Limber Lite

Limber Lite is a free, simplified version of Limber available from the Animatable website. This User Guide doesn't have unique sections dedicated to Limber Lite, because we hope that it's intuitive enough not to need them. But this page answers some of the most common questions that are specifically about Limber Lite.

Why don't some of the properties work?

Limber Lite generates default bones - the exact same ones as in the full version of Limber. Bones do not respond to Start Size, Middle Size or End Size. They don't respond to Square End, or any of the properties in the Colors section. Bones will change length with Size Scale, if Link Length to Size Scale is checked on. Those properties are all there to maintain compatibility with Limber's other limbs, which can only be handled by the full version.

In practice, it means you can animate a character with Limber Lite bones, and then hand it off to another animator with the full version, and they can turn those limbs into tapers or art-rigged limbs or whatever they want.

When I use FK, the hands / feet don't stay attached to the controller.

Limber Lite bones can be animated with FK but to have a layer follow the end of the limb when you use FK, you need an FK controller which is only available in the full version.

How can I scale my character?

The preferred method of scaling with Limber is to use a master Null layer and expression-link the Size Scale property to that null's Scale value. But the stroke width of bones won't scale on it's own, so you have to expression-link the Stroke Width property as well. This entire workflow is covered here, in this video.

Can I add more strokes to the limb?

Yes! Bones are a great base for adding more strokes and duplicate shape groups and all kinds of amazing stuff if you just know how to use shape layers. Twirl down the layer, then Contents and then Limb and you'll see Limber's Path and Stroke. You can add more strokes by selecting the stroke and clicking Cmd/Ctrl-D to duplicate it. A more flexible method is to duplicate the entire Limb shape group (rather than just the stroke). Then you can, for example, use Trim Paths with some strokes and not others, and build up several different strokes with different widths, colors, tapers and cap types.

How do I duplicate a limb?

You cannot duplicate limbs with Limber Lite. To do this you will need to purchase the full version. If you select all the layers and use After Effects' native duplicate command , you'll find that the duplicated limb layer works with the old controllers.