# Parenting
Parenting creates hierarchical relationships between layers, allowing child layers to inherit transform properties from parent layers. Essential for coordinated motion and complex character animation.
## What is parenting?
Parenting links a child layer to a parent layer so the child inherits the parent's transform properties.
**Transform inheritance:**
Child moves when parent moves
Child rotates around parent's anchor point
Child scales with parent's scale
Child's transforms are relative to parent
## Setting up parenting
**Using parent dropdown:**
1. Select child layer
2. Find parent icon/dropdown in layer row
3. Click to open parent selection dropdown
4. Choose parent layer from list
5. Child is now parented to selected layer
**Layers that cannot be parents:**
Track matte layers (hidden matte layers)
Layers that would create circular dependency
## Transform inheritance
**Position:** Child position is relative to parent position. Final position = Parent position + Child position.
**Scale and Skew:** Child scale and skew are multiplicative with parents'.
**Anchor point:** Child rotates around parent's anchor point. Critical for proper hierarchical motion.
## Unparenting layers
**Removing parent:**
1. Select child layer
2. Open parent dropdown
3. Select "(No parent)" option
4. Layer becomes independent
**Effect:**
Child no longer inherits parent transforms
Child maintains current world position
Local transforms become absolute
## Multi-level hierarchies
Create complex hierarchies with nested parenting.
**Example hierarchy:**
```
Body (root)
└── Arm
└── Forearm
└── Hand
└── Fingers
```
**Transform flow:**
Rotate Body → Entire arm rotates
Rotate Arm → Forearm, hand, fingers rotate
Rotate Forearm → Hand and fingers rotate
Rotate Hand → Only fingers rotate