# Layer and object selection **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Requests\ **Tags:** for-ui-ux\ **Created:** [November 24, 2024, 6:45am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813 "2024-11-24T06:45:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jacki](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/jacki/32/125300_2.png) [@jacki](https://krita-artists.org/u/jacki)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2024, 6:45am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/1 "2024-11-24T06:45:16Z")
- Select the content of a layer automatically when the layer is selected When I select a layer (in the Layers docker, timeline or R+Click on the canvas) the drawing/image on it should be selected, when the Move or Transform tool is active. It’s very annoying to need an extra click eeevery time and to be careful not to move the position unwanted and unnoticed. Also it is not possible otherwise to compare e.g. the X/Y position of different images or on different keyframes of the same image. It would be very, very helpful if we could select a frame in the animation timeline/curves without losing the selection in the canvas. It destroys the workflow if the selection of the object to be animated is lost all the time. Because of this, every time also the position of the pivot point is lost and I have to try to put it in the same place again every few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/ahabgreybeard/32/2969_2.png) [@AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/u/AhabGreybeard)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2024, 7:40am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/2 "2024-11-24T07:40:28Z")
> [@jacki](#): > > Because of this, every time also the position of the pivot point is lost and I have to try to put it in the same place again every few seconds. It would be useful and helpful if you could post some screenshots that illustrate this problem. ---
**Author:** ![jacki](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/jacki/32/125300_2.png) [@jacki](https://krita-artists.org/u/jacki)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2024, 8:16am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/3 "2024-11-24T08:16:09Z")
e.g. when I make a cutout animation, frame by frame and I have to move 14 body parts for a walk cycle animation in 9 frames, in my opinion the usability of fast selection, rotation point and precise visibility & editability of transformation values is very important. The recommended workaround in the other thread with Transform Masks would be very cumbersome and not helpful for what I mean. Krita is maybe not yet as well designed for this as major animations tools, but it could be with a few simple changes 🙂 ![022](https://krita-artists.org/uploads/default/original/3X/6/b/6b37057b0c0aec3687feb7836516afa4ec039af4.png) ---
**Author:** ![Michelist](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/michelist/32/65826_2.png) [@Michelist](https://krita-artists.org/u/Michelist)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2024, 8:52am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/4 "2024-11-24T08:52:42Z")
> [@jacki](#): > > but it could be with a few simple changes If this is so simple, then you seem to be a skilled dev who could implement it. Do you know that Krita is open source, and you are welcome to contribute to the code? All you need is an IDE of your choice, and access to Krita’s source-code, which is found in this repo: > **[Graphics / Krita · GitLab](https://invent.kde.org/graphics/krita)** > > Krita is a free and open source cross-platform application that offers an end-to-end solution for creating digital art files from scratch built on the KDE and Qt frameworks. Michelist ---
**Author:** ![AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/ahabgreybeard/32/2969_2.png) [@AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/u/AhabGreybeard)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2024, 11:30am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/5 "2024-11-24T11:30:25Z")
> [@jacki](#): > > when I make a cutout animation, frame by frame and I have to move 14 body parts for a walk cycle It is a fact that krita is not designed or intended for making cutout animations. It is intended for frame by frame painted content animation. The animated transform masks are a wonderful addition but they are a recent development and do have many UI ‘papercuts’ and some shortfalls from ‘ideal functionality’. The closest you can get to cutout animation would be to group the parts into a branched armature structure. That would have consequences for computational load, depending on how powerful your computer is. Here is a linear armature structure animation with an explanation: [Armature Animation (with free .kra file)](https://krita-artists.org/t/armature-animation-with-free-kra-file/88662) A walking body cutout would need a nested group structure to simulate the limbs attached to a ‘root’ object, e.g. the torso and only the root object would have its X/Y position changed. I intend to make one in the future but not for a while. ---
