User Guide > Scene Setup > Cloning and Duplicating Layers > Clone Layer

Cloning Layers

A cloned layer is linked to the original element directory. If a drawing is modified in the original or cloned layer, both will be updated. However, clone layers can have different timings.

For example, if you make a walk-cycle for a soldier and want to use it for a whole army, you may want to have fifty layers with fifty different drawing exposures to produce a slight difference in the timing. You don’t necessarily want the same drawing fifty times. If you copy your layers and their drawings fifty times over, it will create a very heavy scene. It is better to clone the fifty layers from the same initial layer to have them all linked to the same walk cycle drawings, producing fifty layers but one drawing directory. This will also allow you to correct the drawings in one layer and have all of the other ones updated simultaneously.

When you clone a layer that is already linked to a function, the cloned layers are automatically linked to the same function, so if you reposition the layers while in Animate mode, they are all repositioned to the same place because a keyframe is added to this function. If you want the layers to move on a trajectory that is independent, make sure to unlink the function before cloning.

To clone a layer:

1. In the Timeline view, select a layer to clone.
2. In the Timeline View menu, select Layers > Clone Selected Layers.

Related Topics 

Duplicate Layer
Animation Paths
Setting Up the Network on page 1