INSTALLATION

From the User Preferences window, navigate to the Add-ons tab and click 'Install...'

Browse to the location of the downloaded file (breakdowner.zip), select it, and click 'Install Add-on'

ACTIVATION

While in the Add-ons category, search for Breakdowner.

If installed correctly, 'Animation: Breakdowner' will appear. Click the check box next to its name to activate it.

FEATURES AND SETTINGS

Once Breakdowner has been activated, its Preferences window will appear.

Within this window is your opportunity to configure Breakdowner to suit your needs.

Automatically Hide Breakdown Guides

If toggled, will always automatically hide breakdown guides after confirming a breakdown. This option should be used in conjunction with the Breakdowner Pie Menu. This menu leaves the decision up to the animator of when to show and hide breakdown guides.

Color

The color of breakdown guides is configurable from two color pickers and an alpha slider.

First color picker controls the color of the previous frame.

Second color picker controls the color of the future frame.

Alpha slider controls the transparency of breakdown guides. This value can be anywhere within the range of 0.0 and 1.0

Keymap

Breakdown with visual guide (CTRL-E)

Perform a Pose Breakdown, utilizing blender's built in operator, while automatically generating breakdown guides. This action always shows a breakdown guide.

However, if 'Automatically hide breakdown guides' is toggled, it will also automatically hide breakdown guides. If it's NOT toggled, it will not hide breakdown guides, leaving the guides visible after confirming a breakdown.

Leaving a breakdown guide visible after confirming a Pose Breakdown allows the animator to make further adjustments to their breakdown pose while always having a guide and being aware of their previous and future frames. These guides can then be hidden later, utilizing the pie menu.

Breakdowner Pie Menu (ALT-E)

At any moment, you can show Breakdowner's Pie Menu which gives you multiple different actions.

Show visual guide: Show breakdown guides, without invoking Breakdowner.

Hide visual guide: Hide breakdown guides.

Breakdown with visual guide: Invoke Breakdowner (Same as pressing CTRL-E).

SETUP

(My personal setup will be listed below as a guide for you.)

Create a collection of objects (Only mesh objects will be utilized by Breakdowner, but this collection can contain anything.)

Within your armature's data tab, under the Breakdowner category, select your new collection from the Collection property. Collections can be local or linked to the blendfile.

Create a collection of objects (Local or linked)

Within your armature's data tab, select your collection

SETUP (Personal Preference)

I usually create a collection which is nested within my character's overall collection. Then link only the important objects I want to appear as a breakdown guide, within the new nested collection.

Utilizing collections and linking objects is a very powerful and flexible way of having different versions of your character to generate breakdown guides.

For example, I usually have multiple different collections for either my whole character, different parts of my character, my character with a specific prop, etc. Breakdowner allows me to easily switch between these collections for generating guides.

USAGE

Breakdowner follows the same logic as Blender's inbuilt Pose Breakdown operator, down to its C++ source. When performing a breakdown (CTRL-E), your timeline's playhead should be in between two distinct key-frames. Breakdowner will then generate visual guides of your character on the same frames as those two key-frames.

Because Breakdowner follows the same rules as blender's built in Pose Breakdown operator. It is intended to be used during the 'Blocking' phase of animation. This is the phase where you're creating key poses and your key-frames are all neatly aligned.

However, Breakdowner is not limited in anyway by how/when it should be used! I myself use it in production throughout any stage of animation (Block, Polish, etc.). Just keep in mind how Breakdowner is determining which frames to generate guides on.