User Guide > Cut-out Animation > Keyframes and Drawing Blocks

Keyframes and Drawing Blocks

When you extend the exposure of a drawing, it is represented by a grey block in the Timeline view. When you expose a second drawing, a second grey block is displayed.

You can consider these blocks as drawing blocks.

To animate the position of a block over time, you do not need to create a second block, you simply need to add a position keyframe. The position keyframes are coordinates indicating the position of your drawing on a particular frame. These appear as black squares in the Timeline view.

In the example below, you can see that the keyframes are positioned on frames independently from the beginning and end of each drawing block.

You can keyframe three different positions for your drawing in the same drawing block and create a motion path between them.

Timeline Behaviour

In the Timeline view, you can see how the Timeline behaves differently depending on whether you create a new drawing, a new keyframe, or both at the same time.

Creating a Drawing in the Timeline View
Creating a Keyframe in the Timeline View
Creating a Drawing and a Keyframe in the Timeline View at the Same Time

Creating a Drawing in the Timeline View

You can use the Create Empty Drawing command to add a new drawing in the Timeline view. This will automatically insert a new drawing block.

Select Drawing > Create Empty Drawing.
You can also use the Create Empty Drawing button in the Timeline View toolbar.

Creating a Keyframe in the Timeline View

You can use the Add Keyframe command to add a new keyframe in the Timeline view. This will automatically create a keyframe in your layer.

Select Insert > Keyframe or press [F6].
In the Timeline View toolbar, click the Add Keyframe button.

Creating a Drawing and a Keyframe in the Timeline View at the Same Time

You can use the Insert Keyframe and Duplicate Drawing command to add a keyframe and a drawing at the same time. This will create a drawing block containing copies of the selected drawing and a keyframe.

Select Insert > Keyframe and Duplicate Drawing.