**Author:** ![jacki](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/jacki/32/125300_2.png) [@jacki](https://krita-artists.org/u/jacki)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 6:56am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/6 "2024-11-27T06:56:57Z")
> [@Michelist](#): > > If this is so simple, then you seem to be a skilled dev who could implement it. Do you know that Krita is open source, and you are welcome to contribute to the code? No I am not, therefore der feature request. By simple I mean, do not remove the selection when changing the frame, is not a big new feature. There are many things in the changelogs that are more difficult and have less benefit. If no dev picks it because it’s too complicated, that’s fine with me, but in my opinion it’s absolutely possible and so important that I signed up here. > [@AhabGreybeard](#): > > The closest you can get to cutout animation would be to group the parts into a branched armature structure. That’s cool, I’ve also experimented a bit with skeletons in other tools, but I don’t really need it for my projects and they had other unnecessary big usability issues like OT/Tahoma2D cannot move images on the canvas with keyboard arrows and values ​​in fields cannot be increased/decreased with the arrows. Impossible to position things pixels perfectly without manually typing over 100 coordinates for a 2 second animation… That’s the main reason why I’m with Krita and if they tweek the two lil selecting things, I’m already happy. ---
**Author:** ![Michelist](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/michelist/32/65826_2.png) [@Michelist](https://krita-artists.org/u/Michelist)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 7:54am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/7 "2024-11-27T07:54:35Z")
> [@jacki](#): > > By simple I mean, do not remove the selection when changing the frame, is not a big new feature. There are many things in the changelogs that are more difficult and have less benefit. It may sound simple. Assumptions regularly harbor the problem of being inaccurate … Krita has its roadmap and goals, unfortunately for your wish, the subject of your request is not covered by these, so it may take some (even some more) time to see that in Krita. As it was already mentioned, even Krita’s manual tells it in the second sentence in the chapter about [Animation with Krita](https://docs.krita.org/en/user_manual/animation.html): > In specific, Krita has frame-by-frame raster animation. Which means, it is not meant nor made for cut-out animations. Currently, armatures are what is possible, anything else needs time and users who support it, here not even you seem to support it, at least is that the impression if I scroll up to this topics headline to view the vote-count … Michelist ---
**Author:** ![jacki](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/jacki/32/125300_2.png) [@jacki](https://krita-artists.org/u/jacki)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 8:33am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/8 "2024-11-27T08:33:46Z")
> [@Michelist](#): > > Which means, it is not meant nor made for cut-out animations. That’s okay, I’m not asking for explicit cut-out animation support, it was just an example to justify why I think the change would be useful. It’s also helpful for frame-by-frame drawn animations. Actually most of my points have nothing to do with animation at all and are jut normal basic functionality in many graphic tools. I worked for a game engine for 4 years, they implemented and improved over 60 things based on my reports, mockups,… So I think my ideas are mostly not that bad and usually good for many users. But okay then I don’t expect an update so soon and I’ll have to see how I can live with it. ---
**Author:** ![Michelist](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/michelist/32/65826_2.png) [@Michelist](https://krita-artists.org/u/Michelist)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 9:02am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/9 "2024-11-27T09:02:40Z")
Well, with a bit of luck, a developer might see this as firstly interesting and secondly easy to implement, and if that developer then has the time to implement it, then it could happen unexpectedly quickly. But I’m almost certain that a developer would first take care of those requests that at least received the voice of the requesting user. But if even the person making the request doesn’t consider it necessary to vote for their own request, then it doesn’t seem to be that important after all, with which I may be wrong … Michelist ---
**Author:** ![AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/ahabgreybeard/32/2969_2.png) [@AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/u/AhabGreybeard)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 12:36pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/layer-and-object-selection/107813/10 "2024-11-27T12:36:26Z")
> [@Michelist](#): > > Currently, armatures are what is possible, To clarify: The ‘armature’ animation I made, and linked to above, is a form of emulation with the linkage details carried in my own head and expressed as a group structure. It’s not an easy thing to organise and manipulate. Krita itself has no internal knowledge of the emulated armature and certainly doesn’t have any ‘inverse kinematic’ capability such as would be found in Blender and similar applications.