UNIT 3

Basic Tools and Techniques of Animation in Autodesk MAYA

MODULE 1: Animation Windows and Editor
SESSION 1: DOPE SHEET

Introduction:
Maya animation software provides powerful tools to bring the characters and objects in the scenes to
life.
These tools are used to animate any attribute of an object and control the joints and bones.
3 main editors
Dopesheet- displays key times as colored rectangles
Graph editor- displays curves
Trax editor- helps the animator to do non linear animation and also import and export
animation clips
Dopesheet
Displays key times as colored rectangles and lets you edit event timing in blocks of keyframes and
synchronize motion to a sound file
steps
 main menubar:Window>AnimationEditors>DopeSheet
 In scene view: Panels > Panel > Dope Sheet (in Graph Editor window)

Dope Sheet menu bar

Edit menu- it behaves in a similar fashion to the main Edit menu in the scene view. However,
as the Dope Sheet works directly with animation curves and attributes.
 Undo/Redo -Undo cancels the last operation. Redo does the last undone operation
again.
● Cut- Cut removes existing keys from a selected attribute and places a copy of that information on
the keys clipboard. If a curve segment is selected in the graph view, this area will be removed when
you choose Edit > Cut. If no curve segment is selected, Cut will operate on the item selected in the
Outliner portion of the Dope Sheet.
● Copy- Copy copies existing keys from a selected attribute and places that information on the keys
clipboard. If you select a curve segment in the graph view, this area will be removed when you
choose Edit > Copy. If no curve segment is selected, Copy will operate on the item selected in the
Outliner portion of the Dope Sheet.
 Paste- Paste adds keys from the keys clipboard to an attribute. Pasted keys can be merged with
existing keys, inserted at a time (displacing existing keys), or used to replace keys at a time.
● Delete- Delete removes existing keys from a selected attribute. It works the same as Cut except it
does not place a copy of the removed keys on the keys clipboard.
● Scale- Scale operates on a selected range of keys, expanding or compressing the animation to
correspond to a new time range. Note that Scale will operate on the entire range of keys if an attribute
is selected in the Dope Sheet outliner and a curve segment is not selected.
● Snap- Use Snap to force selected keys to snap in time to the nearest whole time units. Use Select
Unsnapped to check for keys not at whole time units.
● Select Unsnapped- Selects all keys from the selected channel. If no objects or attributes are
selected, it selects any keys in the View Area.

View menu- This menu controls the layout of the Dope Sheet view area.
● Frame All- Frame All adjusts the graph view to fit all animation in the window.
● Frame Selection- Adjusts the graph view to fit selected animation in the window.
● Frame Playback Range- Frame Playback Range adjusts the graph view to fit the playback range
in the window.
● Centre Current Time- If you want to shift the view so the current time is in the middle of the
editor, select Centre Current Time from the View menu.
● Auto Frame- This adjusts the graph view to fit the display when new curves associated with a
selected object are loaded into the Dope Sheet.
Note: Auto Frame works differently in the Dope Sheet than in the Graph Editor.
● Dope Sheet Summary- This option loads the Dope Sheet Summary into the Dope Sheet outliner.
● Scene Summary- This option loads the Scene Summary into the Dope Sheet outliner.
Curves menu: The Curves menu items are functions for processing animation curves.

1.Pre Infinity/Post Infinity

 Controls what happens to the animation before the first keyframe and after the last keyframe.
 Pre Infinity(sets the behavior of the curve before its first key)
 Post Infinity(sets the behavior of the curve after its last key)

 Example: Imagine you’re animating a clock’s ticking hand from 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock. If
you set Post Infinity to cycle, after it finishes moving to 3 o'clock, it will automatically repeat
back to 12 and continue looping. Without setting Post Infinity, the clock hand would just stay
at 3 o'clock when the animation ends.
 Note-If you want to create editable animation of a repetitious or cyclical nature, you can bake
a channel with Infinity turned on

