Skeletal Animation and Inverse Kinematic (IK) in Unity 2020

Organize character assets for skeletal animation in Unity by turning parts into a layered Photoshop file, merging folders into parts with clear names, and exporting a PSD for bone-based rigging.

Create a new Unity 2D project, install and enable 2D animation packages and preview packages, and import psb character sprites to set up skeletal animation and inverse kinematic (ik).

Build a functional character skeleton by creating bones in the sprite editor, forming a clear hierarchy and parent–child connections for Unity animation.

Explore sprite geometry in Unity 2020 by generating and editing geometry automatically or manually, adjusting vertices, subdivide, alpha tolerance, and outlines to fit complex sprites for animation.

Learn to connect bones to geometry by generating and editing weights, adjusting bone influence with the weight slider and brush, and refining selections to control joints.

Place the character on a ground plane, build bones with gizmos and a sprite skin component, and craft animation clips in unity using the animation window, timeline, and keyframes.

Learn how inverse kinematics (IK) in Unity 2020 uses limb solvers, effectors, and targets to animate arms and legs, adjust weights, and create natural squats and poses.

Explore the chain solver in inverse kinematics within Unity, configure the IK manager, place the effector on the last bone, set chain length and iterations, and animate with keyframes.

Master a simple troll animation in Unity 2020 using inverse kinematics, creating a jump cycle across key frames, adjusting spine and leg weights, and managing animations in the animator.