Sculpt curves with the Graph Editor Curve Sculpting tools

You can use the Graph Editor Sculpting tools to perform intuitive modifications to keys on curve segments using a brush-style tool.

The Curve Sculpting tools used to modify animation (demo courtesy Jim Donovan)

To open the Graph Editor Curve Sculpting tools, do one of the following:

• Click Grab , Smooth , Smear , or Key Reducer on the Graph Editor toolbar.
• In the Graph Editor Edit menu, select Transformation Tools > Sculpting Tools > and choose:
  • Grab tool
  • Smooth tool
  • Smear tool
  • Key Reducer tool

Tip: Watch the Animation Curve Sculpting video on the Maya learning Channel!

Push keys up or down on a curve (Grab tool)

Select the Graph Editor Grab tool and drag over the area of the curve you want to shape key value in the Graph View.

Flatten keys on a curve (Smooth tool)

Select the Graph Editor Smooth tool and drag over the part of the curve you want to smooth in the Graph View.

Note: Both the Graph Editor Smooth and Smear sculpting tools do not respect value snapping.

Nudge keys on a curve within a configurable brush radius (Smear tool)

Select the Graph Editor Smear tool from the Graph Editor toolbar and drag over the area of the curve you want to influence in the Graph View.

Note: Both the Graph Editor Smooth and Smear sculpting tools do not respect value snapping.

Lessen the number of keys on a densely-keyed curve (Key Reducer tool)

Select the Graph Editor Key Reducer tool tool and drag over the area of the curve in the Graph View where you want to reduce the number of keys. Using the Key Reducer tool lets you simplify densely keyed curves to reduce file size and improve performance.

The Key Reducer Sculpt tool is similar to the Graph Editor Curves menu Key Reducer filter, except as a sculpt tool you can make reductions to specific areas as you go.

Note: The Key Reducer Sculpt tool does not work on Quaternion Rotation Curves.

Select curves to sculpt

The Sculpt tool brush radius affects keys, that is, any key inside the brush circle is changed, unless the key or channel is locked. The selection area is defined by the location where you click the mouse, so clicking in empty areas and then dragging in the Graph View, changes nothing, even when moving over curves. If more than one curve falls within the brush radius, they are all affected at the same time.

Resize a Graph Editor Sculpt Brush

Middle-drag left or right to expand or shrink the size of the Sculpt ring.

Tip: Use Ctrl + middle-drag to start the brush radius at zero instead of its current size.

Adjusting the size of the Sculpt brush

See Sculpt Curve tools for more on the tool settings.

Increase the strength of a Graph Editor Sculpt Brush

Middle-drag up or down to change the strength of the action. The Strength indicator inside of the sculpt ring resizes to display the intensity of the tool.

Tip: Use Ctrl + middle-drag to start the brush strength at zero instead of its current strength.

Adjusting the strength of the Sculpt brush

See Sculpt Curve tools for more on the tool settings.

Create a custom brush using Falloff

You can use the Falloff curve to design a customized sculpting brush for the strength of the brush cursor. You can choose from the presets or drag the curve to reshape it. These settings are similar to the Sculpting Falloff tool, but affects keys in the Graph Editor Graph view. See Adjust Tool Falloff for information on working with Falloff curves.

Note: There is no Falloff curve for the Key Reducer sculpt tool. Instead use the Tool Settings Size and Strength sliders.