Skip to content
SwisserAI LogoSwisserAI
Prop Studio HelpSwisserAI HelpOpen app

Animate a prop

Moving parts and hinges

Tell the studio which parts move, where each one turns, and whether a part rides on another.

The studio at a glance

Once a model is loaded, Prop Studio has five areas:

  1. 1. Toolbar: play, tools, name and Render
  2. 2. Rig: clips and the parts of your file
  3. 3. 3D view: orbit, click parts, drag the gizmo
  4. 4. Properties: clip settings, hinge and presets
  5. 5. Timeline: keyframes per moving part
  • Rig: the clip you are editing and the parts of your file. The arrow icon at the top loads a different prop.
  • 3D view: drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, click a part to select it. Shift-click adds parts to the selection.
  • Properties: the clip settings, then the settings of the selected moving part, or of a selected keyframe.
  • Timeline: the keyframes of the clip, one row per moving part and channel.

The studio does not save drafts. Closing the tab or loading another prop discards the setup; only rendered props are kept.

Static and moving parts

Every part starts as Static. Click a part in the list or in the view, and the bar at the bottom of the column offers two buttons:

  • Moves

    Makes one part a moving part with its own bone. Shown with a bone icon and the bone name.

  • Move together

    Shown when you shift-click several parts: they get one shared bone and move as one.

  • Move with…

    Adds the selected parts to a moving part that already exists.

  • Static

    Turns a moving part back into a still one. Its keyframes go with it.
  1. 1. gate_right: moving part with its own bone
  2. 2. gate_frame: static: stays where it is

A prop can have as many moving parts as it has meshes. The price stays the same, so group meshes by how they move, not to save credits.

The pivot point

A moving part turns around its pivot, which starts at 0 / 0 / 0. For a door, put it on the line of the hinges. There are two ways to set it:

  • Type it. Under Pivot point (model units), enter X, Y and Z in metres from the origin of the file. The gate's left leaf hangs at X = -0.9.
  • Drag it. Press Set hinge / pivot point in the toolbar, the crosshair, and drag the handle in the view. Press it again to go back to posing.
  1. 1. Pivot point (model units): where the hinge sits; here X = -0.9
  2. 2. Parent bone: root unless the part rides on another moving part

For a vertical hinge only X and Z matter: the height of the pivot does not change a turn around Y. Check the result by playing the clip: the edge on the hinge side must stay in place.

Parts that ride on other parts

Every moving part hangs on the root of the prop at first. Set Parent bone to another moving part, and the part follows that one and adds its own motion on top: a handle that turns while the door swings, or a hatch on a lid.

To add more meshes to a moving part without a motion of their own, select them and pick the part in Move with…. They then move exactly like it.

The hinge axis

The axis a part turns around comes from the preset (Hinge axis, Spin axis, Swing axis or Direction) or from how you turn the rotate gizmo. The Hinge axis buttons X, Y and Z right under the pivot point are stored with the part, but they do not change the motion at the moment. Set the axis in the preset.