KP/L and Animation Panel Changes
• The KP/L panel on the main command panel has changed to include a new mini transform panel and the Animation Layer panel. As well, the Layer panel from previous versions has changed names to become the Scene (layer), but is still available on the KP/L panel.
• The Animation panel at the bottom of the interface now includes a new Save Key command button and a new Character Key Set menu.
Animation layering lets you add keys on top of the existing base animation, which can be either action clips or fcurves. You can easily add keys on top of the action clip is currently in the mixer without needing to actually work in the mixer, or add keys on top of existing fcurves.
Animation layers are non-destructive, meaning that they don’t alter your base animation in any way: the keys in the layer always remain a separate entity.
Layering allows you to experiment with different effects on your animations and build several variations of a move, each in its own layer. Animation layers are especially useful for adding keys on top of motion capture (mocap) data.
For information, see Animation Layers.
Character key sets are sets of keyable parameters that you create for an object or hierarchy for quick and easy keying. Once you have created key sets, you don’t need to select an object first to key its parameters—just press K or click the keyframe icon and whatever is in the current character key set is keyed.
You can think of character key sets as “keyable groups” for a whole hierarchy (such as a character), as well as for the individual objects within that hierarchy. They let you keep the same set of parameters available for any object for easy keying, such as only the rotation parameters for the upper body control in a rig.
For information, see Keying with Character Key Sets.
There are new options for saving keys in the Animation Preferences property editor and in the Animation menu:
• There is a new Save Key Command option for character keys sets: Key Character Key Set. This sets keys only on parameters in the current character (or subcharacter) key set when you save a key by pressing K, by clicking the keyframe icon in the Animation panel or the keying panel, or by choosing the Save Key command from the Animation menu or Character Key Set menu.
• There is a new Save Key button in the Animation panel that makes it easy to see and select the desired Save Key preference.
• The new Save Keys on Modified Parameters Only option sets keys only on modified parameters that already have fcurves instead of setting keys on all parameters. This is off by default for regular keys, but on by default for autokeying.
The dopesheet has changed in a number of ways that make it easier to use. This is a summary of the most significant changes—see Editing Animation in the Dopesheet for more information.
• There is a new Scene Summary track, in addition to the Dopesheet Summary track—see The Summary Tracks.
• The parameters in the animation explorer and their tracks are now aligned by default (View > Align Tracks with Tree View is on)—see Working with Tracks.
• The timeline is now displayed at the top of the dopesheet.
• The Select tool (press space bar) is now active by default.
• When you click a key to select it, it turns white. You can then simply drag it to move it, or press Ctrl+drag it to copy it—See Working with Keys.
• Marquees are displayed around the frames as you move or copy keys or regions.
• There are icons for the Select and Region tools in the command bar.
• The regions look a little different now—see Editing Multiple Keys Using Regions.
• You can now customize the colors of the dopesheet in the dopesheet’s preferences property editor—see Setting Preferences for the Dopesheet.
• There are icons for the Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete commands in the command bar.
• There is a new Deselect All button in the command bar and Edit > Deselect All command that deselects all tracks, keys, and regions.
• There are new Edit > Select All Keys and Select All Tracks commands.
• You can no longer mark parameters in the dopesheet.
Select Tool
The Select tool (press Y) in the fcurve editor has been updated to make it easier to use the animation editor when you have many fcurves and keys. As well, if you’re switching to XSI from other 3D software, these options make the workflow similar to them.
There are two new options in the Animation Editor Preferences property editor for this tool:
• Prevent movement on LMB: With this on, you can select fcurves, keys, and slope handles with the left mouse button (LMB), but you cannot move them. This makes it easier to select or rectangle-select fcurves or keys without accidentally clicking on a slope handle.
If this is off, you can move keys and slope handles with the left mouse button.
This option is off by default for the XSI interaction model, but on by default for the QWERTY interaction model.
• Translate on MMB: With this on, you can use the middle mouse button (MMB) to move fcurves, keys, or slope handles. To constrain movement horizontally or vertically, hold down the Shift key as you drag.
