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<title> Misfit Model 3D Help - Animation Details </title>
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<h1>Animation Details</h1>
<h2> Overview </h2>
<p>
You can create animations to define how your model moves over time.
Misfit Model 3D allows you to use bone joints to create skeletal
animations or to set vertex positions exatly with mesh deformation
animations (called "Frame" animations in Misfit Model 3D).
</p>
<p>
Animations have one or more frames which are consecutive points in
time. Each frame lets you specify what the model should look like
at that time. The frame rate, or FPS for "Frames Per Second", indicates
how many frames are shown in one second when the animation is running
at full speed.
</p>
<a name="creating"></a>
<h2> Creating an Animation </h2>
<p>
Select "Animation | Start Animation Mode...".
The
<a href="olh_animwin.html">Animation Panel</a> will
appear at the bottom of the screen. Select <New Animation>
from the drop-down menu. Enter a name for your new animation and then
select "Skeletal" for a skeletal animation or "Frame" for a
mesh deformation animation.
</p>
<p>
You can create multiple animations of either type. When you have
animations of both types, the animation names in the drop-down selection
box list all skeletal animations first, followed by all frame animations.
</p>
<a name="other"></a>
<h2> Animation Details </h2>
<p>
In skeletal animations you only change bone joints. Any vertices or
points attached to the bone joints will move with the joints. Generally
you only want to use rotations (think about how you move your arm
by rotating the shoulder and elbow, not by dislocating the joints).
</p>
<p>
Any time you rotate or move a bone joint it sets a rotation or
translation keyframe for that animation frame. If you want the default
position to be a keyframe in that frame, you can select the joint
and then select "Animation | Set Rotation Keyframe".
Often you will want to do this on the first and last frame of an
animation for every joint that will be affected by the animation.
</p>
<p>
In frame animations you set the position for each vertex and point
in each frame. Bone joints have no effect (and are not even rendered).
</p>
<p>
You can copy and paste entire animation frames by selecting the copy
or paste option from the "Animation" menu. Clearing the frame will
erase all keyframes for the current frame of a skeletal animation
and will restore the model to the default position for a frame animation.
</p>
<a name="seealso"></a>
<h2> See Also </h2>
<ul>
<li> <a href="olh_jointdetails.html">Bone Joints</a> </li>
<li> <a href="olh_influences.html">Influences Menu</a> </li>
</ul>
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