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 ======Synfig====== ======Synfig======
  
-F +[[http://​www.synfig.org/​cms/​|Synfig Studio]] is a vector-based 2d animation ​programme. It is used in production ​by the Morevna studio ​and many others.
-      ancy yourself an animator? Well even +
-      if you didn't before, you will do by the +
-      end of this article, thanks to Synfig +
-Studio, a vector-based 2d animation ​pro- +
-gram for Linux that puts lesser alternatives,​ +
-both free and proprietary,​ to shame. +
-    Install Synfig Studio directly from the +
-Ubuntu Software Center, which you can +
- aunch from the sidebar of the Ubuntu desk- +
-top or from the Applications screen ​by click- +
- ​ng ​the Ubuntu logo in the top left corner. +
-Do a search in the Ubuntu Software Center +
-for "​synfig" ​and click the top result (labeled +
-simply "​synfig"​). This will open a screen that +
-provides details about Synfig. At the bottom +
-of this screen are two additional packages +
-that you can install along with Synfig, so ac- +
-tivate those and then click the Install button +
-at the top right of the window. +
-    Technically,​ Synfig is a backend applica- +
-tion that renders animations and vectors, +
-while Synfig Studio is the graphical applica- +
-tion with which you will actually interface. +
-Since using Synfig (the backend) directly is a +
-very advanced practice, this article will use +
-"​Synfig"​ and "​Synfig Studio"​ interchange- +
-ably when speaking about "​Synfig Studio"​. +
-    Not strictly necessary, but especially +
-helpful, are these additional packages: +
-python-wxglade,​ libstdc++5, ffmpeg, Kcol- +
-orChooser.+
  
-   Once all of these are installed, launch +<WRAP notice prewrap 50%> 
-Synfig Studio from the Applications screen.+<WRAP rightalign>​ 
 +===== Strengths [Weaknesses] ===== 
 +</​WRAP>​
  
-More Complex than It Looks +**Versatile**
-Normally I relish in telling people that an ap- +
-plication is a lot simpler than it looks, but in +
-the case of Synfig Studio, it's deceptively com- +
-plex. If you're used to vector drawing or even +
-pixel painting, the tools and windows of Syn- +
-fig will appear to be self-explanatory. Don't let +
-it fool you; Synfig is a big, complex, and pow- +
-erful application. If you think you know how to +
-use it based on previous drawing experience,​ +
-try to forget everything you think you know, +
-because Synfig deals with shapes in motion +
-and as a result works very very differently +
-than the static images you might be used to +
-creating. If you know nothing about vectors, +
-bitmaps, or computer art, then you're a little +
-ahead of the game, in a way. +
-     In Synfig Studio, there are four (4) win- +
-dows: the tool window in which your anima- +
-tion and drawing tools are located, the can- +
-vas upon which you draw, a palette window +
-for layers and navigation, and a timetrack +
-where you can visualize the changes being +
-made to your drawing over time. Most of the +
-windows are more connected to one anoth- +
-er than it appears, so be prepared to use +
-each of them often.+
  
