# Using Templates

After you create templates, you can build the content of your animation with work you have already done.

For example, you can use a walk-cycle template to speed up the process of animating a sequence for a cut-out character.

You can either copy or link templates into your animation.

- When you copy templates into your animation, Toon Boom Studio adds the contents of the template into your animation set folders, increasing the file size of your animation, and expands the template contents so that you can edit them.

Copying templates is a great way of building your content from basic material that you can modify.

- When you link templates, Toon Boom Studio makes a Media element, which references the template file. You cannot edit the contents of a media element. However, if you edit the template, all sources that link to that template are updated too.

Linking templates is particularly useful for frequently used content, like credits or logos, which must remain the same for all productions. It also keeps the file size of your animation small by referring to re-usable items rather than duplicating them.

See Also
Copying a Template into Your Animation
Linking Templates to Media Elements
The Library Window
Creating Templates