paste Canvas (arms:right)

So you can somehow group the exported canvases and use them individually later.

-G

Thanks G,

I love that method… “doing it backward to go forward”, synfig is always full of surprises.

(Just in case some people who are new to animation/synfig are reading this… read the synfig tutorials on “masking”)
Thats probably “best practise”

eg

you would encapsulate the arms together and in the right arm canvas say… you would put a “mask” of the body area the arm should be under and then set that mask layer of the body to alpha over.