svg-character-animation

Animates cartoon characters drawn as SVG so you can bring them to life in videos.

Installation

Run `npx skills add "https://github.com/calesthio/openmontage" --skill "svg-character-animation"` to install this skill, then follow its SKILL.md instructions for my next request.

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SKILL.mdShow the author's original SKILL.md

---
name: svg-character-animation
description: Animate SVG character rigs with GSAP, CSS transforms, Remotion frame control, and HyperFrames-compatible browser previews.
license: MIT
---

# SVG Character Animation

Use this skill when animating character rigs made from SVG parts.

## Runtime Rules

- Animate transforms (`x`, `y`, `scale`, `rotation`) rather than layout.
- Use timelines for multi-part acting beats.
- For SVG elements, use stable pivots (`svgOrigin` or correctly scoped
  transform origins).
- In Remotion, do not let GSAP advance with `requestAnimationFrame`; drive a
  paused timeline from the current frame.

## Browser Pattern

```js
gsap.set("#arm_right", { svgOrigin: "390 310" });
const tl = gsap.timeline({ defaults: { ease: "power2.inOut" } });
tl.to("#head", { rotation: -8, duration: 0.2 })
  .to("#arm_right", { rotation: 35, duration: 0.4 }, "<");
```

## Remotion Pattern

```tsx
const frame = useCurrentFrame();
const progress = frame / durationInFrames;
timeline.progress(progress);
```

## HyperFrames Pattern

Use HTML/SVG/GSAP components with deterministic timelines and validate via the
HyperFrames CLI before final render.

## Quality Checklist

- Parts stay connected at pivots during motion.
- Blinks, gaze, and mouth shapes are separate enough to read.
- Pose holds are long enough to communicate emotion.
- Frame sampling shows meaningful deltas, not frozen animation.

## Sources

- GSAP core transform properties and SVG handling:
  https://gsap.com/docs/v3/GSAP/CorePlugins/CSS/
- GSAP timelines and sequencing:
  https://gsap.com/docs/v3/GSAP/Timeline/
- Remotion `useCurrentFrame`:
  https://www.remotion.dev/docs/use-current-frame

Mirrored from the author's public source. Install counts from the open skills registry.