How do I spread my animation over multiple panels?

In Storyboard Pro, layer animation is limited to one panel, but it is possible to spread the animation over several panels in the same scene. This can be useful when creating a panning background over several panels, or moving a character with many different poses through a scene. 

Step 1: Prepare your scene and layers

Before you can successfully spread motion through a scene, you need to make sure of the following:

1. Check the layer naming: In order for the animation to apply across multiple panels, you need to make sure the corresponding layers are named the same, or Storyboard Pro will not know what layers to reference. Upper and Lower case also apply.
2. Check the artwork separation: The content of the layers must be logically separated. Make sure that artwork you want to apply animation to is on the correct layer in every panel.
3. Adjust the artwork position: If you want the motion to be smooth throughout the animation, make sure your drawings are in the same position on every panel before spreading the motion. 

Use the Onion Skin tool to help you position it.

NOTE: Only use the Select tool to position artwork before applying animation.

Step 2: Create the layer animation on a single panel

If you’re not sure how to animate a layer, please see Animating Layers for more information. 
 

When creating your animation, you will only be able to create it within the confines of a single panel. Here are some things to consider while creating the animation that you intend to spread across multiple panels:

• Spreading animation over multiple panels means that the timing and eases from the original animation will be spread out proportionally over the other panels. Prepare for this by having all your panels posed out, and your timing finalised as much as possible.
• Animation is not spread between 2 keyframes over multiple panels. The animation will be broken up into isolated keyframes on each panel. In other words, each panel will have its own start and end frame, even if the animation looks seamless on playback. Make sure you’re happy with the animation before spreading it.

Step 3: Spread the layer motion

Once you are happy with your animation, spread the motion by doing the following:

1. Make sure the layer with the animation is selected.
2. In the top menu, go to Layer > Spread Layer Motion…
3. In the Spread Layer Motion dialog box, you can either choose to spread the motion across all the panels in the scene, or select a specific number of panels for it to be spread across. 

4. Click OK when done.
5. The layer animation will be proportionally spread over the selected panels, and you will see separate layer animation keyframes under each of the panels:

6. The animation will also show when using playback in the Stage or Camera views: 

Q&A 

Question: 

How do I animate a character with different poses using this technique? 

Answer: 

Draw your different poses on different panels within the same scene. Make sure each drawing is positioned in the same place for every panel and that the layer separation and naming rules are applied. Then simply create the animation in the first panel and spread the motion across the posed panels. The spread motion will apply the animation to all panels and you will see each pose change throughout the movement.

Question: 

Why do my layers jump around throughout the animation?

Answers: 

1. Make sure the animated layer’s artwork is positioned in the same spot in every panel. Make sure to use the Select tool to position and resize the artwork. Do not use the Layer Transform tool unless you are setting keyframes and creating animation.
2. If you have used the Layer Transform tool by accident, you have moved the animation peg for the artwork. Use Ctrl/Cmd+R to reset any existing layer transformation, and use the Select tool instead. 

Question: 

Can I do this with multiple keyframes?

Answer: 

Yes! As long as your keyframes are all in the first panel, the Spread Layer Motion function will distribute them over all the panels you’ve selected.