Sidekick Studio

Overview

Sidekick Studio adds a Sidekick main tab to the Godot editor, next to 2D, 3D and Script. Everything happens there: the left side holds six pages, the right side shows the character live.

Install

1. Download SidekickStudio_v0.1.2.zip and unzip it into your Godot project folder. You get addons/sidekick_studio/.
2. Open Project › Project Settings › Plugins and enable Sidekick Studio.
3. A Sidekick tab appears at the top of the editor. Open it.

Quick start

1. Library: press Import .unitypackage… and pick one or more Sidekick packs. Import the Starter Pack first: it has the base bodies.
2. Parts: choose a Synty preset in Start from, or press Random. Click a slot, then a part to swap it.
3. Body and Colours: shape and paint. Click the character to pick the colour under the mouse.
4. Animation (optional): add a Mixamo or Synty animation file to check the character in motion.
5. Export: set a name and folder, press Export character. Drag the .tscn into any scene.

Interface

Preview controls

Library

The library is where your imported Sidekick parts live. The first time you open the Studio it shows an empty page with two buttons.

Importing

What gets imported:

A pack takes a few seconds. The status line counts the parts; Cancel import stops it (what was imported so far is kept). Pack names are cleaned up automatically: SIDEKICK_SciFi_Robots_Unity_2021_3_v1_0_0 becomes SciFi Robots.

Your packs

The table lists each pack with its part and preset counts (hover for the source file and import date). Remove deletes the selected pack's parts from the library; you can import it again any time. Importing a pack again updates it.

Library location

Default: res://sidekick_library/. Change… points the Studio at another folder (for example a library shared by several projects on your machine). It is saved in Project Settings › sidekick_studio/library_path.

Parts

Start from

Start from lists Synty's presets grouped by pack. Choosing one replaces the character (parts, body shape and colours). Presets whose parts come from a pack you haven't imported load with the parts you have, and the status line says how many are missing. Random builds a full character of one species; when the pack filter below is set, it uses that pack where it can.

Slots

The slot list shows every slot with the part it holds (— = empty). Click a slot to list its parts underneath.

Choosing a part

• Search parts… filters by name (for example robo, 05).
• The two drop-downs filter by pack and species (human, zombie, robot, skeleton, elf, goblin…).
• — None — empties the slot (useful for attachments).
• Keep left and right matched (on by default): picking a left hand, arm, leg, foot, ear or attachment puts the matching right one on too.

Tweak the selected part

Size, Move X / Y / Z (metres) and Turn X / Y / Z (degrees) change the selected slot's part around the bone it hangs from, so wings, hats or shoulder pads keep following the animation. Reset part puts it back as made. Tweaks are saved in the recipe and baked into the export.

Body

Quick buttons: Default, Slim, Heavy, Athletic. The sliders drive the four blend shapes every Sidekick part has, so clothes and armour follow the body.

A part with its own body shape

Select a part (Parts page, or click it on the character), then tick Give this part its own body shape. The part gets its own three sliders: a bulky coat on a slim body, heavy armour pieces, oversized boots.

Colours

Every Sidekick part is painted from one 32 × 32 colour map made of 256 colour regions (16 × 16). Several parts can share a region: skin, for example, is one region for the head, arms and legs.

Animation

Preview your character with real animations. Add animations… takes .glb, .gltf, .fbx, .tscn, .scn or an AnimationLibrary resource, from inside or outside the project. Each file's clips are listed (a single clip is named after its file).

Supported rigs

Bones are matched by what they are, and each rotation is carried over relative to both rigs' rest poses (different up / facing conventions are handled). Only the hips move, scaled to the character's leg length; every other bone keeps the character's proportions. Bones with no match (capes, hair, twist bones) follow their parent.

Export

Saves the character as a scene you can drop into any level.

The exported scene: Root (Node3D) › Armature › Skeleton3D › Body (+ AnimationPlayer). The baked mesh keeps each attachment slot's triangles together and lists them in the mesh's slots metadata, so a game can hide one attachment later.

Recipes & undo

A recipe is the editable description of a character: its parts, colour and glow maps, body shapes, part body shapes, colour remaps and part tweaks.

• Save / Save as…: .tres (a SidekickRecipe resource) or .json.
• Open…: .tres or .json. Parts missing from your library are reported.
• New: a blank base character, or a random one.
• Undo / Redo: 60 steps; slider changes count once, when you let go.

Runtime characters

To build characters in your game (an in-game character creator, random NPCs), add a SidekickCharacter node and give it a SidekickRecipe. It rebuilds whenever the recipe changes, in the editor and in game.

@onready var hero: SidekickCharacter = $Hero

func _on_next_helmet_pressed() -> void:
	var helmets := SidekickCharacter.parts_for("att_head")
	var i := (helmets.find(hero.part_in("att_head")) + 1) % helmets.size()
	hero.set_part("att_head", helmets[i])

func _on_size_changed(v: float) -> void:
	hero.set_body(v, 0.0, 0.3)

Library format

Part names follow Synty's scheme: SK_APOC_OUTL_01_10TORS_HU01 = Apocalypse Outlaws, set 01, torso (10TORS), human (HU).

Bone names

Main bones under each export naming (fingers follow the same pattern):

Dynamic bones (hair, capes, attachment bones) keep their Sidekick names under every naming. The Mixamo naming uses the mixamorig_ prefix Godot gives Mixamo files on import.

Troubleshooting

FAQ & licensing

Is it free?

Yes, and open source under the MIT license: use it in personal and commercial projects, modify it, share it.

Does it include Synty assets?

No. You need your own Sidekick packs and Synty licence. Characters you build follow Synty's licence: use them in your games; don't share the parts, the library or exported characters as assets.

Is it official?

No. Sidekick Studio is made by ZEXP and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Synty Studios. Synty, POLYGON and Sidekick are trademarks of Synty Studios.

Do I need Unity?

No. The .unitypackage files are read directly.

Where do I report a bug?

Through the ZEXP contact page, with your Godot version, the pack's file name and the status line text.

Changelog

0.1.2 (2026-11-04)

• Fixed: importing packs inside the editor added nothing.
• Pack names are cleaned up (SIDEKICK_Fantasy_Skeletons_Unity_2021_3_v1_0_4 → Fantasy Skeletons).
• With only non-human packs, the Studio starts on a complete preset instead of an empty character.

0.1.1

• Fixed: the plugin failed to load on a brand-new project.
• Undo / Redo start disabled.

0.1.0

• First release: Library, Parts, Body, Colours, Animation and Export pages; SidekickCharacter and SidekickRecipe.