Layers
From Synfig Studio :: Documentation
Contents
Introduction
Synfig, like most every other competent graphics program, breaks down individual elements of a Canvas into Layers. However, it differs from other programs in two major ways:
- An individual layer in Synfig usually represents a single "Primitive". ie. a single region, an outline of a region, an imported JPEG, etc... This allows you to have a great deal of flexibility and control. It is not uncommon for a composition to have hundreds of layers (organized into a hierarchy for artist sanity of course).
- A layer can not only composite information on top of the image below it, but also distort and/or modify it in some other way. In this sense, Synfig Layers act much like filters do in Adobe Photoshop or The GIMP. For example, we have a Blur Layer, Radial Blur Layer, Spherical Distortion Layer, color-correct layer, bevel layer, etc...
Each layer has a set of parameters which determine how it behaves. When you click on a layer (either in the canvas window, or in the Layers Panel), you will see its parameters in the Params Panel.
The following layer types are available in synfig:
Blurs
Blur
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Size | Size of Blur |
| Type | Type of blur to use |
Example: ( youtube corresponding sif file )
Motion Blur
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Aperture | Shutter Time |
Radial Blur
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Origin | Point where you want the origin to be |
| Size | Size of blur |
| Fade Out |
Example: ( youtube corresponding sif file )
Distortions
Inside Out
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Origin | Defines the where the center will be |
Noise Distort
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Displacement | How much the distortion is displaced form its original position. |
| Size | How much separated are two consecutive distortions . |
| Random Seed | Defines the random generator number seed. |
| Interpolation | What type of interpolation to use |
| Detail | Lower/higher values produces less/more detailed distortions. |
| Animation Speed | In times per second, defines the frequency of change of the distortion. |
| Turbulent | When checked it produces turbulent distortions. |
Example: ( youtube corresponding sif file )
Spherize
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Position | The center (or axis) of the distortion. |
| Radius | Defines the radious of the distortion (spherize) or a half of the bar (vertical or horizontal bar) |
| Amount | Defines how much convex (positive) or concave (negative) the distortion is |
| Clip | When checked it only distorts inside the Radious area. |
| Distort Type | The direction of the distortion (spherize, horizontal bar, vertical bar). |
Example: ( youtube corresponding sif file )
Stretch
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Amount | Its distance to Center defines how much the image is stretched or is shrunk |
| Center | The position from where the distortion is made. |
Example: ( youtube corresponding sif file )
Twirl
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Center | The position of the twirl distortion. |
| Radius | This is the radius of the circle of the twirl distortion |
| Rotations | Defines how many rotations (in DEG) the twirl produces. |
| Distort Inside | Defines if the distortion is produced inside the radious area. |
| Distort Outside | Defines if the distortion is produced outside the radious area. |
Example: ( youtube corresponding sif file )
Warp
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Source TL | Top Left point of the source to warp. |
| Source BR | Bottom Right point of the source to warp. |
| Dest TL | Top Left point of the destination where to warp. |
| Dest TR | Top Right point of the destination where to warp. |
| Dest BR | Bottom Right point of the destination where to warp. |
| Dest BL | Bottom Left point of the destination where to warp. |
| Clip | When checked it only renders what is inside the source rectangle. |
| Horizon | A number to define when to stop rendering when do a perspective warp. High values produces far horizons. |
Example: ( youtube corresponding sif file )
Filters
Clamp
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Invert Negative | |
| Clamp Ceiling | |
| Ceiling | |
| Floor |
Color Correct
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Hue Adjust | |
| Brightness | |
| Contrast | |
| Exposure Adjust | |
| Gamma Adjustment |
Halftone 2
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Mask Offset | |
| Mask Angle | |
| Mask Size | |
| Light Color | |
| Dark Color | |
| Type |
Halftone 3
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Mask Size | |
| Type | |
| Subtractive Flag | |
| <Channel Name>Color | |
| <Channel Name>Mask Offset | |
| <Channel Name>Mask Angle |
Luma Key
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Color of checkers |
| Offset | |
| Size | Size of checkers |
Fractals
Julia Set
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Inside Color | Color of the Set |
| Outside Color | Color outside the Set |
| Color Shift | |
