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Animation Controllers

Controllers, like constraints, handle the animation tasks in a scene. They store animation key values and procedural animation settings, and they interpolate between animation key values.

For information about how to assign an Animation Controller, see Assigning Controllers.

Some parameters, such as non-positional modifier settings, do not receive a controller until you animate them.

As soon as you change an animatable parameter like this with Auto Key on or add a key, 3ds Max assigns a Animation controller to the parameter. This assigned controller is a default type, depending on the parameter, but you can assign different controllers for different effects.

Animation controllers are organized in the following categories:

  • Float controllers: for animating floating-point values
  • Point3 controllers: for animating three-component values such as colors or 3D points
  • Position controllers: for animating positions of objects and selection sets
  • Rotation controllers: for animating rotation of objects and selection sets
  • Scale controllers: for animating the scale of objects and selection sets
  • Transform controllers: for animating general transforms (position, rotation, and scale) of objects and selection sets
Topics in this section
  • Audio Controller
    Use the Audio controller to drive the animation of almost any parameter in 3ds Max. The Audio controller converts the amplitude of a recorded sound file or real-time sound wave into values that can animate an object or parameter.
  • Barycentric Morph Controller
    The Barycentric Morph controller is automatically applied when you create a Morph compound object. You can select morph targets and create keys at different times to change the original object's shape to those of the morph targets.
  • Bezier Controllers
    The versatile Bezier controllers interpolate between keys using an adjustable spline curve.
  • Block Controller
    A Block controller is a global List controller that allows you to combine several tracks from multiple objects over a range of time, and group them as "Blocks." These Blocks are then used to re-create the animation anywhere in time. Blocks can be added, removed, scaled, moved graphically in Track View, and saved. Blocks can represent either absolute or relative animation.
  • Boolean Controller
    The Boolean controller is similar to the On/Off controller. By default, it is assigned to tracks (such as an object's Visibility track) that provide only binary on and off control.
  • Color RGB Controller (Point3 XYZ Controller)
    The Color RGB controller splits the R, G, and B components into three separate tracks. You can use this controller with color tracks. By default, each track is assigned a Bezier Float controller. The Bezier Float controller is a single parameter controller.
  • Euler XYZ Rotation Controller
    The Euler XYZ Rotation controller is a compound controller that combines separate, single-value float controllers to specify an angle of rotation about each of the X, Y, and Z axes. Euler XYZ is not as smooth as quaternion rotation (used by the TCB Rotation controller), but it is the only rotation type that you can use to edit rotation function curves.
  • Expression Controller
    The Expression controller lets you use mathematical expressions to control these animation aspects: object parameters such as length, width, and height; and transform and modifier values such as an object's position coordinates.
  • Layer Controller
    The Layer Controller dialog provides commands and options related to the Layer controllers in your scene, which the system automatically assigns for you when you enable animation layers on an object.
  • Limit Controller
    The Limit controller lets you specify upper and lower limits to available controller values, thus restricting the potential value range of the controlled track. For example, in a character rig you could use this to restrict rotation on finger joints so the fingers can't bend backward. Basically, once a track is limited, and the limit is active, you can't set a value for the track beyond the limit.
  • Linear Controller
    The Linear controller interpolates between animation keys by evenly dividing the change from one key value to the next by the amount of time between the keys.
  • List Controller
    The List controller combines multiple controllers into a single effect. It is a compound controller with tools for managing how its component controllers are calculated. Controllers are evaluated in top-to-bottom order. In addition, you can specify a Weight setting for each controller in the list to determine its relative influence.
  • Local Euler XYZ Rotation Controller
    This controller is no longer available. You can, however, still edit objects that were assigned this controller in previous versions.
  • Look At Controller
    The Look At controller is automatically assigned as a transform animation controller upon creation of objects that contain targets, including Target Camera, targeted lights (including IES Sun/Sky) and the Tape helper. It cannot be assigned by the user. To assign the equivalent of a Look At controller to an object, use a LookAt constraint.
  • Point Controller Container
    The Point Controller container controls point sub-objects within editable splines, editable surfaces, and FFD (free-form deformation) modifiers.
  • MCG LookAt Constraint
