Animating and character customization

I am new to all things sprite and animation. Can I use a .csd file in c++ and if so how would the code look if so. Also I was wondering if anyone new of some good tutorials animating and sprite sheets. Lastly I was looking to allow the players in my game to use multiple different hats, armors, and weapons and I’m not sure how I can create a universal animation that would apply to whatever the player was wearing at the time.
Thank you for your time.

Try out spine 2d animation tool. Its a good tool for animations and also has options for skins.

Woah spine 2d looks amazing but I have no money and it seems like cocos studio is very similar. Is there anything like spine 2d for free or any tutorials for cocos studio?

@GrimMercy
Check DragonBones. But community support is almost zero. You’ll have to do everything on your own.

Dragon bones looks pretty amazing, hopefully I can figure it out, thank you