How do I see bones separately in timeline?

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MMQ
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Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2018 7:09 pm

How do I see bones separately in timeline?

Post by MMQ »

OK, I'm sure this has been a thread before, but I can't find an answer.
Let's say I have an animation of a rig with several bones. If I want to change, or delay, the animation of one particular bone, I can't see its keyframes separately in the timeline. I've heard about nesting bones, but it only makes it more complicated :|
In other words: if I have a complete rig in a bone layer, is there a way to animate bones separately without creating keyframes for all of them?
bubbelish dan
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Re: How do I see bones separately in timeline?

Post by bubbelish dan »

i don't think you can
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drumlug13
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Re: How do I see bones separately in timeline?

Post by drumlug13 »

MMQ wrote: Let's say I have an animation of a rig with several bones. If I want to change, or delay, the animation of one particular bone, I can't see its keyframes separately in the timeline.... In other words: if I have a complete rig in a bone layer, is there a way to animate bones separately without creating keyframes for all of them?
When you have a bone selected, like the above character's forearm, you can see the keyframes for that specific bone highlighted in the 3 red channels in the timeline. You can also select multiple bones at one time to see their keyframes as a group highlighted in the timeline as well.

Image
Adam
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Greenlaw
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Re: How do I see bones separately in timeline?

Post by Greenlaw »

If it's enabled, turn off Auto Freeze Keys. This option keyframes all bones at once. I usually recommend users to leave it disabled unless animating strictly pose-to-pose and you're not too concerned about adding secondary animation or subtle motions. With Auto Freeze disabled, only the bones that are moved directly or by IK are keyframed.

If you need to add a hold key, it's usually better to use Freeze Selected Bones or Freeze Pose. This sets the hold keys when and where you want it.

Another tip: The red bones channel just below the top set is for the currently selected bones...it ignores keyframes on other bones in the rig. I find this and the global channels above is all I really need when animating, but if you need more specific keyframe detail, you can use the color bone channels that appear below it. (I normally hide all color bone channels because, for me, that's just a lot of screen clutter that doesn't help me animate. Also, I suspect displaying a lot of unnecessary keyframe data may slow down Moho--I haven't personally confirmed this though, it's just an assumption.)

Hope this helps.
will_f
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Re: How do I see bones separately in timeline?

Post by will_f »

Let's say I have an animation of a rig with several bones. If I want to change, or delay, the animation of one particular bone, I can't see its keyframes separately in the timeline.
\

I see that Greenlaw mentioned it in passing, but if the set of red channel keys (below the main set) is too visually busy or vague, you can change the color of the selected bone and then it will have its own channel on the timeline.
chucky
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Re: How do I see bones separately in timeline?

Post by chucky »

Yes , in the bone select tool at the top you will see the option to change bone colours.
I like to give a colour to each limb so I can easily see what's what in the timeline.
Also I give eyebrows, eyelids and head controls different colours so I can see at a glance which to adjust.
The trick is to not just choose what looks the coolest but what fit's up and down the timeline for best control, as currently you cannot reorder the timeline coloured bone channels.
Here is a guide for that type of setup.


ohh tinypic isn't working, I'll wait then post an image here in a couple of minutes.
MMQ
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Re: How do I see bones separately in timeline?

Post by MMQ »

Thank you guys!
Coloring bones and disabling auto-freeze works perfect! Now it's much more clear :D
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