-A "Hello World" +<WRAP indent>​ 
-Animation +Synfig animates; it can animate in a cut-out style, it can do motion graphics, titling, and even basic rotoscoping. 
-Let's do a quick and easy animation +</​WRAP>​ 
-just to get familiar with the basic + 
-concepts of Synfig. As our first mas- +**Familiar** 
-terpiece, we'​ll ​animate a sunrise. + 
-    Click the Rectangle Tool in the +<WRAP indent>​ 
-Tools window. First, ​we'​ll ​draw the +Synfig has a low learning curve if you have used similar cascading-layer style animation programmes. If not, then there are complete courses on Synfig on the Internet. 
-sky, so pick a colour for your land- +</​WRAP>​ 
-scape, probably blue would make + 
-sense but you're the artist so pick +<WRAP rightalign>​ 
-whatever you want. Synfig expects +===== Weaknesses [Strengths] ===== 
-you to just know RGB or YUV values +</​WRAP>​ 
-off the top of your head, but you + 
-can also use hex values if you're +**Unique** 
-familiar with web design. Either + 
-way, I find that an application like+<WRAP indent>​ 
 +Synfig isn't actually unique, because there are other applications that operate in the same general style, but it can seem unique and downright baffling to someone whose only knowledge of animation is paper flipbooks, or any animation package that doesn'​t follow the same style. 
 +</​WRAP>​ 
 +</​WRAP>​ 
 + 
 +=====Install===== 
 + 
 +Install Synfig Studio directly from the Synfig website. 
 + 
 +1. Download the latest stable release of the "​Generic Linux" build. 
 + 
 +2. Untar the archive to a location in your path. For system-wide use, ''/​opt''​ is recommended. if you are the only person using your computer (or if you are the only one using Synfig), then ''​~/​bin''​ is a sensible choice. 
 + 
 +3. Once the directory is unarchived, create a link to the executable binary for easier launching. This assumes ''​~/​bin''​ but if you are using ''​opt'',​ just adjust accordingly:​ 
 + 
 +<​code>​ 
 +$ ln -s ~/​bin/​synfigstudio-*/​synfigstudio ~/​bin/​synfigstudio 
 +</​code>​ 
 + 
 +4. Copy the [[dotdesktop|.desktop]] file to your system so that you can launch Synfig from the **K Menu**, but change the path to the executable to its actual location: 
 + 
 +<​code>​ 
 +$ su -c "cp -v ~/​bin/​synfigstudio-*/​share/​applications /usr/share | sed -i '​s_synfigstudio_/​home/​klaatu/​bin/​synfigstudio_'​ "''​ 
 +</​code>​ 
 + 
 +5. Copy the icons and [[mimetypes]] to your system (they don't change between Synfig releases, so you don't have to worry about upgrade-ability):​ 
 + 
 +<​code>​ 
 +$ su -c "cp -rv ~/​bin/​synfigstudio-*/​share /​usr"​ 
 +</​code>​ 
 + 
 +=====Usage===== 
 + 
 +Launch Synfig from the **K Menu** or from a terminal.  
 + 
 +<​code>​ 
 +$ synfigstudio & 
 +</​code>​ 
 + 
 +Technically,​ ''​synfig''​ is a backend application that renders animations and vectors, 
 +while **Synfig Studio** is the graphical application with which you actually use. Since using Synfig (the backend) is probably not how you intend to use this application,​ Slackermedia uses "​Synfig"​ and "​Synfig Studio"​ interchangeably when speaking about **Synfig Studio**. 
 + 
 +If you're used to vector drawing or even pixel painting, the tools and windows of Synfig will appear to be self-explanatory. Don't let it fool you; Synfig is a big, complex, and powerful application. If you think you know how to use it based on previous drawing experience, try to forget everything you think you know, because Synfig deals with shapes in motion and as a result works very differently than the static images you might be used to creating.  
 + 
 +In Synfig Studio, there are four main window panels:  
 + 
 +  * the tool window in which your animation and drawing tools are located 
 +  * the canvas upon which you draw 
 +  * a palette window for layers and navigation 
 +  * a timetrack where you can visualize the changes being made to your drawing over time 
 + 
 + 
 +==== A "Hello World" Animation ​==== 
 + 
 +Do a quick and easy animation just to get familiar with the basic concepts of Synfig. As a first effort, animate a sunrise. 
 + 
 +Click the **Rectangle Tool** in the **Tools** window. First, draw the sky; pick a colour for your landscape, probably blue would make sense but you're the artist so pick whatever you want. Synfig expects you to just know RGB or YUV values off the top of your head, but you 
 +can also use hex values if you're familiar with web design. Either way, I find that an application like **KColorChooser** is helpful; launch it, find a colour, and copy/paste the hex code. 
 + 
 +Once you're happy with your colour choices, draw a rectangle to encompass the entire canvas. 
 +It should turn blue. If, upon seeing all that blue, you decide you didn't quite nail the shade that you wanted, you can change it using the **Fill Tool** from the **Tools** window. 
 + 
 +Save your animation (such as it is) by clicking anywhere in the gray area around your canvas, or use the arrow located at the conjunction of the canvas rulers. You'll find the **Save** option in the **File** menu, as usual. From this point on, you can save with ''​Ctrl''​ ''​s''​. 
 + 
 +Now to draw the sun. Choose your colour, choose the **Circle Tool**, and draw a yellow circle on your canvas. Notice that when you drew the sky and the sun, new layers were added to your Layer Palette on the right side of your screen. Of course, as with any graphics program, the order of the layers matter; the topmost layer covers a lower layers. Since everything you draw gets its own layer, it's quite smart to name your layers as you go. 
  