| Iterations | |
| Seed Point | |
| Bailout ValueBase | |
| Distort Inside | |
| Shade Inside | |
| Solid Inside | |
| Invert Inside | |
| Color Inside | |
| Distort Outside | |
| Shade Outside | |
| Solid Outside | |
| Invert Outside | |
| Color Outside | |
| Color Cycle | |
| Smooth Outside | Smooth the coloration outside the set |
| Break Set | Modify equation to achieve interesting results |
Mandelbrot Set
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Iterations | |
| Bailout ValueBase | |
| Break Set | Modify equation to achieve interesting results |
| Distort Inside | |
| Shade Inside | |
| Solid Inside | |
| Invert Inside | |
| Gradient Inside | |
| Offset Inside | |
| Loop Inside | |
| Distort Outside | |
| Shade Outside | |
| Solid Outside | |
| Invert Outside | |
| Gradient outside | |
| Smooth Outside | Smooth the coloration outside the set |
| Offset Outside | |
| Scale Outside |
Geometry
Common Parameters
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Z Depth | Relative displacement of the depth of the layer inside the canvas |
| Amount | Overall alpha amount of the layer. |
| Blend Method | Type of blend method. |
Checkerboard
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Color of checkers. |
| Offset | Displacement of the checkboard origin. |
| Size | Size of checkers. |
Circle
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Circle's color. |
| Radius | Circle's radious. |
| Feather | Circle feather amount. |
| Center | Circle's center. |
| Invert | Invert the circle |
| Falloff | Determines the falloff function for the feather |
Outline
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Outline's color. |
| Offset | Displacement of the Outline from the (0,0). |
| Invert | When checked it inverts alpha results of the layer. |
| Antialiasing | When checked it produces antialiased renders for the layer. |
| Feather | Outline feather amount. |
| Type of Feather | Defines the type of feather. |
| Winding Style. | Defines overlapping behavior. |
| Vertices | A list of BLine Points |
| Outline Width | Default widths of the points. |
| Expand | Defines a value to add to the Outline width. |
| Sharp Cusps | When chekced it produces sharp corners. |
| Rounded Begin | Round off the begin tip |
| Rounded End | Round off the end tip |
| Loopyness | |
| Homogeneous |
Polygon
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Vector List | A list of Vector points. |
Rectangle
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Rectangle's color. |
| Point 1 | Position of the first point of the diagonal |
| Point 2 | Position of the second point of the diagonal. |
| Expand amount | Amount of expansion around the rectangle's edge. |
| Invert the rectangle | If checked on inverts the alpha value of the layer. |
Region
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Region's color. |
| Offset | Displacement of the Region from the (0,0). |
| Invert | When checked it inverts alpha results of the layer. |
| Antialiasing | When checked it produces antialiased renders for the layer. |
| Feather | Outline feather amount. |
| Type of Feather | Defines the type of feather. |
| Winding Style. | Defines overlapping behavior. |
| Vertices | A list of BLine Points |
Solid Color
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color |
Star
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Outer Radius | The radius of the outer points in the star |
| Inner Radius | The radius of the inner points in the star |
| Angle | The orientation of the star |
| Points | The number of points in the star |
Gradients
Conical Gradient
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Gradient | The gradient that's going to be mapped to the cone. |
| Center | The center of the cone. |
| Angle | The angle where the beginning and the end of the gradient join. |
| Symmetric | Cheked on produces a symmetrical gradient. |
Curve Gradient
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Offset | Relative displacement of the gradient respect to the BLine. |
| Width | Default width of the gradient. |
| Vertices | A list of BLine Points |
| Gradient | The gradient parameter |
| Loop | If chekced on produces a looped gradient. |
| ZigZag | When checked on it produces a double gradient. |
| Perpendicular | If chekced on it produces a perpendicular gradient to BLine instead of parallel. |
| Fast | When cheked on it produces a faster render but less accurate gradient. |
Linear Gradient
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Point 1 | First point of he gradient. |
| Point 2 | Second point of the gradient. |
| Gradient | The gradient parameter |
| Loop | If chekced on produces a looped gradient. |
| ZigZag | When checked on it produces a double gradient. |
Noise Gradient
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Gradient | The gradient parameter. |
| Random Seed | Defines the random generator number seed. |
| Size | How much separated are two consecutive distortions |
| Interpolation | What type of interpolation to use |
| Detail | Lower/higher values produces less/more detailed distortions. |
