Instance Overrides: One Symbol, Infinite Variations

You’ve created a perfect character symbol. Now you need 10 characters in your crowd scene — but they shouldn’t all look identical. Some have red shirts, some blue. Some are more transparent to suggest depth. A few have different name tags.

The naive solution: duplicate the symbol 10 times with slight variations. The problem: now you have 10 masters to maintain. Fix the body proportions on one and the other 9 are still broken.

The smart solution: Instance Overrides. One master, ten variations, all of them updating together when the master changes.

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🔑 Override vs. Master Edit

This is the most important distinction to understand:

Action	Affects
Edit Master Symbol	ALL instances of that symbol — everywhere, immediately
Instance Override	ONLY the selected individual instance — all others unchanged

Both tools are essential. Use master edits for structural changes (fixing proportions, adding details). Use overrides for surface variations (colors, labels, opacity levels).

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🎨 Available Overrides in Brinimate

Currently, four properties can be overridden per instance:

1. Fill Override

Changes the fill color of the instance without touching the master.

Example: One tree symbol, four instances. Apply a green fill override to summer trees, an amber override to autumn trees, a white override to winter trees. One symbol, four seasons, zero duplicates.

2. Stroke Override

Changes the stroke (outline) color of the instance.

Example: A character symbol with a default black outline. Override the stroke to white for characters in front of dark backgrounds, ensuring they always read clearly.

3. Opacity Override

Changes the opacity of the entire instance.

Example: A crowd scene. Same character symbol placed 15 times. Characters in the back get 30% opacity, mid-ground gets 65%, foreground gets 100%. Instant atmospheric perspective — one symbol does all the work.

4. Text Override

Changes the text content inside the symbol, if it contains a text object.

Example: A city signage symbol (a rectangle + text). By default it says “STORE”. Override the text on each instance: “CAFÉ”, “HOTEL”, “PHARMACY”, “MUSEUM” — one template, entire city populated.

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🔧 Applying Overrides (Step by Step)

1. Select the Symbol Instance you want to customize.
2. In the Inspector (right side), find the Instance Overrides block.
3. To change fill/stroke/opacity: adjust those properties using the standard color pickers and sliders — Brinimate recognizes you’re on an instance and applies the change as an override.
4. To change text: find the Text Override field in the Inspector, type the new content, then click Apply Override.

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↩️ Resetting Overrides

Made a mistake? Want to go back to the master symbol’s appearance?

• Select the instance.
• In the Inspector → Instance Overrides section → click Reset Overrides.
• The instance returns to the master’s default appearance.

Note: Currently, Reset Overrides clears all overrides at once. Per-property reset is planned for a future update.

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🏙️ Real Production Examples

Building a Character Crowd

1. Create one character symbol with neutral colors.
2. Insert 12 instances. Spread them across a crowd scene.
3. Apply fill overrides for shirt/skin color variety.
4. Apply opacity overrides of 40-80% for back-row characters to fake depth.
5. Result: A diverse crowd from a single drawing — edit the pose once, all 12 characters update.

City Signage System

1. Create a sign_board symbol: rectangle + text “LABEL”.
2. Insert 8 instances around your city scene.
3. Text override each one: “BANK”, “BAKERY”, “GYM”, etc.
4. To change the sign style (rounded corners, new color), edit the master — all 8 signs update.

Animated UI Buttons

1. Create a ui_button symbol: rounded rect + icon.
2. Insert 3 instances for 3 states: Normal, Hover, Disabled.
3. Override fill: blue / brighter blue / grey.
4. Override opacity: 100% / 100% / 50%.
5. Each “state” is actually one instance with overrides — swap between them in animation using keyframes.

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💡 Pro Tip: Combine overrides with Nested Symbols for maximum power. A character symbol can contain a face sub-symbol. Override the face fill at the character level for skin tone. Edit the face’s eye positions in the nested symbol — all characters update their eyes simultaneously.