# \[EXTENSION\] Bonebase: rig, skin and animate a character base inside Aseprite

**URL:** <https://community.aseprite.org/t/extension-bonebase-rig-skin-and-animate-a-character-base-inside-aseprite/28947>\
**Category:** Scripts & Extensions\
**Created:** [October 20, 2026, 1:22pm UTC](https://community.aseprite.org/t/extension-bonebase-rig-skin-and-animate-a-character-base-inside-aseprite/28947 "2026-10-20T13:22:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ice\_Man](https://community.aseprite.org/user_avatar/community.aseprite.org/ice_man/32/26953_2.png) [@Ice\_Man](https://community.aseprite.org/u/Ice_Man)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 1:22pm UTC](https://community.aseprite.org/t/extension-bonebase-rig-skin-and-animate-a-character-base-inside-aseprite/28947/1 "2026-10-20T13:22:40Z")

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# Bonebase: rig, skin and animate a character base inside Aseprite

![Bonebase playing a march cycle](https://iceman033.github.io/bonebase-itch/gifs/editor.gif)

I can draw a character once. Animating it is where it falls apart: arms change length between frames, knees bend the wrong way, and by frame 8 it’s someone else. So I made **Bonebase** , an extension that does that part for me.

You build a skeleton, give it a rough body, animate it, and export it to your sprite as layers. Then you draw your character on top, frame by frame, over a base that already moves right.

## Rig

![Templates](https://iceman033.github.io/bonebase-itch/gifs/feature-templates.gif)

- Start from a template (Humanoid, Chibi, Quadruped, Winged, Serpent) or draw bones yourself.
- Mirror mode builds the other side while you work on one.

## Skin

![Bones, radius and bulges](https://iceman033.github.io/bonebase-itch/gifs/feature-rig.gif)

- The skin wraps the bones like a blob you shape: a radius per joint, and bulges for a belly, a calf or a muscle.
- Each body part becomes its own layer when you export.

## Animate

![Live IK](https://iceman033.github.io/bonebase-itch/gifs/feature-ik.gif)

- Live IK on arms and legs: drag a hand or a foot, pick which way the elbow or knee bends, and feet stay planted when the hips move.
- A dope sheet, onion skin, several clips per rig, per-frame holds, ping-pong, eases, squash and stretch.

![Dope sheet](https://iceman033.github.io/bonebase-itch/gifs/feature-dopesheet.gif)

## Draw over

![What lands in the sprite](https://iceman033.github.io/bonebase-itch/gifs/skin.gif)

**Export sprite** adds a `Bonebase` group under your layers: one layer per part, one frame per animation frame, a tag per clip. Re-export any time; your own drawing is never touched, and the rig is saved inside the sprite.

* * *

More info, and the download: **[Bonebase by IceMaan](https://icemaan.itch.io/bonebase)**

I’m adding something every week. Next up is reference images, so you can pose the rig over your own sketches. Questions and ideas are very welcome here.