2D Bones Animation

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a 2D pixel art bones animation in PixelOver.
We will start from a single artwork, split it into parts, rig it with bones, animate it, and export the final sprite animation.

Requirements

For this tutorial, you need an artwork to animate.
I'm using an artwork by Smiley-Fakemon.

Before rigging, the artwork must be split into separate parts (head, torso, wings, paws, etc.).
If you don't know how to do that, check this tutorial first:
Splitting drawings into objects

Next, we will use PixelOver to pixelate the artwork and animate it using bones.

1. Splitting and filling the artwork

The first step is to split the artwork into independent parts.
These parts will later be animated separately.

Typical parts include:

head
torso
wings
paws / legs
tail
accessories (if any)

Fill hidden areas (important)

After splitting, you must fill the hidden areas behind each part.

For example:

the wing hides part of the torso
the torso hides part of the wing root
the paws may hide parts of the legs

Even a quick fill is usually enough, because small imperfections become less noticeable once the artwork is pixelated.

Export each part

Export each separated part as a different image file.
You can download the images from this example:
\assets\bones_animation\speck_splitted.zip

2. Import images into PixelOver

Open PixelOver, then drag and drop all your part images into the project.

When importing, choose to import them as separate images (not as an animated image).

It is also recommended to import the original full artwork as a reference image.

Tip

At this stage, you don’t need to reorder the images perfectly. You will place them correctly later when parenting them under bones.

3. Resize your artwork (optional but recommended)

If needed, you can select multiple images at once (Shift + left click) and resize them together.

This is useful to quickly match the desired pixel art scale before applying the shader.

4. Apply a pixel art shader

Now apply a shader to get the pixel art look.

You can:

load a preset shader from the top bar
or tweak the shader parameters in the right panel

Tip

It’s easier to rig and animate once the pixel style is already applied, because you can immediately see the final proportions and readability.

5. Rigging: create the bone structure

Deselect all images, then select the Bone tool.

Create the bones

Use click + drag to create bones in the viewport.

Create a clean hierarchy (parent → child), for example:

Root
- Bone_Torso
- Bone_Head
  - Bone_Wing_L
  - Bone_Wing_R
  - Bone_Leg_L
  - Bone_Leg_R
  - Bone_Tail

Tip

Rename bones as you create them. A good naming convention helps a lot during animation: Root, Bone_Torso, Bone_Head, Bone_Wing_L, Bone_Wing_R, etc.

Parent images under bones

At this stage, bones do not affect images automatically.
To bind a sprite part to a bone, simply parent the image under the bone in the scene tree.

Example:

Bone_Torso
- Torso_Image
- Bone_Head
  - Head_Image

You can use cut/paste or drag-and-drop parenting in the scene tree.

Once all parts are parented correctly, your rig should look like a full hierarchy:

Info

The first bone (often named Root) can have a length of 0px. It acts as a stable reference point and makes it easier to move or scale the entire character.

At this point, the rigging is complete.
Now we can start animating.

6. Animation

Open the animation panel at the bottom of the interface.

Rename your animation, then configure:

duration
FPS (frames per second)

Create the first keys

Select all bones, then click the key icons to create keys for:

Position
Rotation

This creates the base pose for frame 0.

Add more poses

Move the timeline cursor forward.
Pose the bones to create the next frame.

If the REC button is enabled, keys will be created automatically when you modify the bones.

Duplicate keys to speed up workflow

To save time, you can select keys and duplicate them at the current cursor position.

Reset bones to rest pose

At any time, you can force bones to return to their rest position.

Example animation (jump)

For this example, the character performs a jump:

Tip

A good animation usually needs counterbalance. For example, after a jump, the character should absorb the landing (compression) instead of instantly snapping back to the idle pose.