To Work with the Clip Maker

Animation » Clip Maker

The Clip Maker enables you to create and manage animation sequences. The left side contains a list of all clips in the scene. Select a clip in the list to see a timeline view on the right.

Create a clip with the Wizard

The Wizard button is located under the main menu of the Clip Maker.

1. Select an object or a material and click Wizard.
2. Select whether you want to animate an object, material, or both at once, and click Next.
3. Enter a name for the animation and set the start and duration times.
4. Select an interpolation mode; Ease In and Ease Out reduce the velocity at the beginning and end of the animation.
5. Click Capture Start to capture the initial state of the animation. A thumbnail image displays its current state.
6. Move the geometry or change the material, then click Capture End.
7. Click Preview to play the animation in the render view.
8. Click Reset Preview to return the animation to its initial state.
9. Click Finish.

Add variants and other items

In addition to clips, you can add animations, camera tracks, viewpoints, variants, and sequences in the Clip Maker. Only existing variants can be added; see Variants.

1. In the list of clips, select the clip under which you want to create the new item.
2. Click Opens Create Menu at the bottom of the Clip Maker.
3. Select the type of item you want to create and follow the instructions.

Manage clips in the list

• To activate or deactivate a clip, click the check box to its left.
• To lock or unlock a clip against changes, click the check box to its right.

Edit clip parameters

1. Select a clip in the list on the left side of the Clip Maker.
2. Use the controls at the top of the timeline to adjust the start time, duration, and number of play cycles.

Manage clips in the Clip Maker timeline

The timeline includes several tracks for arranging clips. Each block represents one animation sequence.

• To move clips, drag them within the timeline.
• To change the start point, end point, or duration of a clip, drag the handles at the beginning or end of a clip.
• To snap clips by one-second units when modifying their start or end points, click Horizontal Grid Snapping .
• To zoom in and out of the timeline, scroll the mouse wheel.
• To display a clip in the timeline, click it in the clip list. However, you may not see it if it is out of the time range being displayed.
• To display the full range of a set of clips in the timeline, select their parent item and click Frame Objects in View at the bottom of the Clip Maker, or select View > Frame.