Animation Cycles
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Sometimes you might need to create a looping animation.
This can be done in a convenient way: by using Animation Cycles.
Interface
Cycles are controlled by a set of buttons on the Timeline:
(1) Create cycle
Clicking this button to create a cycle out of the currently selected interval.
(2) Set cycle inactive frames
Click this button to set an interval on the Timeline to which the cycle will be applied.
The cycle should be a part of the interval.
(3) Remove cycles
Click this button to remove cycles on the selected part of the Timeline.
(4) Create cycle with offset
Creates a cycle with an offset, i.e. with every step of the cycle the character would change position or/and rotation.
This offset can be controlled manually.
Working With Cycles
To create a cycle:
1. Select an interval on the Timeline.
This interval should include at least one keyframe.
2. Click the Create cycle button on the Timeline.
The frames you’ve selected will be marked as a cycle. On the Timeline, a cycle is represented with a purple border:
The first and the last frames of the cycle are combined into one, producing a circular motion. This often leads to changes in the trajectory:
Now you can expand this cycle to a longer interval.
There are two ways to do this:
First, you can drag the boreders of the cycle area to designate frames to which the cycle should be applied:
Keep in mind that doing this won't change the length of the cycle itself.
Alternatively, you can do the same thing manually:
1. Select an interval on the Timeline.
This interval should include the cycle you’ve created.
2. Click the Set cycle inactive frames button
Either way, the animation in the cycle will be applied to the whole selected interval:
An example of defining a cycle and applying it to an interval.
Cycles can be edited: you can freely add or remove keyframes, move them around and edit character poses on the active part of the cycle.
The inactive part of the cycle will reflect any changes made to the active part.
Track Stretching Mode does not work with cycles.
Currently, cycles cannot be copied. A copied cycle reverts back to a regular interval.
And finally, if you need to remove a cycle, simply select its frames on the Timeline and click the Remove cycle button.