2. Bake Channel

 Combines all effects and adjustments influencing a particular attribute into one simple,
editable curve.
 Example: Say you have a ball bouncing with extra effects added for spin and stretch. Bake
Channel consolidates these effects into one curve, making it easier to edit the ball’s main
animation without dealing with each effect individually.
 BakeChannel-This operation calculates a new animation curve for an attribute using the input
nodes that contribute to its properties.
 Bake Channel is useful to- Edit a single animation curve instead of all the contributing
attributes that affect the behaviour of a single attribute

3. Change Rotation Interpolation

 Changes how rotations between keyframes are handled for an object’s X, Y, and Z rotations.
 It change the rotation interpolation type only on rotation channels that have key frames on all
three channels (rotate X, rotate Y, rotate Z).
  In addition, because the rotate X, rotate Y and rotate Z channels always share the same
interpolation type, changing interpolation for a single channel such as rotate X, will
automatically change rotate Y and rotate Z as well.
 Example: For a car doing a smooth 360° spin, all rotation channels (X, Y, and Z) transition
happens smoothly together.

4. Simplify Curve

 Removes extra keyframes that aren’t needed, making the animation curve simpler and cleaner.
 Example: If you animated a bouncing ball and added lots of keyframes manually, Simplify
Curve can remove unnecessary ones. This makes your curve smoother and easier to adjust
without clutter.

5. Resample Curves

 What it does: Spaces out keyframes evenly across the timeline. Resampling creates a periodic
frame rate by placing keys at uniform intervals.
 Example: If you’ve got a walking character animation with irregularly spaced keyframes,
Resample Curves can spread these out, making the motion more consistent.

6. Spreadsheet- This menu selection lets you edit the attributes of the selected animation curves in
the Attribute Editor spreadsheet

7. Non-Weighted and Weighted Tangents

 In Autodesk Maya, tangents control how smoothly animation moves between keyframes.

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 Tangents are non-weighted by default in Maya,

 Non-weighted tangent (triangle-shaped) handles adjust only the tangent angle, the tangent
length is locked and non-adjustable,

 weighted (square-shaped) tangent handles let you adjust both the length and angle. Changing
the length of the tangent adjusts the ease in and out of the position.

Keys menu

In Autodesk Maya's Keys menu, the listed commands allow you to manage and refine keyframes and
breakdowns in the Graph Editor or Time Slider. Here's what each does:

Convert to Key

1. This command changes selected breakdowns into standard keys.

2. Use : If you no longer need a breakdown's intermediary functionality and want it to act
as a fixed point in your animation.

Convert to Breakdown

1. Converts selected keys into breakdowns, which are intermediary frames that adjust
automatically when neighboring keys move.
2. Use : Helpful for keeping smooth interpolation while making changes to nearby
keyframes.

Add In Between

1. Inserts a breakdown or keyframe between two existing keyframes at the current time.
2. Use : Useful for refining an animation by adding more detail between two existing
poses.

Remove In Between

1. Deletes a breakdown or keyframe at the current time, maintaining the integrity of

neighboring keys.
 2. Use : Simplifies an animation by removing unnecessary intermediary frames.

· Mute Key:

 Temporarily disables the effect of selected keys in an animation.

 Muted keys are displayed with a green symbol in the Dope Sheet.
 A "Mute Channel" is created, mirroring the original keys but without affecting the
animation.

· Unmute Key:

 Reactivates the muted keys, enabling them to affect the animation again.
 The "Mute Channel" is deactivated but not deleted, allowing for toggling.

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 Tangents in Animation Curves

Tangents describe the entry and exit of curve segments from a key. This menu operates on the
shape of curve segments around selected keys.

Spline Tangents:

o Create smooth, flowing curves for fluid animations.

o Tangents before and after the key are co-linear for seamless transitions.
o Example: When animating fluid movement, a spline tangent is an excellent place to
start.

Linear Tangents:

o Create straight-line transitions between keys.

o If the in tangent type is linear, the curve segment before the key is a straight line. If
the out-tangent type is linear, the curve segment after the key is a straight line.
 o Used for animating the color of a heating element on a stove, you would use linear to
achieve that gradual change in color from charcoal gray to burning hot red.

