Naming Conventions
When working on a production, it is critical to keep work well organized with a naming convention chart before starting the project. It is crucial that everyone follows the criteria laid out in the naming convention chart. When dealing with thousands of characters, pieces and puppets, it is easy to get lost.
Adding a Prefix or Suffix to a Layer
It is highly recommended that you incorporate a naming convention for the layers. This will be very convenient in later steps. We suggest that you add one or two letters for the character/prop name before the part name and an "R" or "L" for right and left to identify the corresponding character/prop:
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Character Abby's right arm = ab_r_arm. |
If you plan to work with different angles for your characters (front, side, three-quarter, back), you can add one or two letters to identify the angle:
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Character Abby's right arm, front view = ab_r_arm_f. |
How to add a prefix to a series of layers
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In the Network or Timeline view, select all the modules or layers to rename or press Ctrl + A (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + A (Mac OS X). |
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In the Scripting toolbar, click the Add Prefix or Suffix Script button. If the Scripting toolbar is not visible, you can display it by selecting Windows > Toolbars from the top menu. |
The Add Prefix or Suffix dialog box opens.
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Select the Prefix or Suffix option depending on what you want to add to the layer's name. |
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Type the prefix or suffix information to be added to the layer's name. |
Naming the Drawings
We recommend that you use a naming convention for your drawings. If you combine all the angles of a character in the same breakdown scene, it is a good idea to identify each angle used.
Before breaking down the characters for your production, we recommend that you create a drawing name convention that represents the angle used. For example, use "f" for front, "s" for side, "q" for three-quarter so that the drawing name looks like this: f1, f2, f3, s1, s2, etc. This will be quite useful during animation and drawing substitution. Since drawings are displayed in alphabetical and numerical order, all the drawings for the front view will be together, then all the drawings for the three quarter view, and so on.
How to add a prefix to one or more drawings
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In the Timeline view, select the drawing range to rename. |
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Do one of the following: |
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Right-click on the selection and select Drawings > Rename Drawing with Prefix. |
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From the top menu, select Drawing > Rename Drawing with Prefix. |
The Rename Drawing with Prefix dialog box opens.
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Type the characters you want to add before the current drawing name. |
To rename a drawing, select the drawing and use the Rename Drawing option. Do not double-click on the frame and write a new name, as this will create a new drawing and hide your actual one. Note that the hidden drawing has not been deleted and is still located within the element folder. Simply retype the name and it will reappear.