    The MCG LookAt Constraint controls an object's orientation so that one axis points at another object, or the weighted average of other objects. Use this instead of the LookAt constraint for a slightly different set of controls, including a billboard option that restricts the rotation to a single world axis.
  • MCG Ray to Surface Position Constraint
    The MCG Ray to Surface Position Constraint sets an object's position to a location on the surface of one or more meshes as determined by an intersecting ray cast from another object. If desired, you can apply an offset from the surface.
  • MCG Ray to Surface Position and Orientation Constraints
    The MCG Ray to Surface Position and Orientation Constraints command applies two constraints to set an object's position and orientation based on the intersection of a ray cast from another object onto one or more meshes. Unlike MCG Ray to Surface Transform Constraint, it does not affect scaling.
  • MCG Ray to Surface Transform Constraint
    The MCG Ray to Surface Transform Constraint constrains an object's position and orientation based on the intersection of a ray cast from another object onto one or more meshes. The object's scaling gets reset.
  • MCG 1 DOF Rotation Spring Controller
    The MCG 1 DOF Rotation Spring Controller is a rigid, physical constraint that allows an object to rotate around a "parent" object in one of its local axes only (one degree of freedom, or DOF) within a limited range, like a pendulum. The object can still be outside these limits but if it is, a rotational spring force is applied to push the object back within the limits.
  • MCG 3 DOF Rotation Spring Controller
    The MCG 3 DOF Rotation Spring Controller is a rigid, physical constraint that allows an object to rotate around a "parent" object in all three axes within limited ranges. The object can still be outside these limits but if it is, a rotational spring force is applied to push the object back within the limits.
  • Motion Capture Controller
    You can control an object's position, rotation, or other parameters using an external device with the Motion Capture controller.
  • Noise Controller
    The Noise controller produces random, fractal-based animation over a range of frames. Noise controllers are parametric: they work on a range of frames, but do not use keys.
  • On/Off Controller
    The On/Off controller provides binary track control. It is similar to the Boolean controller. For example, you can apply an On/Off controller to the Visibility track of an object.
  • Position XYZ Controller
    The Position XYZ controller splits the X, Y, and Z components into three separate tracks, similar to the Euler XYZ Rotation controller. This provides separate control of the three tracks when referenced from Expression controllers.
  • Position/Rotation/Scale Controller
    The Position/Rotation/Scale (PRS) controller is the default Transform controller for most objects. Use it for all general-purpose transforms.
  • Reaction Controllers
    The Reaction controller is a procedural controller that lets a parameter react to changes in any other parameter in 3ds Max. Typically, you perform most of the setup involving Reaction controllers with the Reaction Manager dialog. You use the dialog to define a driver—an object that controls other objects—and, for each driver, any number of driven objects, which the driver controls. Alternatively, you can assign a Reaction controller directly to a driven object using Track View or the Motion panel (as you would any other controller), and then use Reaction Manager to specify its driver and other parameters.
  • Scale XYZ Controller
    The Scale XYZ controller has independent float controllers for each scale axis of an object's transform. With three separate tracks for scale, you can create scale keys for each axis independently, change interpolation settings for a single axis, or assign a controller on an axis. For example, after applying a Scale XYZ controller, you could apply a Noise or Waveform controller to an axis to animate that axis independently.
  • Script Controller
    The Script controllers work similarly to Expression controllers. They provide a Script Controller dialog where you can enter a script for computing the controller value.
  • Smooth Rotation Controller
    Use Smooth Rotation when you want rotation to have a smooth and natural look.
  • Spring Controller
    The Spring controller adds secondary dynamics effects to any point or object position. The end result is secondary mass/spring dynamics similar to the Flex modifier. This constraint adds realism to generally static animations.
  • TCB Controllers
    TCB Controllers produce curve-based animation much like Bezier controllers. However, TCB controllers do not use tangent types or adjustable tangent handles. They use fields to adjust the Tension, Continuity, and Bias settings.
  • Waveform Controller
    The Waveform controller is a float controller that provides regular, periodic waveforms. Created originally to control blinking lights, you can use it on any float value.
  • XRef Controller
    This controller lets you externally reference any type of Transform controller from another scene file. The XRef controller follows the same concepts and principles as the XRef objects and XRef material; it can improve upon the collaborative synergy within a production environment by letting you access animation data currently in another scene while someone else updates it.

Related Concepts

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