Keyframe animation tools in Alias

00:00

To animate objects in Alias, I need to work with the Animation Editor.

00:05

This has got playback controls and a timeline with a playhead that I can drag to position.

00:13

And a list of items in the scene, which can be filtered to only display the picked objects, which makes the Animation Editor easier to work with.

00:22

It's a simple keyframe animation, so the default workflow is to first position the playhead on the timeline,

00:29

and then set the keyframe either from the menu, Set Keyframe tools, or using the right mouse button on the object in the list.

00:38

So now, the Parameters icon is highlighted, and I get a diamond symbol for the keyframe here.

00:45

So, then I'll move the playhead again, move the sphere, and then set a second keyframe.

00:53

And this now gives me a linear bar between the two keyframes, which I can play back.

00:58

And the speed of the playback is determined by these Frames per Second setting.

01:03

And if that's set at 0, it just goes as fast as it can.

01:06

So, I'm going to put, say, 50, just so that I get a reliable playback.

01:12

And if the Range is not selected, it just loops between the 1st and the last keyframe.

01:19

So, my ball is moving, but it's not yet rolling.

01:24

So, let's have a look down at the parameter level, and you can see the keyframes have been set for all of the transform parameters,

01:31

but only the X translation is actually changing.

01:34

So, I can use the Delete Static Actions tools here to get rid of all the unused channels.

01:41

And now, if I use Set Keyframe down at this parameter level, it's only going to set the keyframes for that particular parameter.

01:48

So, I can set it at 0 at the beginning, and then on the final keyframe, I'll give it some rotation, and then set that second keyframe.

01:58

And if I play that back, it's now rolling somewhat.

02:03

But if I want to change any of the values on any of these parameter keyframes,

02:06

I can use my right mouse to access that rotation and increase it to, say, 360°.

02:13

And that's looking better.

02:15

So, I could continue to edit that parameter value or, up at the Summary Bar level,

02:21

I can shorten or lengthen the entire animation to speed it up or slow it down, or I can drag the whole bar to adjust the timing.

02:30

Now, if I want to navigate within the animation editor window, I've got two options.

02:35

The first is to use my normal Shift+Alt, middle, and right mouse button for zooming and panning.

02:42

And this will work in the main Channels window.

02:45

The second option is to use the scroll button, so in the main area it'll zoom in and out,

02:50

on the timeline it will scroll left and right, and on the object list, it'll go up and down as normal.

02:58

And then to delete the animation, I'll typically go back to the starting frame and then just use the right mouse button to say Clear Animation.

03:07

Or, you can use one of the Delete tools on the menu if you want more options.