-KColorChooser (installable from the 
-Ubuntu Software Center) is endless- 
-ly helpful; I launch it, find my colour, 
-and copy/paste the hex code. 
-    Once you're happy with your 
-colour choices, draw a rectangle 
-to encompass the entire canvas. 
-It should turn blue. If, upon seeing 
-all that blue, you decide you didn't 
-quite nail the shade that you want- 
-ed, you can change it using the Fill 
-Tool from the Tools window. 
-    You've done well so far, so save 
-your animation (such as it is) by click- 
-ing anywhere in the gray area around 
-your canvas, or use the arrow located 
-at the conjunction of the canvas rul- 
-ers. You'll find the Save option in the 
-File menu, as usual. From this point 
-on, you can save with [Ctrl] + [s]. 
-    Now let's draw the sun. Choose 
-your colour, choose the Circle Tool, 
-and draw a yellow circle on your can- 
-vas. Notice that when you drew the 
-sky and the sun, new layers were add- 
-ed to your Layer Palette on the right 
-side of your screen. Of course, as with 
-any graphics program, the order of the 
-layers matter; the topmost layer cov- 
-ers a lower layers. Since everything 
-you draw gets its own layer, it's really 
-smart to name your layers as you go. 
 Single-click on a layer to name it. Single-click on a layer to name it.
-    And finally, draw a sloping land- 
-scape. I chose green for my colour, 
-and used the Bline Tool. The Bline 
-tool, as you might guess, draws 
-bezier curves: mathematically-cal- 
-culated curved lines that are ad- 
-justed with handles located at each 
-node of your shape. When drawing 
-a Bline shape in Synfig, you need 
-to close the shape by bringing your 
-mouse to a node and right-clicking 
-on it to choose "Loop Bline" from 
-the contextual menu. This closes 
-the shape, filling it with your Fill 
-Colour, and adding it to your Layers 
-Palette. 
-    Once the landscape object ex- 
-ists, you can use the Transform tool 
-from the Tools window to bend its 
-lines; click and drag the top of your 
-landscape to give it a gentle slope. 
-    Notice that when you drew the 
-landscape, two new shapes got add- 
-ed to your Layers: the Bline Fill and 
-the Bline outline. Synfig sees out- 
-lines and fills as separate objects 
  
