Image Layers: Bone Mode

Image layers can interact with skeletons you create in bone layers by binding to a single bone in the skeleton and moving with that bone. The tools used to set up this relationship are available in Bone mode for image layers. The image layer must be contained within the bone layer in the layer hierarchy - bone layers can only control other layers that have been assigned to them. The Layer Palette chapter discusses how to place a layer inside a bone layer.

Bone Tools

The following tools are available when you're working in Bone mode.

Attach Layer to Bone
Use this tool if you want to attach an image layer to a single bone. The entire image layer will then move however that bone moves.

To use this tool, just click on the bone that you want to attach the layer to, or click on empty space to detach the layer from a bone it was previously bound to.

Test Bones
The Test Bones tool is a glimpse of what you'll see in Animation mode. It is used to test whether a skeleton is set up and working properly. Although it moves bones around, the changes it makes are only temporary. When you switch back to another tool, the skeleton is reverted back to its original shape.

To test a skeleton, just click and drag the various bones that make it up. Objects that have been bound to the skeleton will move with the skeleton. If some part of the skeleton doesn't move correctly, you can find out with this tool and fix it before you start animating.