9

572 Chapter 12: Animation
At least one track in the block should end with a
keyframe. Also, for a smooth loop, the first and
last frame of the 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 View toolbar, click E xclude
Right End Point.
5. On the Track View toolbar, click Copy
Time.
The select ion is copied to the clipboard, minus
the first fr ame.
6. Click to define an inser tion point in the keys
window.
The last position key should be your insert
point.
7. Click Paste Time.
The Paste Time dialog appears.
8. In the dialog choose P aste Absolute 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.
Reduce Keys
Track View > Curve Editor or Dope Sheet > Highlight the
keys to reduce in the Key window. > Keys menu > Reduce
Keys
Track View > Curve 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 inverse kinematics, or creating
any complex animation, can result in many keys,
which can make editing the animation difficult. In
thecaseofappliedinversekinematics,thesoftware
generatesakeyonnearlyeveryframe.Often,the
same animation can be produced with fewer keys.
Having fewer keys in a track makes it easier to
change your animation.
Reduce Keys analyzes the pattern of keys in a block
of time and creates a new pattern of fewer keys
that produces nearly the same animation. You
specify how closely the new animation matches
the original.
Note: The Reduce Keys button, depicted above,
appearsontheKeystoolbaronlyinCurveEditor,
but you can add it to a Dope Sheet toolbar with
Customize User Interface (page 3–792).
Procedure
To reduce keys:
1.
Select an animated object in the v iewport.
2. Right-click the object and choose Curve Editor
or Dope Sheet from the quad menu.
3. In the Hierarchy list, highlight the tracks whose
keys you want to reduce. Reduce Keys works
only on highlighted tracks.
4. Optionally, in the Key window, specify a time
range within w hich to reduce keys. Highlight
a key at either end of the range to reduce, or
drag a selection rectangle around the keys you