-(although by default they are locked +Finally, draw a sloping landscape. Choose your colour and select the **Bline Tool**. The **Bline** tool, as you might guess, draws bezier curves: mathematically-calculated curved lines that are adjusted with handles located at each node of your shape. When drawing a Bline shape in Synfig, you must close the shape by bringing your mouse to a node and right-clicking 
-together in pre-defined shapes like +on it to choose **Loop Bline** from the contextual menu. This closes the shape, filling it with your active **Fill Colour**, and adding it to your **Layers Palette**. 
-circles and rectangles). + 
-     ​Now let'​s ​animate the action of +Once the landscape object exists, use the **Transform tool** from the **Tools** panel to bend its lines; click and drag the top of your landscape to give it a gentle slope. 
-the sunrising. + 
-     ​What is animation? Well, it's just +Notice that when you drew the landscape, two new shapes got added to your **Layers**: the **Bline Fill** and the **Bline outline**. Synfig sees //​outlines//​ and //fills// as separate objects ​(although by default they are linked ​together in pre-defined shapes like circles and rectangles).  
-movement of some pixels over some + 
-amount of time. So all we have to +Now to animate the action of the sun rising. 
-do in order to get movement in our + 
-scene is to tell Synfig where the sun +What is animation? Well, it's just movement of some pixels over some amount of time. So all we have to do in order to get movement in our scene is to tell Synfig where the sun should be in the first frame of our animation, and where it should be at the final frame, and Synfig will do the rest of the work. There is no tweening in Synfig (or rather, all tweening is automated in Synfig). 
-should be in the first frame of our + 
-animation, and where it should be +To make the sun the active layer, click on the icon in the sun layer in the Layers window (if you click the name of the sun layer, then Synfig thinks you want to rename the layer, so click 
-at the final frame, and Synfig will do +the icon instead). Then click the **Transform** tool in the **Tools** panel. 
-the rest of the work for us. + 
-     ​To make the sun the active layer, +Notice that the sun shape is highlighted ​in a peculiar way: it shows you the outline of the shape with a single node along the edge, and it has a second ​node in the center of the shape. The center node represents the location ​of the shape on the canvas. The node along the outline represents the span of the shape in space; that is, if you wanted to resize the sun, use the outside node. If you want, as you currently ​do, to move where the sun is located on the canvas, then click and drag the center node. 
-click on the icon in the sun layer in the + 
-Layers window (if you click the name +Drag the sun until it is hidden, or nearly hidden, behind the landscape shape. Once the sun is 
-of the sun layer, then Synfig thinks +properly positioned, locate the Animation ​button: it's an icon of a green stick figure, in the lower right of the **Canvas** panel. When you click it, it creates a red border around 
-you want to rename the layer, so click +your canvas ​so that you know that you are in **Animation Mode**; in this mode, anything you do is recorded by Synfig, so be careful! 
-the blue icon instead). Then click the + 
-Transform tool in the Tools Window. +Now that you are in **Animation Mode**, you need to record the position of the sun. Grab onto the center node of the sun with your transform tool, and "​jiggle it" (believe it or not, 
-     ​Notice that the sun shape is high- +that's a technical term). To "​jiggle",​ all you need to do is move the sun a pixel or two; this registers with Synfig that the sun's attributes should be recorded and if you look down at your Timetrack ​window, you'll see a big diamond has appeared at frame 0, meaning that everything (color, size, position) has been recorded.  
-lighted ​in a peculiar way: it shows you + 
-the outline of the shape with a single +By default, we have 5 seconds to 
-node along the edge, and it has a sec- +work with, and there are 24 frames in a second. If 24 frames are 1 second, if we had the sun high in the sky at frame 23 or so, then we'd have an animation of an unnaturally fast sunrise. Probably a 3 second duration would be a lot better, so click in the **Timetrack** along the top so that your blue marker line sits roughly at the 3 second mark 
-ond node in the center of the shape. + 
-The center node represents the loca- +You have moved Synfig forward in time, so now you must move the sun in space. Drag the sun using the **transform tool** and the sun's center node, into the sky. Notice that the **Timetrack** window again adds a big keyframe diamond at the position of your blue marker, meaning that every attribute of your sun has once again been recorded. 
-tion of the shape on the canvas. The + 
-node along the outline represents +And just like that, you've created an animation. Toggle out of animation mode and play your cartoon with the play button under the canvas. Don't worry about the quality; this is real- 
-the span of the shape in space; that +time rendering that is meant only to give you a rough idea of timing and positioning. 
-is, if you wanted to resize the sun, you + 
-would use the outside node. If you +To get a full quality render of your animation, choose **Render** from the **File** menu. This brings up the **Render** dialogue window. By default, Synfig wants to render your animation out as a series of PNG files, because that's how professional animators work. If you would rather have a movie file, change the filename to ''​sunrise.ogv'',​ change the **Target** to ''​ffmpeg'',​ and click the **Parameters** button to choose what kind of movie file you'd like to end up with. For now, use the Theora codec with a bitrate of 15000. 
-want, as we do, to move where the + 
-sun is located on the canvas, then +Change the Quality setting to 8. Leave everything else as it is for now; the current settings 
-you click and drag the center node. +will render a stand-definition Ogg Theora file.  
-     Do that now, so that the sun is + 
-hidden, or nearly hidden, behind the +When the file is finished rendering, ​you'll see a "File rendered successfully"​ note in the lower left corner of your Canvas window. 
-landscape shape. Once the sun is + 
-properly positioned, locate the Ani- +==== Rigging ==== 
-mation ​button: it's an icon of a green + 
-stick figure, in the lower right of the +Now that you know how to draw in Synfig, try creating a character. An appropriate choice in this context might be a rooster, which typically crow at dawn. If you are drawing a rooster, 
-canvas window. When you click+try thinking of it in movable parts: of course it would have feet, a body, wings, a neck, head, and beak. Each part should be given its own layer, which can be encapsulated together.  
 + 
 +It might help to think of this process in terms of paper-cutout animation or puppetry, in which each body part is its own distinct object connected to everything else by joints. 
 + 
 +Encapsulation is a method that Synfig Studio uses to ensure that certain elements move together. More importantly,​ the order of layers within groups actually influences how each body part moves, because the movement of a lower layer will inherit the movement of a higher layer. For instance, if you are drawing a beak on a rooster'​s head, then you'd obviously want the beak to move along with the head no matter what. If you drew a farmer, then you'd want his hands to move along with his forearms, which in turn should move with his upper arm. 
 + 
 +This is called "​rigging",​ which is a fancy term for, essentially,​ defining the skeleton and muscle structure of an animated character. For some users, the fact that Synfig Studio uses this method of movement places it a head above (so to speak) other animation packages, which require the animator to select each individual part of a character to make sure that everything stays together. 
 + 
 +To encapsulate layers together, control-click on the layers in the **Layer** panel that you want to encapsulate. Right-click on any one of the selected layers and choose **Group Layer** from the contextual menu. These layers are now bound together and grouped into an **Inline Canvas** (or simply **Group**), meaning that the movement and transformations that occur with- 
 +in the encapsulation will not affect anything outside. Notice that as a group, there is a new transformation node, located in the center of the canvas area rather than at the center of the character you have drawn. 
 + 
 +Once you have grouped layers, you can move the capsules themselves or layers in and out of 
 +the capsules. You can move capsules into capsules, or layer into capsules. The dragging and dropping can get tricky, just know that when a layer is inside of a capsule, it gets indented a little to show that it's encapsulated. It doesn'​t get indented a whole lot, but if you look 
 +for it, you'll see it; there are also placeholder lines that appear as you drag a layer or capsule around, so you'll get a feel for where things are getting dropped. 
 + 
 +If your rooster has an arm with an anthropomorphic elbow wrist, as animated birds often do. If I want to animate this arm to raise up to the sky when my rooster crows, I need to rig the arm. 
 + 
 +Rigging is done in cascading order of influence, using special layers called **Transformation Layers**. 
 + 
 +An encapsulated layer group containing the line and the fill of the upper wing, plus another encapsulated layer group called wingLower, will govern the entire wing of the animated rooster. Such a layer group should, logically, be inside of an even larger group called, for instance, **rooster**. It makes sense if you think of it in traditional outline form: 
 +rooster, body, wingUpper, line & fill, wingLower, line & fill, feet. 
 + 
 +In order to rotate wingUpper (and all layers under it, until the end of its encapsulation),​ add a Rotate Layer at the top of the wingUpper capsule. Add a rotate layer by right click- 
 +ing on the layer you want to add the rotate above, and select **New Layer** ­→ **Transform** ­­→ **Rotate**. Once you've added a Rotate layer, click on one and look to your canvas. You'll notice that new nodes have appeared; this time, there are two: a blue and a green. The green 
 +is the pivot point and the blue is your handle. Imagine attaching a stick to your elbow or knee; the part touching your joint would be green, and the part that allowed you to adjust 
 +its position would be blue.  
 + 
 +Click and drag with your **Transform tool** the green node and place it at the "​joint"​ of the body part you are animating. Once positioned, you can use the Rotate tool from the tools 
 +window to rotate that body part. You will notice that any layer underneath this rotate layer rotates right along with it; if you've rigged it correctly, you'll have the elbow moving along 
 +with the shoulder, but the elbow is able to move independently as well.
  
