A detailed introduction to the time slider in Autodesk Maya. The Time Slider is where all your keys will be stored. They can be moved, copied and ????
Preferences:
Open the preferences window. Window > Settings/Preference > Preferences).
Settings > Time Slider
Framerate: This sets how many frames plays in a second. Standard for Feature Animation is 24 fps, for Games and Film its 30 fps.
Time Display: This controls what the time is shown as in the the time slider. The default is Frames, you can also set it to timecode. Leave it in frames, its easier to read and its what animators in the industry measure time in.
Playback Speed: sets the playback speed of the Time Slider for your animation. The default is to play every frame, which is not accurate and your animation will play slower than it actually is. Set Playback to 24 fps x 1 (or 30fps x 1 if animating at 30) this will be an accurate playback speed when you play your animation in the viewport or make a playblast.
Time Slider:
This is the time slider. The gray tics with a number are the are frames, how many you see depends on how much of the time slider is visible (the gray bar below the time slider determines how many frames of the total number in the scene are visible).
This bar with a square and a number on either end. This bar tells how many frames are being displayed in the time slider. To show more or fewer frames Left Mouse click and drag the boxes at either end.
To left and right sides of this bar are two boxes containing numbers. The box to the far left tells you the start frame of the sequence (1), the box next to it shows which is the first frame visible in the time slider (1).
The box to far right shows, what is the last frame in the sequence (200). The box to its immediate left shows the last frame that is visible in the time slider (120).
The frame numbers in the inside boxes will match the frame numbers at the start and end of the sliding bar. To increase or decrease frames in the scene change the number in the box on the far right.
Beside the time slider are the buttons to play the animation inside Maya. The number on the left is the current frame you are on.
The Buttons are:
Jump to start
Jump backward one frame
Jump backward to a key
Play in Reverse
Play
Jump forwards to a key
Jump forwards one frame
Jump to end
Setting Keys:
The number one rule in animation is to never set keys directly on geometry! If we set keys on a specific piece of the geometry that geometry can never be changed or updated. Not to mention having to select each piece of geometry to set a key would not be very user friendly. If something happens to that piece of geometry we run the risk of loosing all our animation.
We always set keys on a controllers. Controllers are user friendly interface to control a rig and add an extra level of protection to prevent the breakage or loss of work.
Everything in a scene that needs to be animated must be a rig. Controllers are in Maya are always NURBS curves, because they have a Transform Node (Translate, Rotate and Scale)- which can be seen in the Channel Box. Which means we can set keys on them. As an added bonus they do not render. This makes them a convenient interface to work with. To set a key, select a rig’s controller(s) and tap the S key. A red line will appear in the Time Slider, this is your key. You will see all keys set in the scene in the timeslider.
The transform attributes for the controller in the Channel box will also turn red. Pay attention to where the marker in the time slider is. A key will always be set where it is located, even if a key was set there previously.
Before you create a pose or set any keys make sure the marker in the Time Slider is on the correct keyframe. It’s very easy to override keys or set keys out of order and not realize it. Always double check where the marker is and avoid creating a mess and extra work for yourself.
Handy Shortcut Keys:
Tap the comma (,) and period (.) keys on your keyboard to jump from one key to the next. Just like flipping pages old school style.
Copy Keys
Option 1. Select a controller(s). In the time slider move the marker to the key you want to copy. Middle mouse click on the key and drag to the frame you want to copy the key to. Let go of the middle mouse button and tap the S key.
Option 2. Select a controller(s). Right click and a pop up menu will appear. Select copy. Move to the frame on the time slider, right click and paste > paste.
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Move Keys
Move the marker to the key you want to move. Select the controller or controllers in the viewport of the keys you want to move. Hold down SHIFT, then click and drag with your left mouse button. A red box will appear with double yellow arrows pointing to the left and right. You select single or multiple frames at a time.
To move the key(s), middle mouse click and drag on the two arrows at the middle of the red box and you will be able to relocate the key(s) on the time slider. Let go of the mouse button when it is in place. Then right mouse click on the time slider and select SNAP from the menu (this will ensure the key ends up on a whole frame (ex: frame 2) and not in between two frames (ex: frame 2.35).
Any frames that end up in-between frame numbers on the time slider are nearly impossible to select and just create headaches. Multiple keys can end up stacked on top of one another creating a confusing rat’s nest you’ll have to try to sort out in the graph editor.
If you Middle Mouse Click and Drag either the single arrow on the right side or the left side, it will increase the amount of time the frames cover, but it will maintain the spacing between them over the increased number of frames. You can stretch them out as much as you want and still grab the middle arrows to move them around. When you're happy snap your keys.
Always remember to always snap your keys!!!
Delete Keys
Option 1. To delete a key in the Time Slider, select the controller(s) you want to delete keys from. Then right mouse click on the key in the Time Slider and select Delete from the menu.
Option 2. You can also delete keys in the Channel Box. In the Channel Box you can delete keys on all the channels or only certain channels. In the Channel Box to select multiple channels hold down the SHIFT or CTRL button (hold down shift to select several attributes in order. Hold down CTRL if you want to pick and choose in any order). While holding down Shift or CTRL click the Left Mouse click to select the attributes whose keys you want to delete. Then Right Mouse Click and select either Delete Selected or Break Connections.
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Channel Box
Channels that are red mean that the frame you are on in the time slider has a key set on it. Channels that are pink mean that Channel has keys on it, but not on the frame you are on in the time slider.
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