Question: The skeleton and skeleton deformation layers

hi everybody, I really like the work you’ve done the last couple of months :slight_smile:.

I’m currently learning how to use bones for my in progress animation and I have some questions:

(1)
what is the major difference between skeleton and skeleton deformation layers? (vector art wise)

the only difference I can figure out is that the skeleton deformation layer automatically determines the influenced area of image.

(2)
another question:

in the skeleton layer I believe that specifying the influence area is done by linking the vertex handles to the selected bone, so why do we need to modify the skeleton width handles? is it just for the visibility of the bone? or it has another job to do?

thanks again for your AMAZING work with synfig :slight_smile:

(1) Skeleton is for vector deformation (it performs a combined 2D matrix transformation for each vertex that is influenced by the skeleton). Skeleton Deformation is for raster deformation (pixel level) and can be used to image layers or whatever is in the context of the skeleton deformation layer (the rendered result of what’s below it). Skeleton can make influence to vectors anywhere in the layer stack. Skeleton Deformation acts like a normal “raster” layer (i.e. Blur, Warp), it is a raster deformation

(2) In the skeleton, each vertex is influenced by a weighted average combination of bones (maybe from different skeletons). There are two ways to make a vector be influenced by bone(s). First is the “Link to Bone” action that would give a 100% of influence of one bone to one vector. Second is the “Link to Skeleton” that is a semiautomatic way to give weighted influence to a vector from all the bones that overlaps its influence area over the vector position. The more covered the vector is by the influence area, the higher is the influence weight. In any case you can manually specify the bone and the influence that you want by editing the values in the vector (sub)parameters. We need to modify the bone(s) with handles to perform the indirect movement to the vectors that are influenced by it(them)

-G

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pasted over wiki :

wiki.synfig.org/wiki/Talk:Skeleton_Layer
wiki.synfig.org/wiki/Talk:Skelet … tion_Layer