-it, it creates a red border around +Animating rigged body parts is exactly ​the same as animating something like the sun earlier in this tutorial; position ​your time marker ​at some frame number, enter **Animation Mode**, jiggle the body part to establish its starting ​position, and then place your time marker ​further into the future and move the body part to its end position.
-your canvas so that you know that +
-you are in Animation Mode; in this +
-mode, anything you do is recorded +
-by Synfig, so be careful! +
-     Now that you are in Animation +
-Mode, you need to record ​the posi- +
-tion of the sun. Grab onto the center +
-node of the sun with your transform +
-tool, and "​jiggle it" (believe it or not, +
-that's a technical term). To "​jiggle",​ +
-all you need to do is move the sun a +
-pixel or two; this registers with Synfig +
-that the sun's attributes should be +
-recorded and if you look down at your +
-Timetrack window, you'll see a big +
-red diamond has appeared ​at frame +
-0, meaning that everything (color, +
-size, position) has been recorded. +
-     By default, we have 5 seconds to +
-work with, and there are 24 frames +
-in a second. If 24 frames are 1 sec- +
-ond, if we had the sun high in the sky +
-at frame 23 or so, then we'd have +
-an animation of an unnaturally fast +
-sunrise. Probably a 3 second dura- +
-tion would be a lot better, so click in +
-the Timetrack along the top so that +
-your blue marker ​line sits roughly at +
-the 3 second mark. +
-     ​We'​ve moved Synfig forward in +
-time, so now we need to move the +
-sun in space. Drag the sun using the +
-transform tool and the sun's center +
-node, into the sky. Notice that the +
-Timetrack window again adds a big +
-red keyframe diamond at the posi- +
-tion of your blue marker, meaning +
-that every attribute of your sun has +
-been recorded. +
-     And just like that, you've created +
-an animation!+
  