Clamped Tangents:

o Combine spline and linear characteristics.

o If the values of two adjacent keys are not close, the tangents will be splines, creating
smooth transitions between them.
o Otherwise, the out tangent of the first key and the in tangent of the second key will be
interpolated as linear.
o this is ideal for correcting joint slippage in a walk cycle.
o Clamped is the default tangent type.

Stepped Tangents:

o A stepped tangent creates a flat or horizontal animation curve between keyframes.

o This means the value stays constant between two keyframes, with no smooth transition
or gradual change.
o The value suddenly "jumps" at the next keyframe.
o Specifying a stepped tangent creates an animation curve whose out tangent is a flat
curve.
o The curve doesn't slope or change between keyframes; it just stays at one value and
then immediately switches to the next at the keyframe.
o The light from a strobe light turns on and off. To create a strobe-like effect, you would
use a step tangent.
o Example: Flashing light effects.

Stepped Next Tangents:

o Instead of holding the current key’s value, the animation immediately jumps to the
value of the next keyframe as soon as the key is passed on the timeline.
o Essentially, the interpolation moves the value of the keyframe "ahead of Time."
o Default for FBIK (Full-Body Inverse Kinematics ) animation keys.
Flat Tangents:

o Flat tangents set on a curve with Weighted tangents

o Sets the in and out tangents of the key to be horizontal (with a slope of 0 degrees).
o Example: A ball pausing at the peak of its arc. You can create this effect by using a
flat tangent.

Fixed Tangents:

o fixed tangents are tangent types that lock the angle of the tangent handles on a
keyframe.
o This means that when you edit the value or position of the keyframe, the slope
(direction and angle) of the tangent handles does not change.
o This feature is particularly helpful for maintaining the smoothness or consistency of an
animation curve while tweaking specific keyframe values.
o When animating a ball, you may find the ball isn’t falling from a desired height, yet its
impact with the floor and everything else is perfect.

Plateau Tangents:

o This tangent combine the benefits of Spline Tangents and Clamped Tangents, with
additional features that prevent animation values from overshooting or undershooting
keyframes.
o Flat tangents set on a curve with Weighted tangents
o Plateau tangents ease animation curves in and out of their keyframes like spline
tangents, but also flatten curve segments that occur between equal-valued keyframes
like clamped tangents.
o Flatten the curve at local minimum and maximum values to prevent overshooting.
o Example: A ball rolling off a table and falling naturally without dipping below the
floor.
In Tangent and Out Tangent Menus

 In Tangent: Defines the curve behavior before a key.

 Out Tangent: Defines the curve behavior after a key.

You can adjust these tangent types per keyframe in Maya preferences.

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Session 2: Animation Control and Interface

The Dope Sheet

The Dope Sheet is an animation editor in Maya that is similar to the Graph Editor. Instead of
displaying curves, the Dope Sheet displays key times as coloured rectangles and lets you edit event
timing in blocks of keyframes and synchronize motion to a sound file.

Bake Channel:

The Bake Channel operation generates a new animation curve for a selected attribute. It calculates
this based on the inputs contributing to that attribute, simplifying complex animations with multiple
influences.

AVI Clip

Maya supports AVI (Audio Video Interleaved) clips, which are essentially a series of bitmap frames
resembling a movie. However, note that AVI clips loaded into animation controls cannot contain
audio.
Tool Bar

Animation Control

Between the Range slider and the Animation Preferences button are the current character control
features and the Auto Key button.

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Time Slider

Click in the Time Slider area and drag left and right to “scrub” the animation back and forward in
time.

Range Slider

You can toggle whether the Range Slider is Displayed or hidden by selecting Display>UI
elements>Range Slider.

Animation Start Time sets the start time of the animation.

Animation End Time sets the end time of the animation.

Playback Start Time This shows the current start time for the playback range. You can change it by
entering a new start time.

Playback End Time: This shows the current end time for the playback range. You can change it by
entering a new end frame.

Range Slider Bar

This lets you control the playback range of your animation up to the limits of the Animation start/end
settings.
You use the Preferences dialog box to change values for the animation timeline and playback.

