4 Cavalry Setups That Save You From Animating Every Shape By Hand

A wall of shapes should not mean a wall of keyframes. These four Cavalry setups turn one simple motif into a repeating pattern, a staggered reveal, and a set of art-directable variations. No downloaded project or course access required.

1. Build a repeating pattern with one Duplicator

Use this for tiled backgrounds, graphic transitions, or a pattern that needs to survive the inevitable request for “a few more shapes.” The useful part is not just making copies. It is keeping the source editable while the layout does the repetitive work.

Start with a simple bar motif. In a new composition, choose Create > Primitives > Rectangle and make a rectangle 60 units wide and 20 units high. Give it a solid fill that contrasts with the background. Keep its Position and Rotation at zero and its Scale at the default. Select it and press Cmd/Ctrl + G to put it inside a Group. Name the Group “Bar source.”

That Group is intentional. A Duplicator ignores the top-level input shape's transforms, but respects the transforms of its children. Grouping now means you can animate the rectangle's scale later without wondering why the copies refuse to move.

• Select “Bar source” and click the Duplicator icon in the Shelf. Check that the Group is listed under the Duplicator's Input Shapes. This makes the grouped rectangle the source for every copy.

• In the Duplicator's Distribution control, choose Grid. Set Count to X: 6, Y: 4. You now have a field of bars generated from one source, not a collection of separately managed rectangles.

• Set Size Mode to Step, then Size to X: 100, Y: 80. Step sets the distance between distribution points. It does not set the empty gap between the visible edges of the bars.

• Change the source rectangle's width from 60 to 80. Every bar should become wider while the grid points stay put. Return it to 60 after checking. If the bars overlap, reduce their dimensions or increase the Step values rather than nudging individual copies.

The result: one rectangle controls the motif, while the Duplicator controls its repetition. A client asks for a denser background? Change Count. The bars need more breathing room? Change Step.

Cavalry's Duplicator documentation explains the input-transform rule, and its Grid Distribution reference distinguishes Step from Fit. Fit spreads points across a specified overall span, which is useful when the pattern must stay within a fixed area as the count changes.

2. Stagger a whole group without moving every set of keys

Use this when the bars should pop on in sequence rather than arrive as one flat block. Animate the source once, then offset when each duplicate samples that animation.

Continue with the grouped source from setup 1. For a clear first test, change Distribution to Linear, Direction to Horizontal, Count to 6, Size Mode to Step, and Size to 100. A single row makes the playback order easier to read.

• Animate the rectangle inside “Bar source,” not the Group. At frame 0, set both Scale components to zero and add a keyframe with the Scale attribute's keyframe control. At frame 12, restore both components to their default full-size values and set a second keyframe. Scrub the timeline: before adding an offset, all six bars should grow together. Keep the source and Duplicator clips long enough to cover the full reveal.

• Choose Create > Behaviours > Stagger. Set Minimum to -30 and Maximum to 0. This range spreads the source animation's start times across 30 frames; it does not add 30 frames between every pair of bars.

• Connect the Stagger's output to the Duplicator's Shape Time Offset. In the Scene Window, drag from the Stagger's blue connection anchor onto the Duplicator, release, and choose Shape Time Offset from the attribute list. The output is the layer output, called “id” in Cavalry's documentation, not the Minimum or Maximum control.

• Reverse the Stagger's default Graph from a rising line to a falling line. Keep its left endpoint at the top and its right endpoint at the bottom. With that curve, the first duplicate receives an offset of 0 and the last receives -30, so the first bar starts first. Simply swapping the Minimum and Maximum numbers will not reverse the order: Cavalry sorts those values internally.

Scrub to frame 15. The first bar should have finished its 12-frame growth, middle bars should be at different stages, and the last should not have started. By frame 42, the last bar should reach full size. If the reveal runs backward, check the Graph direction before changing the source animation.

This follows Cavalry's Stagger timing behavior: an offset is added to the current frame. Negative values delay a copy's playback. To tighten the sequence, change Minimum from -30 to -15. To change the character of every pop, edit the source's two keys. Those are separate creative decisions, with separate controls.

3. Generate layout variations without rebuilding the animation

Use this when the same animated motif needs to work as a row, a background, and a circular badge. Keep the source animation and timing connection; change the rule that positions the copies.

Work through these variations on the same Duplicator, one at a time. Before switching Distribution, note the current settings or save a separate scene version. Do not assume a distribution switch preserves every setting you might want to restore.

• Make a horizontal strip. Use Linear with Count 6, Direction Horizontal, Size Mode Step, and Size 100. Play the staggered reveal. This is your baseline: a readable sequence with no manual spacing.

