Day 7 / 38 – Moho
The /swiCH/ — choosing one thing instead of another.
That’s exactly what Moho switch layers do. They let you swap between different layers during your animation. One frame shows one layer, the next frame shows another. Put different options inside—mouth shapes, eye blinks, hand poses—and switch between them as the timeline plays.
One choice at a time. One frame at a time.
Things to Know:
✔ Switch Layers
Create a switch layer
- In the Layers panel, click the Folder+ icon and choose Add → Switch Layer. This creates a blank switch layer you can add layers into.
- Or, if you already have a group layer, simply right-click the group and choose Convert to Switch.
In a switch layer, you can display one child layer at a time.
This is often used with phonemes to change the mouth shape based on what a character is saying. For example: AI, E, O, or MBP.
In my case, I kept it simple: mouth_open and mouth_closed.
When you switch between them, you’ll notice only one layer is highlighted at a time—that’s the layer currently being shown in the animation
switch layer, switch channel
Move off frame 0 on the timeline. Then right-click the Switch Layer Group (not individual layer) and choose which layer you want to display (at that period of time) from the dropdown menu.
When you switch layers in Moho, a Switch Layer channel will appear in the timeline (on the left side). Each time you swap layers, Moho places a keyframe in that channel. This lets you see exactly when the switch happens over time, similar to how the red bone channel shows keyframes for bone movement.
You can actually embed, switches, within switches.
I have no idea what this means, yet.
To test this—similar to the training video—I had to jump back into Procreate and draw some mad ducky eyes to switch between. It’s a good reminder that, as an artist, you basically have infinite switch options—as long as you’re willing to draw them
Switch on, Switch off, some options⭐
- Mouth shapes (lip sync): AI, E, O. U. Smile/Neutral/Frown
- Eyes: Eyes Open, Half Blink. Closed
- Hand poses: Open hand, Fist, Point, thumbs up, etc.
- Head angles / expressions: Front, 3/4 Left, 3/4 Right, Angry, Happy, etc.
- Objects : Light On / Off, Door Open / Closed, Item Appears / Disappears
- Character Variation: Hat On / Off, Jacket On / Off, Different hairstyles
Day 7 — Afterthoughts and questions
Switching was fun. The more you switch, the more you think about switching, like suspicious ducky could benefit from an eyebrow switch as well. But, the video—clocking in at about 6:50—felt like a nice breather after the heavier lift of day 6. One thing I’m wondering: do you always need a switch for blinking? Or is there something built in that handles it automatically, like Adobe Character Animator does? Curious to find out.
For more in-depth reading on switch layers, click HERE. 👀
Until next time… nik
