How to produce custom pose or key-frame motions

Key-frame animation is a traditional method for creating motions for a character. It involves setting different keys at different time frames and creating transitions in between. The interpolation between two keys, which is also called the "transition", will also be auto-generated. Custom key-frame animations can be time consuming and the animations may need to be repeatedly fine-tuned.

Producing a Custom Pose

1. Select a character.
   
2. Click the Edit Motion Layer button under the Animation tab of the Modify panel.
3. Set a motion key by editing the joints in the pictogram.
   
   A Motion Layer key will be automatically added.
   
   
   More about Edit Motion Layer Panel:

   • Please refer to the Introducing Edit Motion Layer Panel and Using the Edit Motion Layer Panel section for more information.
   • To change the orientation of the pose, you can either change the direction of the Bone Root or the character's Hip. These two orientations are combined.
     
   • Both can be adjusted in IK or FK mode in the Edit Motion Layer panel.
   • You can also use AccuPOSE feature to edit the character's poses. Video Tutorial.

Producing a Key-frame Motion

When you are familiar with the usage of setting one motion layer key in a certain time frame, then you can go to another time frame to set more motion layer keys, which can produce so-called key-frame motions. The transition between two keys will be auto-generated by iClone.

1. Set a pose in a time frame.
   
   New pose keys will be automatically added into the track and sub-tracks.
   
   
   
2. Go to another time frame and set again another pose.
   
   Another new key will be added.
   
   
3. The in-between animation is automatically generated.
   
   Playback to view the result.
   
4. You are able to right-click on the keys in the Motion Layer main track and select a transition curve to vary the transition speed between two adjacent motion layer keys.
   
   Playback to view the result.
   
5. Optionally, you may right-click on the later key in the sub-track under the Motion Layer main track, and select a transition curve to vary the transition speed between two adjacent keys. This is very useful if you want each body part to move in a non synchronized way.