Workflows

Creating a Basic Animation

  1. Add a new editable strip using the Add Strip operator and name it.
  2. Adjust the strip's frame range and action frame range as needed in the Strip Settings.
  3. Set the current frame on the timeline.
  4. Pose your character in the 3D Viewport.
  5. Select the posed bones and use the Insert Keyframe operator.
  6. Repeat steps 3-5 to create your animation sequence.
  7. Add additional strips for different animation elements (e.g., an upper body action layered over a walk cycle).
  8. If sequencing strips linearly in the same track, use Local Transitions between them for smooth blending (either via the Add Local Transition option or the dedicated Add Local Transition operator).

Combining Existing Animations and Adding Procedural Displacement

  1. Add your first animation using Add Editor Strip from Existing Action.
  2. If the animation includes root motion you want to override, open its Strip Settings and enable In Place.
  3. If the animation needs to loop, adjust the Animation Repeat value to cover the desired frame range.
  4. Add a new editable strip using Add Strip (in a new track), enable Add Displacement Modifier, choose the Linear type, select the correct bone/axis, and adjust the speed. Ensure its frame range matches the first animation strip. This adds procedural movement. See Key Features for details on displacement modifiers.
  5. Add your second animation using Add Editor Strip from Existing Action. Enable the Add in the Same Track and Add Local Transition options during addition. Select an appropriate Time Gap. Also enable In Place if needed.
  6. Adjust the second animation's Animation Repeat value if necessary.
  7. Open the Strip Settings for the second animation strip and note its exact Start Frame.
  8. Open the settings for the first displacement strip (created in step 4). Enable Custom Action Frame Range. Modify its End Frame to end one frame before the second animation strip's start frame noted in step 7.
  9. Create a second displacement strip (as explained in step 4) for the second animation. Set its Start Frame to match the second animation's start frame. Ensure it starts at the correct position relative to where the first displacement ended by using the Calculate Linear Offset operator in the modifier settings. You may also need to set this second displacement strip's Blend Type to Replace if the previous displacement strip used Hold Forward extrapolation.
  10. Adjust frame ranges and timing as needed across all strips.

Splitting/Refining Existing Strip Animation

  1. Select the strip (can be editable or non-editable) containing the animation you want to split/refine.
  2. In Pose Mode, select the bones whose animation you want to isolate (e.g., arm bones, head bone).
  3. Click the Copy Animation from Selected Bones operator, and enable the Extract Animation from Original setting. This removes the animation for the selected bones from the source strip (and its underlying action) and places it into the new strip. If you leave this setting unchecked, the animation for the selected bones will exist in both the original and the new strip (effectively duplicating it), which is usually not the desired outcome for splitting.
  4. A new editable strip (and a new action) is created containing only the animation for the selected bones.
  5. You can now independently adjust the Influence, Timing, Speed, or even replace the animation entirely in the new strip, without affecting the original strip's animation for the other bones. You could also mute (Mute Strip) the new strip entirely to remove that part of the animation non-destructively.
  6. Repeat steps 1-6 if you want to isolate more bone groups into separate strips.