8

548 Chapter 12: Animation
7.
Click Paste Time.
The Paste Time dialog appears.
8. In the dialog choose P aste A bsolute or Paste
Relative. For an animated loop choose Paste
Absolute, then click OK.
The time, including keys, is pasted.
9. Play your animation to observe the effect.
Exclude R ight End Point
Track V iew > Dope Sheet > Extras: D ope Sheet toolbar >
Exclude Right End Point button
If you p aste the same block of ti me repeatedly, one
block following the other, you can create a looping
segment in your animation. To create a smooth
looping animation, you need to exclude either the
firstorlastkeyofthecopiedblocktopreventkeys
from doubling up at the ends.
The key to be excluded must be at the exact end
time of the copied block of time.
Note: By default, the Extras: Dope Sheet toolbar
doesn’t appear in the Dope Sheet Editor. You’ll
find a method for displaying it in the following
procedure.
Procedure
To animate a loop by copying and pasting k eys:
1.
In Dope Sheet mo de, highlight one or more
item labels in the Controller window to specify
tracks for time editing.
2. Use Select Time (page 2–543) to specify
ablockoftime.
At least one track in the block should end with a
keyframe. Also, for a smooth loop, the first and
last frame of t he selection should be the same.
3. Right-click an empty section of the toolbar
area and choose Show Toolbars > Extras: Dope
Sheet.
TheExcludeLeftEndPointandExcludeRight
End Point buttons appear.
4. On the Track Vi ew toolbar, click Exclude
Right End Point.
5. On the Track View toolbar, click Copy
Time.
The selection is copied to the clipboard, minus
the first frame.
6. Click to define an insertion point in the keys
window.
The last position key should be your inser t
point.
7. Click Paste Time.
The Paste Time dialog appears.
8. InthedialogchoosePasteAbsoluteorPaste
Relative. For an animated loop choose Paste
Absolute, then click OK.
The time, including keys, is pasted.
9. Play your animation to observe the effect.
Reduce Keys
Track V iew > Curve Editor or Dope Sheet > Highlight the
keys to reduce in the Key window. > Keys m enu > Reduce
Keys
Track View > Cur ve Editor > Highlight the keys to reduce
in the Key window. > Keys: Track View toolbar > Reduce
Keys
Use Reduce Keys to decrease key density.
Animating with i nverse kinematics, or creating
any complex animation, can result in many keys,
which can make editing the animation difficult. In