Ultimate Beginner's Spine Tutorial - Part 2: Preparing Artwork for Rigging and Animating

Introduction

• Focus on prepping artwork for rigging and animating in Spine.
• Draw character in a neutral pose with all animatable parts as separate images.
• Starting with a flat image? Ways to prep without completely redrawing.

Building a Character from Scratch

Using Layers

• Use Photoshop or any software that can export layers as PNGs.
• Character turnaround sheets (different angles) can guide artwork.
• Front, three-quarter front, side, three-quarter back, back views.
• Plan and thumbnail animations to determine necessary views.

Drawing Separate Parts

• Draw each moving part on a separate layer (body parts, clothing, hair).
• Consider rigging and animations at this stage.
• Two main ways to move art: using bones or adding mesh weighting.
  • Bones: Move parts like a skeleton.
  • Mesh Weighting: Use for flexible, rubber hose-style movements.

Cutting the Character

• Example: Character cut into pieces (face details separated).
• Overlap areas to prevent gaps when parts move.
• Draw parts in a neutral, straight position for easier rigging.
• Consider middle point of motion for better animation flexibility.

Tips for Easier Art Preparation

• Flip art periodically to ensure it looks good in both directions.
• Use symmetry tool for front/back views.
• Reuse parts from other views to maintain consistency and save time.

Using an Already Merged Image

• Use lasso tool to cut up the image into layers.
• Work from background to foreground to avoid rearranging layers later.
• Use magnetic lasso tool or regular lasso for general cutout.
• Refine edges using loop and eraser tools.
• Use a contrasting background color to see edges clearly.
• Watch for layer dust (pixels away from artwork).
• Use stroke to find and erase extra pixels.

Adding Overlap

• Recolor overlapping areas to avoid showing the same art underneath.
• Use content-aware fill tool to automate overlap painting.
• Check layers match the original image.

Renaming Layers and Exporting

• Give each layer a different, descriptive name to avoid overrides.
• Example naming convention: Character_BodyPart_Direction_Number_View.
• Identify left/right based on character's perspective.
• Export images as PNGs.

Using Photoshop to Spine Script

• Download from GitHub.
• File > Scripts > Browse > Locate script.
• Settings:
  • Ignore hidden layers
  • Ignore background layer
  • Trim white space
  • Write Spine JSON (for importing into Spine)
  • Write template image
  • Adjust export scale and padding
• Save PSD before running exporter.
• Check for script alerts if issues arise.

Recap

• Draw/cut-up character on separate layers.
• Turnarounds are great references.
• Plan animations ahead of time.
• Separate anything that will move onto its own layer.
• Draw parts in a neutral pose.
• Ensure overlap to prevent gaps.
• Use content-aware tool for overlap where possible.
• Reuse artwork across views.
• Flip art periodically.
• Give layers descriptive names.
• Download and use Photoshop to Spine export script.
• Save PSD and export using the script.
• Ready for rigging in Spine.

Next Steps

• Watch time-lapse of art prep process.
• Use provided files to follow along with the next tutorial on rigging in Spine.