Puppeteer provides an ingenious method to create animated poses for the figures and other poseable objects in your scene. It’s a fun and easy way to create walk cycles, dancing figures, and a wide array of facial expressions. You can combine several different layers of animation, each moving one or more body parts, into a more complex animation that brings them together to create realistic movement and expression.

The Puppeteer tab is shown below and is accessed by choosing View > Tabs > Puppeteer.

This tab is divided into the following sections:

• Selection Menu: Use the drop-down list to select the item in your scene that you want to animate.
• Mode Selection: Select from one of three modes (Edit, Preview, or Record) to develop an animation cycle in the current layer.
• Layer Grid: The grid in the Puppeteer tab does not represent physical space. Nor does it represent linear time. Basically, when you are in the Edit mode, you place various dots in the grid, with each dot representing a target pose or morph. In the Preview mode, you move your mouse from dot to dot, creating fluid movement between the poses to preview the movement that you can achieve as you move toward, between, and away from the dots. Finally, in Record mode, you write the motions to the Timeline and create a full animation.

Click on the links below to learn more about using Puppeteer:

• The Puppeteer Options Menu
• Using the Edit Mode
• Using the Preview Mode
• Using the Record Mode
• Using Layers