Beginners Quick Start Guide - How to Animate Your First Character in Cartoon Animator

Just downloaded Reallusion’s Cartoon Animator and wondering where to start?
Good news — animating your first cartoon character is easier than you think!

Follow this simple step-by-step guide and you’ll have your first animated character waving, talking, or dancing in no time.
 
🎨 Step 1: Set Up Your Project
Open Cartoon Animator.
You’ll land on the main workspace.
Create a New Project.
Click File > New Project to start with a clean slate.

Tip:
The workspace has three key zones:

Stage Mode: For setting up your scenes.
Composer Mode: For editing your character’s bones and features.
Timeline: Where animation magic happens!
 
🖼️ Step 2: Import or Choose a Character
You have two options:

Use a built-in character from the Content Library (great for practice).
Import your own drawing (PSD layered files work best).
To import:

Go to Create > Create G3 Free Bone Actor if you have a flat image.
OR Import PSD Character Template for a more professional setup.

Tip:
If you're a true beginner, start with a pre-made character to focus on animation basics first.

 
🔗 Step 3: Rig the Character (If Needed)
If you imported your own artwork, you’ll need to rig it — that means setting up “bones” for movement.

Switch to Composer Mode.
Use the Bone Editor to add skeletons to your character:

Spine
Arms
Legs
Head
Connect joints naturally (shoulders, elbows, knees, etc.).

Tip:
Use simple bone structures at first. You can get fancy later!

 
🧠 Step 4: Add a Simple Motion
Now, let’s animate!

Switch back to Stage Mode.
Select your character.
Open the Motion Library:

Navigate to Animation > Motion > Human Basic Motion (or another library).
Drag and drop a walk, run, dance, or jump animation onto your character.
🎉 Your character is now moving!

 
🎙️ Step 5: Add Facial Animation or Lip Sync
Want your character to talk or react?

Open Face Key Editor.
Use the face puppeteering tool to animate eyebrows, eyes, mouth, and expressions.
Lip Sync:

Import a voice file (WAV or MP3).
Cartoon Animator will automatically generate mouth movements!
Fine-tune with Viseme editing if you want more precision.
 
🎥 Step 6: Fine-Tune in the Timeline
Want to adjust when a character blinks, jumps, or speaks?

Open the Timeline at the bottom of the screen.
Expand your character’s track (you’ll see layers like Body Motion, Facial Expression, Voice).
Drag, trim, or move keyframes to get perfect timing.

Tip:
Play your animation often to see how it feels — animation is all about rhythm!

 
📦 Step 7: Export Your Animation
Once you're happy with your animated scene:

Click Render > Video > Export Video.
Choose your format (MP4, AVI, MOV).
Pick your resolution (HD 1080p is a good starting point).
Save your masterpiece!
You now have a fully animated cartoon video you can share anywhere!