raj0640 The following is a video posted on YouTube 4 years ago, however, I think it is a very clear comparison of 2D animation between Spine and Unity. There are many references to meshes, constraints, and other features that are only available in the PRO version of Spine, so it may not be a perfect comparison to the Essential version, but I think it gives you a good idea of the general workflow:
Although not mentioned in the video above, it is worth considering that Spine is also good at combining frame-by-frame animation in parts. The following example of a dragon created using only Essential's features uses frame-by-frame animation for the dynamic wing movements, and even when using the PRO version of the editor, multiple images are required for movements such as this where the visible surface changes significantly: https://esotericsoftware.com/spine-examples-dragon
In this case, if you try to avoid preparing many frames, you may end up spending a lot of time setting up meshes and weights, and frame-by-frame animation may end up being more efficient. (This depends on the art style, so there is no guarantee that one will be faster than the other.)
One of the sample skeletons we provide that is not listed on the examples page is speedy, which demonstrates the functionality of the ESS editor. This skeleton also partially combines frame-by-frame animation:
Such deformations can be achieved with free image editing software such as GIMP, and it may be more intuitive for people familiar with frame-by-frame animation to prepare difference images and combine them on Spine rather than take the time to set up the mesh.
I hope this helps you.
