Animation Menu

The Animation menu lets you access tools, adjust animation timing, set and parameters, lock or unlock layers, and select elements in the Xsheet and Timeline views.

Command Description

Animate

Enables the Animate mode which records the position, rotation, scale, skew, etc. of objects as keyframes in the Timeline view. Turn off the Animate mode to reposition objects for the entire scene. When the Animate mode is disabled, keyframes are not created when an object's parameters change.

Stop-Motion Keyframe

Sets a stop-motion keyframe which there is no computer-generated motion between two keyframes. The segment is constant or flat. The drawing remains still until the playback reaches the next keyframe, then the drawing pops to its new location.

Delete Keyframe

Deletes the selected keyframes.

Tools

Transform

Allows you to select drawing layers and position, rotate, scale and skew them.

Translate

Lets you move the selected element along the X and Y axes.

Rotate

Turns a selected element around its pivot point.

Scale

Increases or decreases the size of a selected element. You can scale an object up to make it larger or down to make it smaller. Press Shift to scale the element while maintaining its proportions.

Skew

Slants the selected element.

Maintain Size

Keeps elements the same size aspect ratio in the Camera view as you move them towards or away from the camera.

Spline Offset

Lets you reposition the visual trajectory without offsetting or modifying your animation. By default, the trajectory is located at 0,0,0 fields. If your elements were drawn in a different location than the centre of the drawing area, it will look like the trajectory is not aligned with your drawing. Also, if you have several elements attached to one trajectory, you might want your trajectory to be at a different location to represent the group's motion better.

Cell

Increase Exposure

Adds one more exposure to a selected cell; repeating this action adds an extra cell each time. This is an efficient way to extend a drawing's exposure and is always set in Insert mode. Increasing an exposure pushes the existing exposure forward.

Decrease Exposure

Decreases exposure of a selected cell by one; repeating this action decreases one exposure adds an extra cell each time. This is an efficient way to shorten a drawing's exposure. Decreasing an exposure pulls in the existing exposure.

Set Exposure to

Lets you set the exposure to 1, 2, 3 or a custom exposure.

Extend Exposure

Lets you enter the frame up to which you want to extend the exposure. You can expose the drawing in the frames and replace the drawings that were originally there or move the subsequent frames forward in time.

Add Key Exposure

Adds a key exposure to the selected cell.

Remove Key Exposure

Removes only the key exposure (key frames) not all the exposures. The existing key exposure is replaced by the preceding exposure.

Remove Duplicate Key Exposure

When working with drawings to adjust the timing of a mouth in a lipsync, for example, and forcing the use of specific key exposures, unnecessary key exposures will be created. You can delete these duplicates without affecting the rest of the drawing. The first drawing of the selection will be used for the range.

NOTEDuplicate key exposures may occur when pasting with the Enforce Key Exposure option selected.

Fill Empty Cells

Lets you fill empty cells to extend the exposure of single frame drawings to fill the range of empty cells after each one.When creating drawings on cells that are not side-by-side, the exposure of the first drawing no longer fills automatically. You must select the frame range where you want your drawings to hold their exposure up to the next drawing and use the Fill Empty Cells command.

Insert Blank Cell

Adds an empty cell between other cells.

Clear Exposure

Removes the exposure from the selected cell.

Clear Exposure and Pull

Replaces the exposure from the selected cell with exposures that follow it.

Fill Selection

Lets you fill the same value over an entire selection. The selection can be over one cell, a cell range in one column, a cell range over many columns, an entire column, or many columns. You can use numbers, words, letters, or any alphanumeric value.

Sequence Fill

Lets you create a numbered sequence over a selection. The sequence can be forward, backward, single, double or higher increment, as a cycle, and so on. The selection can be over one cell or a cell range in one column or more or an entire column or many entire columns.

Lip-Sync

Auto Lip-Sync Detection

Generates a sound detection for lip-sync.

Map Lip-Sync

Automatically maps drawings in an element to the mouth chart you have generated for a sound. This can save time when you are lip-synching a voice track.

Flip

Flip Horizontal

Flips the selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the selection vertically.

Flip Scale X

Once your drawing layer is rotated, the original horizontal and vertical axes change. The Flip Scale X and Flip Scale Y will perform a flip on your drawing layer following its original axis.Remembers the original X-axis of the layer and flips the element following it.

Flip Scale Y

Remembers the original Y-axis of the layer and flips the element following it.

Lock in Time

Indicates whether the point is locked to a specific frame (keyframe) or only locked to a specific position and the curve can flow through it freely as other points are being added, moved, or adjusted (control point).

Substitute Drawing Previous

Replaces the drawing or cell's symbol on the current frame by the previous drawing.

Substitute Drawing Next

Replaces the drawing or cell's symbol on the current frame by the next drawing.

Go to Previous Keyframe

Goes to the previous keyframe.

Go to Next Keyframe

Goes to the next keyframe.

Select Child

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in the Timeline view.

Select Children

Lets you select all elements parented to the selected peg element in the Timeline view.

Lock

Lock

Locks one or a multiple selection of layers.

Unlock

Unlocks one or a multiple selection of locked layers.

Lock All

Locks all the layers in the Timeline view.

Unlock All

Unlocks all the layers in the Timeline view.

Lock All Others

Locks every layer except the selected ones.

Reset

Returns the value of the selected element to the initial value of the active tool. For example, if the Rotate tool is active, the transformation angle will be reset to 0 and if the Transform tool is active, all the transformation values will be reset.

Reset All

Resets all transformations on the current frame in a selected layer. Your keyframe will remain, but all the values will return to the starting value. All transformations are reset regardless of the tool you're using.