The most simple way of creating deformers is to use the Rigging tool, available in the Deformation toolbar. The articulation folds also look slightly more rounded. Contrary to the Bone deformations, Game Bone deformations do not have Bias and Region of Influence properties. Hence, it is usually only used for game development and not in animated productions. However, it is optimized for game engines such as Unity. It allows you to create a bone-like structure in which each part is solid, but with articulations that are flexible. The Game Bone deformation is very similar to the Bone deformation. NOTE: It's not recommended to use the Envelope deformations on bitmap images and textures. Once connected, the Offset point no longer repositions the entire chain, only its own control point. The main differences between the Curve and Envelope deformers is that the Envelope chain can be closed by connecting the last Curve deformation node to the initial Offset point. You can use the Envelope deformation to deform a drawing so it looks like it changes from a profile view to a front view to create head and character rotations using only one set of drawings. It is regularly used to deform shapes, such as hair, cloak, shoulder shape, head shape and so on. Envelope deformation chains are composed of Curve deformation nodes. The Envelope deformation allows you to deform an image using Bezier handles located all around the contour of the shape. They can also be used to animate the limbs of characters in a rubber hose style of animation, where arms and legs are bent in curves. Curve deformations are mostly used to animate elements that don't have joints, such as hair bangs or facial features, or body parts with so many joints that they seem curved, such the torso. By manipulating the curve's points and their bezier handles, you can change the curve's direction, shape and length, and Harmony will deform the drawing to match the curve's shape. The Curve deformation allows you to deform parts of a character using a vector curve. The different parts of a Bone deformation can be rotated around their joint, extended and shortened, giving you the same capabilities as animating articulations on different layers, without having to worry about parts detaching, pivot points, or clipping outlines. Harmony will deform the drawing to make it look articulated. For example, a Bone deformation can be used to articulate an arm that is made of a single drawing, so that the upper arm and forearm can be moved independently, without having to draw the upper arm and the forearm on different layers. This is mostly useful for animating a character's limbs, such as the arms or legs, or other parts that can be articulated such as torsos or fingers. The Bone deformation allows you to create a bone-like structure in which each part is solid, but with articulations that are flexible. There are four types of deformers available in Harmony Premium: This can be easily done using the Rigging tool. They can be used on both vector and bitmap drawings.ĭeformers work by rigging them as a parent drawing(s) you wish to deform, building the deformer structure, then animating it. When used in cut-out animation, they can extend considerably the range of movements and poses a character model can pull without having any of its parts drawn in different poses, which can save a lot of time and make your cut-out animation look much more natural with little effort.ĭeformers can be used to deform a single drawing layer or a hierarchy of layers, so a single deformer can be used to deform anything ranging from a simple prop to a whole character rig. This allows you to bend or distort drawings without having to redraw them. Deformers give the ability to animate objects and parts of a character model using computer generated deformations.