| Animation Speed | In times per second, defines the frequency of change of the distortion. |
| Turbulent | When checked on it produces turbulent distortions. |
| Do Alpha | |
| Super Sampling | When chekced on produces more accurate results but slower renders. |
Radial Gradient
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Gradient | The gradient parameter |
| Center | The center of the radial gradient. |
| Radius | This is the radius of the circle. |
| Loop | When cheked on it produces a looped gradient. |
| Zig-Zag | When checked on it produces a double gradient. |
Spiral Gradient
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Gradient | The gradient parameter |
| Center | The center of the spiral gradient. |
| Radius | This is the radius of the circle |
| Angle | The amount of rotations of the spiral. |
| Clockwise | When cheked on/off produces clockwise/counter-clockwise spiral gradient. |
Other
Duplicate
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Index | Copy Index |
Import Image
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Filename | File to import |
| Time Offset | Time offset used for image sequence import. |
Paste Canvas
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Origin | Point where you want the origin to be |
| Canvas | Canvas to paste |
| Zoom | Size of canvas |
| Time Offset | |
| Children Lock |
Plant
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Vertices | A list of BLine Points |
| Gradient | Gradient to be used for coloring the plant |
| Split Angle | Angle by which each split deviates from its parent |
| Gravity | Direction in which the shoots tend to face |
| Tangential Velocity | Amount to which shoots tend to grow along the tangent to the BLine |
| Perpendicular Velocity | Amount to which shoots tend to grow perpendicular to the tangent to the BLine |
| Stem Size | Size of the stem |
| SizeAsAlpha | If enabled, the alpha channel from the gradient is multiplied by the stem size, and an alpha of 1.0 is used when rendering |
| Step | Measure of the distance between points when rendering |
| Seed | Used to seed the pseudo-random number generator |
| Splits | Maximum number of times that each sprout can sprout recursively |
| Sprouts | Number of places that growth occurs on each bline section |
| Random Factor | Used to scale down all random effects. Set to zero to disable randomness |
| Drag | Drag slows the growth |
Super Sample
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Width | Width of sample area (In pixels) |
| Height | Height of sample area (In pixels) |
| Use Parametric | Use the Parametric Renderer |
| Be Alpha Safe |
Text
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Text | Text to Render |
| Color | Color of the text |
| Font Family | |
| Style | |
| Weight | |
| Horizontal Spacing | Describes how close glyphs are horizontally |
| Vertical Spacing | Describes how close lines of text are vertically |
| Size | Size of the text |
| Orientation | Text Orientation |
| Position | Text Position |
| Kerning | Enables/Disables font kerning (If the font supports it) |
| Sharpen Edges | Turn this off if you are going to be animating the text |
| Invert |
Fonts that appear to work under Linux - Courier, Times, Serif, Verdana, Sans Serif.
Fonts that appear to work under Windows - Arial, Times New Roman/Serif, Verdana/Sans Serif. Courier produces an interesting, but non-legible effect.
Sans Serif appears to be the default if Synfig doesn't recognize the font.
Time Loop
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Start Time | |
| End Time |
XOR Pattern
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Offset | |
| Size |
Stylize
Bevel
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | Type of blur to use |
| Hi-Color | |
| Lo-Color | |
| Light Angle | |
| Depth of Bevel | |
| Softness | |
| Use Luma | |
| Solid |
Shade
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | |
| Offset | |
| Size | Size of Shade |
| Type | Type of blur to use |
| Invert |
Transform
Rotate
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Origin | Point where you want the origin to be |
| Amount | Amount of rotation |
Translate
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Origin | Point where you want the origin to be |
Zoom
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Amount | Amount to zoom in |
| Center | Point to zoom in to |
Not Available
These layers are examples to aid developers in creating more layer types, but aren't included in binary releases of Synfig.
Shape
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Layer_Shape Color |
| Offset | |
| Invert | |
| Antialiasing | |
| Feather | |
| Type of Feather | Type of feathering to use |
| Winding Style | Winding style to use |
Metaballs
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | |
| Points | |
| Radii | |
| Weights | |
| Threshold |
Simple Circle
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | |
| Center | |
| Radius | This is the radius of the circle |
Filled Rectangle
Parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | |
| Point 1 | |
| Point 2 | |
| Feather X | |
| Feather Y | |
| Bevel | |
| Keep Bevel Circular |
