Autodesk 62205-051408-9001 User Guide - Page 289

Creating Animations ❚❘❘ Creating Animations You can create many different forms of animation in Combustion. For instance, your animation can be as simple as a layer gradually floating across the screen or slowly fading out. In contrast, you can create a cartoon animation in Paint, then composite it as a layer into a 3D workspace that uses motion paths and camera movement to add to the sense of motion. Keyframe animation, in its simplest form, involves selecting a layer or Paint object, setting its properties at one frame, moving to another frame, and changing its properties. The values between the keyframes are determined automatically using interpolation. In the following illustration, you can see how a layer moves across the viewport and fades in at the same time. Motion starts here... ...and ends here. However, you can add complexity (and realism) to movement by adjusting the shape of the motion path between keyframes using the tangent handles. First keyframe In-between frames Last keyframe Creating a Motion Path When you keyframe a layer's position, its movement is represented by a motion path that you can easily manipulate to control the animation. The simplest form of motion path is a straight line between two keyframes. Between keyframes, layer moves up and down along the motion path. Use the motion path to visualize the movement of a layer and compare it to background elements. For example, using the motion path you can easily align the movement of a composited boat with an aerial photograph of a meandering river. 273