-Viewing the Animation +====Sound====
-First thing'​s first: get out of Anima- +
-tion Mode by clicking the red stick +
-figure in the lower right of the Can- +
-vas window. That dis-arms your +
-workspace and protects you from +
-unintentional animation. +
-    You can playback a preview- +
-version of your animation using the +
-playback controls at the bottom of +
-your canvas. Use the leftmost Re- +
-wind button to go back to the start +
-of your animation, and the Play but- +
-ton to play through it once. Don'​t +
-worry about the quality; this is real- +
-time rendering that is meant only to +
-give you a rough idea of timing and +
-positioning. +
-    To get a full quality render of your +
-animation, choose Render from the+
  
-File menu. This brings up the Ren- +Cartoons and sound effects were practically made for each other, so it warrants some discussion here. Synfig ​Studio is an animation ​program, not a video editor, so there's no way to bring sound directly into Synfig, but Synfig ​//is// JACK-aware, meaning that you can activate [[jack|JACK]] and open a JACK audio player ​and scrub through ​your animation ​with an in-sync soundtrack.
-der dialogue window. There are a lot +
-of choices; don't panic. +
-     By default, ​Synfig ​wants to ren- +
-der your animation ​out as a series +
-of PNG files, because that's how +
-professional animators work. You +
-probably would rather have a movie +
-file, so change the filename to sun- +
-rise.ogv. +
-     ​Change the Target to ffmpeg +
-and click the Parameters button to +
-choose what kind of movie file you'd +
-like to end up with. For now, use the +
-Theora codec with a bitrate of 8000. +
-Change the Quality setting to 8. +
-     You can leave everything else +
-as it is for now; the current settings +
-will render a stand-definition Ogg +
-Theora file. The great thing about +
-          ​Synfig is that it uses vec- +
-          tors, so if you want to render +
-          ​a high definition version of +
-          your animation, all you have +
-          to do is change the width to +
-          1920 and height to 1080 +
-          and you'll have a hi-def ver- +
-          sion of your animation ​that +
-          you can play back for all +
-          your friends on your fancy +
-          new big screen TV. Admit- +
-          tedly, our simple sunrise +
-          animation probably doesn'​t +
-          quite warrant that yet. +
-              When the file is finished +
-          rendering, you'll see a "​File +
-          rendered successfully"​ note +
-          in the lower left corner of +
-          your Canvas window. That +
-      means that you can open +
-          up your files with the Files+
  
-application in the sidebar of your +If you need to lipsync actual dialogue and not just sound effects, you might find [[yolo|Yolo]] useful for generating mouth positions according to phonemes ​and frame counts.
-Ubuntu desktop, double-click the +
-sunrise.ogv file, and view your 5 +
-second animation again and again. +
-    Don't quit your day job, but give +
-yourself a pat on the back. You'​ve +
-just created an animation!+
  
