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May 6, 2026·TutorialHow to rig a 2D character in 5 minutes
The whole "rigging is hard" thing is an artefact of desktop tools. With layered PNGs and a fixed skeleton, the rig step is a drop-and-snap.
May 6, 2026·WorkflowProduction-ready 2D animation export checklist
Before you ship an animated character, walk this checklist. Most production bugs are caught by minutes of review, not days of debugging.
May 6, 2026·ComparisonFrame-by-frame vs skeletal animation: when to use each
Both are valid. Both are common. The right answer depends on what you're animating, who's doing the work, and how much time you have.
May 6, 2026·ConceptUnderstanding frame time in mocap files
Mocap files store a frame rate. Different sources record at different rates. Ignoring it makes your animations play in slow motion or sprint.
May 6, 2026·ComparisonCharios vs DragonBones: a practical comparison
DragonBones is the free, open-source 2D rigging tool people reach for when Spine's price tag stings. Where does it fit next to Charios?
May 6, 2026·ConceptHow PNG layers become animation
The pipeline from "stack of PNGs" to "moving character" is shorter than you'd guess. Three steps, none of them visible to the user.
May 6, 2026·ConceptWhy BVH and FBX are the mocap standards
Two formats won the mocap distribution war. Knowing why helps you pick which to download and which to wrangle.
May 6, 2026·ComparisonPixiJS vs Phaser for 2D character animation
PixiJS and Phaser look like the same thing — they're not. One is a renderer, the other is a game framework. Picking the right one matters.
May 6, 2026·ConceptWhat is 2D skeletal animation?
Skeletal animation in 2D works like skeletal animation in 3D — a hierarchy of bones drives art that's parented to them. The "2D" part just means the art is flat.
May 6, 2026·ComparisonMixamo vs Rokoko vs other mocap libraries
The free Mixamo library is still the indie default. Here's the honest comparison with paid alternatives — and where they actually beat Mixamo.
May 6, 2026·ConceptUnderstanding z-order in rigged 2D characters
Z-order is what stops your character's left arm from disappearing behind their right when they turn. In a 2D rig, it's mostly automatic — until it isn't.
May 6, 2026·ConceptThe bone anatomy of a 2D rig
A typical 2D character rig is 17 bones. Memorize the anatomy once and every character you build snaps together the same way.