Hierarchy and Groups

Summary

This lesson explores the Hierarchy panel, covering layer management, creating groups, and understanding parent/child relationships. Using groups not only organizes your graphics but also simplifies the animation process by allowing you to control multiple children via a single parent, resulting in cleaner files and better performance.

Step by Step

1. 00:04
   Hierarchy Panel Overview

   Located on the left side of the editor, this panel displays all layers corresponding to the selected artboard.
2. 00:24
   Renaming and Reordering

   Double-click a layer name to rename it. Click and drag layers to change their order in the stack.
3. 00:43
   Grouping Layers

   Select multiple layers and press Command + G (or Ctrl + G) to group them together.
4. 01:11
   Parent/Child Relationships

   The group acts as a parent, while contained layers are children. Children inherit the position, rotation, and scale of their parent.
5. 01:54
   Simplifying Animation

   Animating a group instead of individual layers reduces the total number of keyframes needed, keeping the file small and performant.
6. 02:09
   The Root Group Strategy

   It is highly recommended to place all layers into a "Root" group before animating. Avoid animating the Root itself; use it to adjust the overall composition without affecting existing keyframes on children.

Notes About Current Rive

• Shortcuts: Use G or Command + G to quickly create a group from a selection.
• Visual Cues: Layers inside a group are indented in the hierarchy to signify their relationship with the parent.
• Organization: A well-structured hierarchy is essential for complex rigs and state machine interactions later in the workflow.