-Rigging +When you render out your synfig animation, it really is best to render it to a series of PNG images. Most video editors will let your import ​a folder ​of PNGs and will even group 
-Now that you know how to draw in +them together ​as if though they were video files. This keeps your animations frame-accurate, and your video and sound will sync perfectly. [[kdenlive|Kdenlive]] and [[blender|Blender]] ​are well-equipped ​to help you concatenate ​animated ​scenes ​together. ​
-Synfig, try creating ​a character. An ap- +
-propriate choice in this context might +
-be a rooster, which typically crow at +
-dawn. If you are drawing a rooster, +
-try thinking ​of it in movable parts: +
-of course it would have feet, a body, +
-wings, a neck, head, and beak. Each +
-part should be given its own layer, +
-which we will then encapsulate ​them +
-together. ​It helps to think of this pro- +
-cess in terms of paper-cutout anima- +
-tion or puppetry, in which each body +
-part is its own distinct object con- +
-nected to everything else by joints. +
-    Encapsulation is a method that +
-Synfig Studio uses to ensure that +
-certain elements move together. +
-More importantly,​ the order of lay- +
-ers within groups actually influ- +
-ences how each body part moves, +
-because the movement of a lower +
-layer will inherit the movement of a +
-higher layer. For instance, if you are +
-drawing a beak on a rooster'​s head, +
-then you'd obviously want the beak +
-to move along with the head no mat- +
-ter what. If you drew a farmer, then +
-you'd want his hands to move along +
-with his forearms, which in turn +
-should move with his upper arm. +
-    This is called "​rigging",​ which is +
-a fancy term for, essentially,​ defining +
-the skeleton and muscle structure +
-of an animated ​character. The fact +
-that Synfig Studio uses this method +
-of movement places it a head above +
-(so to speak) other animation pack- +
-ages, which require the animator to +
-select each individual part of a char- +
-acter to make sure that everything +
-stays together. +
-    To encapsulate layers together, +
-control-click on the layers in the Lay- +
-er Palette that you want to encap- +
-sulate. Right-click on any one of the +
-selected layers and choose Encap- +
-sulate from the contextual menu. +
-    These layers are now bound to- +
-gether and grouped into an Inline+
  
-Canvas, meaning that the movement +===== Documentation =====
-and transformations that occur with- +
-in the encapsulation will not affect +
-anything outside. Notice that as a +
-group, there is a new transformation +
-node, located in the center of the +
-canvas area rather than at the cen- +
-ter of the character you have drawn. +
-     Once you have encapsulated +
-layers, you can move the capsules +
-themselves or layers in and out of +
-the capsules. You can move cap- +
-sules into capsules, or layer into +
-capsules. The dragging and drop- +
-ping can get tricky, just know that +
-when a layer is inside of a capsule, +
-it gets indented a little to show that +
-it's encapsulated. It doesn'​t get in- +
-dented a whole lot, but if you look +
-for it, you'll see it; there are also +
-placeholder lines that appear as +
-you drag a layer or capsule around, +
-so you'll get a feel for where things +
-are getting dropped. +
-     My rooster (which may or may +
-not look like a penguin) has an arm +
-with an anthropomorphic elbow/ +
-wrist, as animated birds often do. If I +
-want to animate this arm to raise up +
-to the sky when my rooster crows, I +
-need to rig the arm. +
-     ​Rigging is done in cascading or- +
-der of influence, using special layers +
-called Transformation Layers. +
-     As it is right now, I have an en- +
-capsulated layer group called wing- +
-Upper, which contains the line and +
-the fill of the upper wing. It also +
-contains another encapsulated layer +
-group called wingLower. All of this +
-exists within the encapsulated group +
-called rooster. It makes sense if you +
-think of it in traditional outline form: +
-rooster, body, wingUpper, line & fill, +
-wingLower, line & fill, feet. +
-     In order to rotate wingUpper (and +
-all layers under it, until the end of its +
-encapsulation),​ add a Rotate Layer +
-at the top of the wingUpper capsule. +
-     Add a rotate layer by right click- +
-ing on the layer you want to add the +
-rotate above, and select New Layer ­> +
-Transform ­> Rotate. +
-     Once you've added a Rotate +
-layer, click on one and look to your +
-canvas. You'll notice that new nodes +
-have appeared; this time, there are +
-two: a blue and a green. The green +
-is the pivot point and the blue is your+
  