Terms in Animation

Frame Rate

Frame rate is the first aspect of animation. By default, Maya sets your animation to Film, which plays
at 24fps.You use 30fps in the United States and 25fps in other countries.

Range

The range of an animation determines the total length in frames. Then, multiply the animation’s
length in seconds by the frame rate .For e.g. in this case you are using 24fps and animation length is
of 2seconds.

24 fps X 2 secs = 48 Frames

Setting Keys

You can set a Key by selecting Animate >Set Key. The attributes set by this menu item depend on the
set Key option settings.

Path Animation

 you create a NURBS-based curve and then attach an object to it in your scene.
 The object then follows the curved path to simulate motion.
 You can choose at which time the object is positioned at any point along the path, so the object
can reverse itself, pause, or oscillate, if you want.
 The object automatically rotates from side to side as the curve changes directions. If the object is
geometry, it can also be automatically deformed to follow the contours of the curve.
 you can also set the total time for your animation, the size of the timeline, and other related
features.

SESSION 3: NONLINEAR ANIMATION

Non-linear Animation

 Nonlinear Animation (NLA) lets you create and combine animation sequences (called clips)
without being tied to a specific timeline.
 Instead of adjusting each keyframe, you can work with entire clips—like a walk cycle or a
wave—and layer or blend them together.
 For example, you can create a walking animation and add a separate waving animation on top
without affecting the walking.
 This allows for easy adjustments and reusability of animation parts, making it more efficient than
traditional keyframing.

Graph Editor

 The Graph Editor in Autodesk Maya is a powerful tool used to view and adjust the animation
curves of your keyframed attributes.
 It provides a visual representation of how animated values change over time, displayed as a
curved line.
 Time runs horizontally (left to right), representing the progression of the animation.
 The Y-axis shows the values of the animated attributes (e.g., position, rotation).
 Keyframes are shown as points on the curve, and the line between them represents the
interpolation or transition over time.

You can use the Graph Editor to:

 Adjust the timing and smoothness of your animations by modifying the curves.
 Zoom and pan to focus on specific parts of the animation.
 Fine-tune the values and movement to ensure precision.

To open the Graph Editor as a free-floating window, go to Window > Animation Editors > Graph
Editor

Graph Editor’s Components

Menu Bar

The Graph Editor menu bar contains tools and operations for manipulating animation curves

and keys with in the graph view of the Graph editor. The Edit menu is similar to the one in

text editors or word processors, except that you’re working with keys instead of text.

The Edit Menu

The menu’s items appear under Edit menu behave in a similar fashion to the main Edit menu

in the modelling view.

The View Menu

This menu controls which components are visible, and therefore editable, in the graph view

of the Graph Editor.

The Select Menu

These options control which component of an animation curve is available for selection and editing.

The Curves Menu

The Curves menu gives you control over how the curves are set up with the keys in your scene.

The Keys Menu

This menu includes Tangents which causes the manipulation of an in or out tangent handle.

The Tangents Menu

This describes the entry and exit of curve segments from a key.
The List Menu

This menu Loads the objects

Trax Editor

 The Trax Editor is a tool in Maya used for managing and editing animation clips, allowing you to
layer, blend, and synchronize animations.
 The Trax Editor is a high-level animation tool that lets you select and control characters and their
animation clips, layer and blend animation sequences, synchronize your animation and audio
clips, and drag-and-drop animation clips between mapped characters.
 The trax editor is an inbuilt component in Maya similar to a video editing software like Adobe
Premier or FinalCut.
 There are many ways to get to the trax editor - In the Panels tab – Panels – Saved Layouts –
Persp/Trax - Windows – Animation Editor – Trax Editor

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The Trax Editor window has four work areas:

(i) Trax menu bar: Contains character and clip or object and geometry cache clip related options
that let you perform all required actions for creating and editing your
animation or deformations nonlinearly.
(ii) Trax toolbar: Contains a selection of buttons that let you quickly access some of the
functionality contained in the Trax menu bar.
(iii) Track control area: Contains buttons that let you control the playback of each track’s animation
(iv) Track view area: Contains all the tracks, animation clips and audio clips for your loaded
characters or objects.