Animation Layer Editor

To access the Animation Layer Editor:

• Switch to the Anim tab below the Channel Box.
• To open the Animation Layer Editor as a separate window, switch to the Anim tab at the bottom of the Channel Box, then select Show > Floating Window from the Animation Layer Editor menu bar.

The Animation Layer Editor lets you manipulate animation layers and change the way they blend together to create your result animation.

Note: You can also create layers on Time Editor clips, so you can modify the existing clip animation. See Add Clip Layers to the Time Editor. Time Editor Clip Layers behave similarly to Maya Animation Layers but are exclusive to Time Editor clips because you cannot drive Time Editor animation with both Animation Layers and Clip Layers.

Note: Maya LT supports a maximum of two animation layers on top of the BaseAnimation. If you open or import a Maya file that contains more than two animation layers, or if importing more animation layers into your scene exceeds the maximum, Maya LT merges the animation and removes the layers.

The Animation Layer Editor contains the menu bar, toolbar, and animation layer pane.

• Animation Layer Editor menu bar
• Animation Layer toolbar
• Animation Layer pane

The following table provides a brief overview of tasks using the Animation Layer Editor.

To...	Do this
Create an animation layer for selected objects.	Click .
Create an empty animation layer.	Click .
Change the animation layer mode.	Right-click a layer, select Layer Mode, then Additive, Override, or Passthrough. For information, see Animation layer modes.
Extract animation from selected objects in the scene onto a layer.	Right-click the BaseAnimation bar and select Extract Non-Layered Animation for Selected Objects.
Re-order layers in the stack.	Select the layer and middle-drag it to a new position in the stack, or use the Move Up and Move down buttons.
Parent layers.	Select the layer and middle-drag it onto the layer you want as its parent.
Open the Relationship Editor to add and remove attributes to and from layers.	Select Layers > Membership from the menu bar.
Delete layers.	Select the layers you want to delete and select Layers > Delete from the menu bar.
Set a Zero key. (See also Keyframe objects on animation layers.)	Click .
Set and key the layer weight at 0.	Click .
Set and key the layer weight at 1.	Click .