Parenting

Parenting consists of adding an additional parent layer transformation to a layer's transformation.

To understand this concept, we can use the example of getting on a train. Inside the train, you are free to move; but, you are also affected by the train’s movements. You are "parented" to the train and the same concept applies to layers.

The following terminology is established from this comparison:

• Parent layer(s)
• Child layer(s)

A Child layer can also be the Parent of another layer/other layers, creating a "transformation dependency tree". That's the way you define parenting in Autograph, in this separated module.

Creating a dependency tree

At the top right of the timeline, you will find different modules:

Switching to the Parenting module will show you a blank area, replacing the dope sheet. Now, you can drag layers from the stack on left to this area, in order to create dependency trees.

After a first drag and drop, a new line with the name of the dragged layer will appear.

If you drag another layer from the stack to the right, you can:

• Create a new tree by dragging your layer to the void
• Parent a layer by dragging it over the name of an existing layer in the tree

If your cursor is between two layers or even two branches, a long yellow line will appear, indicating that you can insert a layer into this spot.

Layers can be reordered, parented, or unparented by simply clicking and dragging them.

You can also select a layer in the tree and delete it to remove the parenting.

Selecting parent and children

Each name in the tree is also clickable, in order to directly scroll and reveal the corresponding layer in the stack.

This will also unfold the Transform properties to easily access the Transform Modifiers. That's because when you create this tree, you actually automatically add/remove modifiers to the children’s Transform.

Parenting Modifiers

Parenting constraint:

Each composition is assigned a Parenting tree. By switching to the composition in the Timeline, the corresponding tree will be displayed in the Parenting module.

This tree is in fact a more convenient way to adjust the children's Transform Modifiers by automatically adding or removing Modifiers onto them.

This is not immediately visible, but if you unfold a layer’s Transformation parameters just before defining it as a Child of another layer, you will see a new Modifiers section appear. Try to select the child in the tree and delete it, and this section will disappear.

If you unfold this Modifiers section, you will notice the addition of a Parent Transform Modifier.

It contains two parameters:

• Parent: to link the Transform of the parent layer (and not the layer itself)
• Amount: to define the "weight" of this parenting

The Parent parameter's Generator slot is made to connect with the parent's Transform. To manually connect it without using the parenting tree:

• Click on the Generator slot of the parent's Transform parameter, then select Copy Link
• Click on the Generator slot of the child's Parent parameter and select Paste Link

If you unfold this parameter, there is a clickable link, accessible so you can automatically scroll to the parent.

This will establish the parenting relationship. Now, you can click on the Parent parameter's Generator slot to Disconnect it, if needed, and break this relationship.

Animating the parenting constraint:

Parenting is done through a Modifier that adds an additional Transform to the child's existing one. Remember our Overview section. When you are in a train, you're parented to it but you can also move in this train on your own. The same thing happens for layers. A parented layer has its own local Transform, and undergoes an additional constraint from its parent at the same time.

You can still animate a layer even if it's subjected to this constraint, which can even be weighted and animated by changing the Amount value:

• Amount= 0.0: no parenting applied
• Amount= 1.0: parenting is fully applied
• Amount= 0.5: the layer undergoes half of the constraint; (to compare, if the train moves 10 meters, you will only move 5 meters)

By animating the Amount, you can parent/unparent a layer on the fly, or progressively stick a child to its parent.

It's also possible to set the Amount to a value greater than 1.0 or even a negative value:

• Amount= 2.0: the child move twice as much as its parent (to compare, if the train moves 10 meters, you will move 20 meters).
• Amount= -1.0: the child goes in the opposite direction of its parent
• Amount= -2.0: the child goes in the opposite direction of its parent and twice as much

Considering that manually setting the Parent Modifier Transform parameter is time-consuming, the faster workflow would be:

• Use the Parent tree to define the parenting relationship
• Click on the child's name to directly access the Modifiers section
• Change or animate the Amount value as needed

Since the Parent Transform Modifier is a Transform itself, you can also add any Modifiers dedicated to this type.

Parenting between 2D and 3D layers:

Parenting is not limited to 2D layers. It is also possible to:

• Parent a 3D layer to another 3D layer
• Parent a 3D layer to a 2D layer

In this second case, the 2D layer Transform will be reprojected on the 3D layer, in the Viewer axis.