Auto-Key On
When Auto-Key is on, Bryce watches for each and every change that is made to an object over time. Bryce remembers the changes and automatically records key events for each change. When you play back the sequence, all the changes that were made will be played back.
The rough order of work flow with Auto-Key on is this: Start. Drag the Time Scrubber to another time. Change something in the scene. Drag the Time Scrubber to another time (the time can be forward or backward). Make another change to the sceneÑor to put it more succinctly: Start. Change the time and then change the scene. Change the time again and then change scene again. Repeat until all changes are made. Stop. Figure 1a shows the process of creating a three-event trajectory with Auto-Key on.
Auto-Key On Walkthrough
- In a new scene, create a cylinder. Reposition it at the lower-left corner
of the working window.
- Drag the Time Scrubber to some arbitrary point on the timeline.
- Drag the cylinder to a new position at the upper-right corner of the window.
As you drag, a blue line is drawn. It marks the route of the cylinder.
- Release the mouse button. The timeline segment between the starting point
and the scrubber fills in with dark green. At the same moment, the little
key icon between the Add and Remove Keyframe controls darkens to indicate
that a keyframe was added.
- Drag the scrubber back to the left, so it's somewhere around the midpoint
of the dark green segment of the timeline. As you drag the scrubber, the cylinder
retraces its steps backward along the blue line.
- Drag the cylinder upward. The blue line is reshaped as you drag, and when you release the mouse button, the key icon once again darkens. Each time you move to a new point on the timeline and change the condition of the selected object, a new keyframe is automatically added.
Figure 1a Generating three key events with Auto-Key on.
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Auto-Key Off
When Auto-Key is off, you're on your own; the process of adding keyframes is completely manual. The rough order of work flow with Auto-Key off is like so: Set up the initial condition at the beginning time (00:00:00.0). Click Add Keyframe to record that initial condition. Move forward to a new time and change the condition. Add a keyframe to record that change. Move to yet another point in time. Change the condition again and add a keyframe. Continue in this fashion until all changes are made. Stop.
Figure 1b shows the process of creating a three-event motion trajectory with Auto-Key off. The results are identical to those with Auto-Key on, so you can compare the two approaches.
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Auto-Key Off Walkthrough
- Create a new scene. From the Timeline Options pop-up menu, choose Auto-Key
to turn it off.
- Create a cylinder and position it as in the example with Auto-Key on. From
the Add Keyframe pop-up menu, choose Cylinder 1 > Position. A keyframe is
created representing the starting point of the sequence, and the key icon
turns black.
- Drag the Time Scrubber some distance to the right.
- Drag the cylinder to the upper-right corner of the window. Notice this time
that no blue line is added to the scene. Pay a visit to the Add Keyframe pop-up
menu, choose Cylinder 1 > Position, and voila! A keyframe is added, and the
blue line appears.
- Drag the scrubber back to the left, and the cylinder follows along.
- Drag the cylinder upward, away from the blue line.
- Visit the Add Keyframe pop-up menu one more time, to add a keyframe for the cylinder's new position, and the blue line is redrawn to follow suit.