Parenting Layers

Use Parenting to make one layer (the parent layer) control the movement of another (the child layer). The child can move anywhere in the scene independently of the parent, but any transformations to the parent (moving or rotating, for example) affect the child.

You can also create a null object that you can use as the parent, or parent layers to lights and the camera (and vice versa).

To parent a layer:

1. Select a layer. This will be the child layer.
2. Do one of the following:
• Select the layer you want to set as the parent from the Parent list in the Composite Controls panel.



• Click the Parent Pick button, then select the parent layer in a viewport.

The first layer becomes the child layer to the second. When you move, rotate, scale, or shear the parent layer, the child layer is also affected.

Note: You can only parent to a layer or object in the current composite; you cannot parent an object to itself.

To parent to a null object:

1. Double-click the composite.
2. Select a layer.
3. Choose the null object from the Parent list in the Composite Controls panel, or click the Pick button and select it in a viewport.



Note: This procedure assumes you have already created a null object in the composite. For information, see Creating a Null Object.

The layer becomes the child to the null object. When you move, rotate, scale, or shear the null object, the layer is also affected.

To remove parenting:

1. Select the child layer.
2. In the Composite Controls panel, select None from the Parent list.

The link between the two layers is removed.