Animation

Organizing animation sequences effectively is key to ensuring compatibility when exporting to other 3D applications. The following guidelines outline the best practices for handling animations in Blender and highlight common challenges.

Animation Sequences

Animation sequences or animation clips are the way we should organize our different sets of animations to enable export on other 3D Applications.

When animating objects and properties in Blender, Actions record and contain the data. As everything else in Blender, Actions are data blocks.

NLA Tracks and Baking

The NonLinear Animation (NLA) in Blender can manipulate and repurpose Actions, without the tedium of handling keyframes.

When using NLA tracks, bake the animation before exporting to ensure compatibility with other 3D applications, as non-baked NLA tracks may not translate correctly outside Blender.

Common Errors

When switching from IK to FK with the Auto-Rig Pro (ARP) system, create keyframes before and after the switch to ensure the IK transition is applied in the final bake.