This tool doesn’t use the position where you click, so you don’t need to actually click on the selection to move it. This makes it impossible for you to lose your selection by mistake in case you didn’t click precisely.
This option is on by default for the XSI and QWERTY interaction models.
Animation Explorer
• The animation tree in the animation editor is now referred to as the animation explorer.
• The new On Multiple Selection options in the Animation Editor preferences determine whether the nodes in the animation explorer are Expanded or Collapsed when multiple objects are selected. There are separate options for the fcurve editor and the dopesheet.
• The View menu that was on the furthest left of the animation editor command bar has been renamed to Explorer and has been simplified a great deal.
• A Collapse All command has been added to the Explorer menu.
• The Marked Parameters Only, Activation Parameters Only, Hide Locked Parameters, and Tagged Parameters filters have been moved into the new Parameter Filters submenu in the Explorer menu.
• The Explorer > Flattening submenu contains all commands for flattening the nodes in the animation explorer.
• The Explorer > Display submenu contains the commands for parameter display and sorting in the animation explorer, such as Use Wire Colors, Use Script Names, Alphabetical sort, and so on.
• The Properties filters (Modeling, Rendering, Animation, etc.) in the Explorer menu have been moved into a submenu called More. Although these filters are still available, it is recommended to use the Keyable Parameters command instead to filter for parameters to edit in the animation editor.
• Parameters are now highlighted in white when they’re selected in the animation explorer. When the dopesheet is the active editor, the highlight color is light beige.
• There are three new options in the Animation Editor Preferences property editor for the animation explorer:
- Auto Select Marked Params automatically selects the object’s marked parameters in the animation explorer when you open the animation editor.
- Auto Select Newly Keyed Params automatically selects the object’s parameters in the animation explorer as they are keyed. This also selects the parameter’s fcurves in the graph or tracks in the dopesheet. As you key more parameters, they are added to the current selection.
- Always Show Root Objects displays the selected object’s root node at all times in the animation explorer, even if they don’t match the filters in the Explorer menu. For example, if a selected object has no keyable parameters, its object node is still displayed in the animation explorer.
Copy/Paste Multiple Keys on Fcurves
You can now copy and paste multiple keys on multiple fcurves in the fcurve editor.
Fcurve Editor Preference for Interpolation
On the Keys page of the Fcurve Editor Preferences property editor, there is a new option called Apply spline/linear interpolation to both sides of selected keys. When you select keys on a curve and select either spline or linear as the interpolation type, the same interpolation is used on the slopes on both sides of the selected keys.
Icons for Slope Orientation Commands
Choosing one of the Slope Orientation commands in the Keys menu in the fcurve editor now enables that command and applies it to the selected slopes.
There is also a new set of icons in the fcurve editor’s command bar to let you easily choose these commands.
For more information, see Setting the Slope’s Orientation (Angle).
Slope Handles on Fcurves
With the updated Select tool, you can now click anywhere on a slope handle to select it. The handle turns yellow to indicate it’s selected, and remains selected even if you select another key.
Displaying Fcurves in the Graph
The View > Selected Parameters has changed so that it now displays only the fcurves of the parameters that you select in the animation explorer. As well, this command only displays the fcurve, but does not select it. This mode makes it easy to quickly isolate one or just a few fcurves in the graph.
Autoframing Fcurves in the Graph
When you choose View > Auto Frame Curves and the View > Selected Parameters filter is active, you can change the selection of one or more parameters in the animation explorer and their fcurves are now automatically framed in the graph.
There is a new preference in the Preferences property editor for the Transform Group Options. This preference is called Group Pivot and determines where the transform group null (pivot) is located when you create a transform group. You can set it to:
• Bounding Box Center: Positions the transform group null in the geometrical center of the selection bounding box of the objects that will be in the transform group. This is the default.
or
• Parent Origin: Positions the transform group null at origin of the selected objects’ parent. If the objects have no parents, or have different parents, the transform group null is placed at the scene’s origin.
For information on transform groups, see Transform Groups (Parenting with Null Objects).
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