Scenes & Groups

Fable scenes and groups are special containers that allow you to combine separate layers into powerful units. This is how it works...

When you create a new project, you are taken to the main scene window. This is where you place all individual layers, additional scenes, and groups to create a full animation to then export.

Project settings like size, background color, frame rate, and duration are found on the right side of the scene window. While you create animate elements on the canvas. These panels are hidden, but you can access them anytime by clicking on the background area of the working window.

As you build your composition, you may want to divide the project into smaller segments. In Fable, you do that by creating groups and additional scenes. Think of them as storage units where you keep individual layers together with their animations and effects.

The way you break down your animation will mainly depend on the level of control you would like to achieve. Create a group if you want to tidy up the timeline, but keep the layers in the main scene. If you would like to focus on your animation in a separate working window, then you'll need to create a new scene.

To create a group select layers, and click on the group button in the toolbar, or use the shortcut, "Command" or "Control" and "G." Notice that a new group layer has taken the place of the individual layers.

There are two ways to create a scene. The first way is to select the layers you'd like to combine, go through the toolbar, and click on the scene button. Double-click on the icon of the layer to view its contents in a separate working window. Keep in mind that the newly created scene will inherit the size and duration of the main scene. The second way is to build a scene on a completely empty canvas. To do this, go ahead and click the plus icon next to the tab of the main scene.

You will be taken to a separate window where you can start creating elements like shapes, or grab and drop assets from the library. Once you are ready to place this composition into the main scene, simply go back to the main tab, open the library and add the scene onto the canvas.

Both groups and scenes function like regular layers, so you're able to add transformations and effects that will then be passed on to all the layers contained inside. By working with these types of elements, you can skip the need to apply changes to individual layers.

Now, let's answer the question of which container to use and when. The most significant reason to work with scenes is because they're extremely versatile. Once you create a scene, it can be accessed in the library and then easily reused throughout your project as many times as you want.

A scene acts as a container of animation and effects. When you make adjustments to the layers in the scene, the changes will show up in all of the other instances of that scene. You also save time and keyframes when you choose looping options for the scenes. If you go inside of the scene, you'll find three modes next to the time code.

"Play once" will play the animation from the beginning to the end, and then stop. "Loop" mode will trigger the animation to play endlessly on repeat. "Ping pong" plays the animation forwards and then backwards. This cycle continues endlessly. In addition to that, in the main scene, you can choose to keep or overwrite the looping of the instance. Select the scene layer and go to the attributes panel. Choose "Inherit" to keep the original loop mode or overwrite to replace it with any of the three modes that we just covered.

Groups don't have universal looping options for their contents, but you can select the playback mode for each of their individual layers.

A significant advantage of a scene is that when all of its instances are deleted from the timeline, its source remains in the library.

When you delete a group, it is removed from the project permanently. If at some point while you're working on an animation project, you change your mind and decide to split a group back into separate layers, select the group and click on the ungroup icon in the toolbar, or use the shortcut, "Command" or "Control" and "Shift" and "G." To detach a scene, select it and click on the detached scene in the toolbar.

Start small, go big. We hope that with this video we have convinced you to use scenes and groups to create an organized motion project.