• Make a pattern block. Switch to Grid, set Count to X: 6, Y: 4, and use Step values X: 100, Y: 80. Keep the Stagger connected to Shape Time Offset. The same source animation now travels through the grid's index order. Set Direction to Flow Columns for left-to-right ordering, then bottom-to-top. If you need the rows to progress from the top instead, use a negative Y Size value and check the playback order.

• Make a circular badge. Switch to Circle, set Count to 12, Radius to 180, and Angle to 360. Leave Include End unchecked so the full circle does not place two copies at the same closing position. Enable Use Rotation to align bars to the circle's normals; disable it if you want all bars to retain a common orientation. Scrub the reveal and adjust Start Angle to choose where the sequence begins.

Check the first and last visible shapes after every layout change. Stagger distributes its range across the current set of duplicate IDs. Keeping the range at -30 to 0 preserves the overall start-time spread, not the delay between neighbors. More copies inside that range means a tighter sequence. If the new grid feels rushed, widen the negative Minimum value rather than adding keys to every bar.

The three layouts use the documented Linear, Grid, and Circle controls. None needs a new source animation.

These are sequential variations, not independent saved designs. Two Duplicators connected to the same “Bar source” still share that source: changing its width or animation changes both. For a genuinely independent deliverable, save a separate scene version before editing the source. Recording layout values alone will not preserve an earlier version of the artwork or its keys.

4. Add controlled randomness without surrendering the design

Use this for a pattern that needs variation but still has to look designed. Start by randomizing one property inside a narrow range, rather than scattering everything and hoping for taste to emerge.

Return to the grid from setup 1: Count X: 6, Y: 4, Size Mode Step, Size X: 100, Y: 80. Keep the source fill consistent. Leave the staggered animation connected if you want the pattern to reveal in sequence.

• Choose Create > Behaviours > Random and name it “Bar angle.” Set Minimum to -12, Maximum to 12, and Seed to 1. Connect its layer output to the Duplicator's Shape Rotation, using the same connection-anchor method as in setup 2. You should see a field of bars with restrained angle differences while their centers stay on the grid.

• Scrub the timeline. The bars can grow at their staggered times, but their assigned angles should stay stable. Leave the Random's Seed and range unanimated for a fixed arrangement. Changing Seed generates another arrangement; it is not a control you need to animate just to make the scene move.

• Try Seeds 2 and 3 while holding Minimum, Maximum, spacing, and color constant. Pick the version with the clearest rhythm and write down its seed. If every option looks messy, narrow the angle range to -5 through 5 before trying more seeds. The range establishes the design's limits; the seed chooses a variation within them.

• If you want a second independent variable, add another Random named “Bar X offset,” set Minimum to -8 and Maximum to 8, and connect it only to the Duplicator's Shape Position X. Keep its Seed separate from “Bar angle.” Now you can audition the horizontal jitter without also replacing the angle pattern. If the grid stops reading clearly, reduce that range or remove that connection.

Your check is simple: compare the pattern before and after, at the same frame. The centers should still suggest a grid, the bars should remain distinguishable, and the fixed fill should hold the design together. If the random version loses those qualities, reduce the variation. More random is not automatically more interesting.

Cavalry's Random reference documents the Minimum, Maximum, and Seed controls. Connect these behaviors to the Duplicator's per-shape attributes, not its overall transform, which would move or rotate the entire field together. Use an unkeyed, unconnected destination: replacing an existing input can replace its animation curve rather than adding another effect on top.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my source animate, but the duplicates stay still?

Check which layer holds the transform keys. A Duplicator ignores its top-level input's Position, Rotation, and Scale. Put the animated rectangle inside a Group, connect that Group as the input, and keep the animation on the child rectangle. The Group's own transform is still the top-level transform that gets ignored.

Why are some shapes already partway through their animation at frame 0?

Check Shape Time Offset. Positive offsets sample later frames of the source animation, so a copy can appear ahead of the timeline. For the delayed reveal above, use a Stagger range ending at 0 with a negative Minimum, then flip its Graph if the wrong end starts first.

Can I change the number of shapes without reanimating them?

Yes. Change Count in the active Distribution. Check both timing and spacing afterward: the same Stagger range is distributed across the new count, and Fit and Step handle layout size differently. With Step, adding copies expands the layout; with Fit, they occupy the specified span and become more closely spaced.

Why did adding a behavior remove my keyframes?

An attribute can have only one incoming connection, and Cavalry treats an animation curve as an input. A new connection can replace that curve. Undo the change, then use separate controls as in these examples: source Scale for the pop animation, Shape Time Offset for sequencing, and an otherwise unused Shape Rotation for the Random behavior. Cavalry's Connections guide explains this input limit.

How do I make a random design reproducible?

Keep the scene, source artwork, count, distribution, behavior connections, ranges, and seeds unchanged. Save the approved scene version, not just a screenshot or seed number. A seed identifies a variation within a particular setup; it does not preserve that setup or guarantee the same result after you change its structure.