-handle. Imagine attaching a stick to +There are several official training series produced by the mainainers of Synfig. They are not free, but well worth the money.  ​Purchase and view the training material ​at [[https://​www.udemy.com/​synfig-studio-cutout-animation-en/?​couponCode=FIRST-FOUR|Udemy.com]] or [[http://​www.synfig.org/​cms/​en/​news/​new-version-synfig-training-course/​|synfig.org]].
-your elbow or knee; the part touch- +
-ing your joint would be green, and +
-the part that allowed you to adjust +
-its position would be blue. +
-    Click and drag with your Trans- +
-form tool the green node and place it +
-at the "​joint"​ of the body part you are +
-animating. Once positioned, you can +
-use the Rotate tool from the tools +
-window to rotate that body part. You +
-will notice that any layer underneath +
-this rotate layer rotates right along +
-with it; if you've rigged it correctly,​ +
-you'll have the elbow moving along +
-with the shoulder, but the elbow able +
-to move independently as well. +
-    Animating rigged body parts +
-is exactly ​the same as animating +
-something like the sun earlier in this +
-article; position your time marker ​at +
-some frame number, enter Anima- +
-tion Mode, jiggle the body part to +
-establish its starting position, and +
-then place your time marker further +
-into the future and move the body +
-part to its end position. +
-A Note Regarding Sound +
-Cartoons and sound effects were +
-practically made for each other, so it +
-warrants some discussion here. Synfig +
-Studio is an animation ​program, not a +
-video editor, so there'​s no way to bring +
-sound into Synfig. This is actually pret- +
-ty normal, because in animation the +
-soundtrack is generally produced first +
-and the drawings are done to fit the +
-soundtrack. Then the drawings and +
-sound are married together in a video +
-editing application like OpenShot or +
-even ffmpeg on the command line.+
  
-     ​That'​s all pretty simple; hard +<WRAP tip> 
-part is drawing to sound. How do +**See Also** \\ 
-you know at what frame to have a +[[gimp|GIMP GAP]] \\ 
-character open or close their mouth +[[ffmpeg|Ffmpeg]] \\ 
-for dialogue? The answer is to sit +[[blender|blender]] \\ 
-down with your soundtrack and a +[[http://​morevnaproject.org/​software/​|Pencil2d]] 
-stopwatch (or, more likely, Audacity, +</​WRAP>​
-installable from the Ubuntu Soft- +
-ware Center), and listen to it. Time it, +
-so that you know exactly how many +
-seconds from the start point your +
-character starts speaking a given +
-line. Translate those seconds into +
-frames, and write it all down on a +
-cue sheet (spreadsheets are usually +
-used for this; good thing you have +
-LibreOffice preinstalled on Ubuntu). +
-     When you render out your synfig +
-animation, it really is best to render +
-it to a series of PNG images. Most +
-video editors will let your import a +
-folder of PNGs and will even group +
-them together as if though they +
-were video files. This keeps your +
-animations frame-accurate,​ and +
-your video and sound will sync per- +
-fectly. Kdenlive and Openshot are +
-great video editors for Ubuntu, so +
-give them a try when you reach this +
-stage of your project. +
-     ​Otherwise,​ you now know every- +
-thing you need to know about Syn- +
-fig! Check out more of their tutorials +
-and samples online; the sky is the +
-limit with Synfig, whether you're do- +
-ing traditional 2d animation as +
-we've done in this article, or com- +
-plex rotoscoping on video clips, or +
-simple title animations, you've got a +
-full animator'​s toolkit and some se- +
-riously dangerous know-how, so go +
-bring something to life!+
  
 +<WRAP centeralign>​
 +<wrap fa>​[[sphinx|R]]</​wrap>​ <wrap fa>​[[start|S]]</​wrap>​ <wrap fa>​[[synths|Q]]</​wrap>​
 +</​WRAP>​