Deleting extra keyframes and static channels As you set keys, you often create many unintended keys

Deleting extra keyframes and static channels

As you set keys, you often create many unintended keys. For example, when you used the Set Key
operation on the ball, Maya created keys on all transform node attributes of the ball, for instance Rotate
Z, not just the intended Translate X and Translate Y attributes. The curves representing such attributes
have unchanging values. The attributes are known as static channels.

You can identify static channels by examining animation curves in the Graph Editor. If a curve is
horizontally flat its whole length, the value of the attribute it represents isn't changing. The attribute is a
static channel. Static channels slow Maya processing, so it's beneficial to remove them in complex
scenes.

To delete static channels

1. From the main menu, select Edit > Delete All by Type > Static Channels.
This deletes all unnecessary keys for all objects in the scene. Alternatively, you can remove the static
channels for a selected object with Edit > Delete by Type > Static Channels.

In addition to static channels, you'll often create excess keys—keys that aren't being used to control
the shape of a curve. Whenever you see three key points that lie in a straight line, the one in the middle
is unnecessary. For example, in this lesson's original Translate X curve, there were four redundant keys:



To delete keys, select the key points and press Delete. When you remove redundant key points, the
shape of the curve doesn't change and you speed up Maya processing.

Using Playblast to playback an animation

When you play a scene, you see a rough approximation of the animation. The playback speed and quality
is imprecise as compared to rendering each frame and playing the frames in sequence with a playback
utility specifically designed for this purpose. The reason for this is that Maya processes the animation of
each frame before display, while a playback utility simply plays previously processed and rendered
images.

The more detail that Maya needs to process, the slower the playback. For example, playback will likely be
slow for any scene that has several complex objects displayed with Smooth Shade All and Hardware
Texturing.

To preview the animation with more accurate timing
1. Select Window > Playblast.
For the next several seconds, Maya processes the entire animation frame by frame. When the
process is complete, a playback window appears.
2. Click the play button in this window to watch the animation.
3. Close the Playblast window when you're done.


Animation Lesson 1: Beyond the lesson

In this lesson, you learned how to:

 Set keys for attributes, then use the Graph Editor to refine the animation and remove
unnecessary keys. This is a typical workflow when keyframing.

You can animate most any attribute in Maya, not just the Translate, Rotate, and Scale attributes
of a surface. For example, you can animate the intensity of a light, the transparency of a surface,
the rotation of a camera view, or the position of CVs.

 Work with the Graph Editor to adjust the animation attributes animation curves directly.
The Graph Editor is the best tool for editing keyed animation by reshaping animation curves. You
can use it to change key positions, add or remove keys, and alter the fluidity and symmetry of
animation.

Each key point on an animation curve has a Tangent setting that specifies the curvature leading
into that point. The default Tangent setting (Spline) creates rounded curvature—useful for
animating attributes that change smoothly over time. The Linear setting creates angular
curvature, useful for a bounce effect or any other abrupt change in attribute value. Other
Tangent settings are available for different animation effects. For example, a Stepped setting lets
you make an instantaneous leap in value, useful when you want to flash a light off and on.

 Use the Time and Range slider to play back your animation.
Although the Graph Editor is a popular animation tool, you can also cut, copy, paste, and delete
keys directly in the Time Slider to edit animation. Select a key position in the Time Slider, then
right-click to select the desired operation from a pop-up menu.

You may find the following techniques useful when keyframing your animations:

 There are alternative object display modes that quicken the display of animation in the scene
view. When you select Shading > Bounding Box (from the panel menu in the scene view), Maya
displays simple box-shaped geometry in place of the actual objects in your scene. The simpler
shapes enables Maya to respond to any camera and object movement faster. The drawback is
that you cannot edit the shape of the objects in this display mode.

 It is generally a recommended practice to animate a parent (group) node rather than objects
themselves. By animating a parent node, you can avoid problems that occur when the animation
of one object in a hierarchy conflicts with the animation in another part of the hierarchy.