9

Auto Key Animation Mode 717
Next Frame/Key (page 3–724)
Go To End (page 3–724)
Current Frame (Go To Frame)
(page 3–724)
Time Controls
Key Mode (page 3–724)
Time Configuration (page 3–725)
Auto K ey Animation Mode
Status bar > Time controls > Auto Key (Toggle Auto Key
Mode)
Keyboard > N
The Auto Key button turns the keyframing
mode (page 3–960) called Auto Key on or off.
All movement, rotation, and scale changes are
keyframed w hile the Auto key button is on. When
it’s off, these changes are applied to frame 0.
Yo u c a n a l s o k e y f r a m e by u s i n g Set Key mode
(page 3–718),whichallowsyoutoselectivelyadd
keyframes using the Set Keys button.
The Auto Key button is red when it’s on. The
active viewport is also outlined in red when the
AutoKeymodeison;thetimesliderturnsredas
well. Thisservestoremindyouthatyouarein
Animate mode, and that you are setting keyframes
with your actions.
Wa rning: Be sure to turn off Auto Key after keyframing,
or you will ina dvertently create unwanted animation.
UseUndotoremovetheunwantedanimation. Be
careful; it ’s easy to forget.
Within an existing animation, you can create
keyfra mes for transforms without the use of the
Auto Key button by right-clicking the time slider
and then setting the source and destination time.
For example, you can use this function to copy an
existing Move key to a later frame, so an object
pauses its motion momentarily (to keep the object
still, you must use linear or step interpolation).
You c an also set keyfr ames for other animatable
parameters in Track View and the Mo tion panel
without using Auto Key.
See also
Using Auto Key Mode (page 2–278)
Set Key Animation (page 3–718)
Using Set Key Mode (page 2–280)
Procedures
To animate an object using Auto Key:
1.
Turn on the A uto Key button.
TheAutoKeybutton,thetimeslider,andthe
highlight border around the active viewport
all turn red.
2. Drag the time slider to a time other than 0.
3. Do one of the following:
• Move, scale, or rotate an object.
• Change an animatable p arameter.
For example, a ssume you start with a cylinder
that has not been animated yet and therefore
hasnokeys.YouthenturnontheAutoKey
button, and on frame 20 you rotate the cylinder
90 degrees about its Y axis. This action creates
Rotation keys at frames 0 and 20. The key at
frame 0 stores the original orientation of the
cylinder,whilethekeyatframe20storesthe
animated rotation of 90 degrees. When you
play the animation in the viewp ort, the cylinder
rotates 90 deg rees about its Y axis over 20
frames.