Session 4: Animation Layer Editor

To access the Animation Layer Editor:

 Switch to the Anim tab below the Channel Box.

 To open the Animation Layer Editor as a separate window, switch to the Anim tab at the
bottom of the Channel Box, then select Show > Floating Window from the Animation Layer
Editor menu bar.

The Animation Layer Editor lets you manipulate animation layers and change the way they blend
together to create your result animation. It includes three main menus:

(i) Layers menu

(ii)Options menu

(iii)Show menu

https://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2025/ENU/?guid=GUID-46091038-7F23-467C-
8FEC-844A26C11EDA

Three modes available to animate a glowing object in a scene:

Additive Mode: This will make the glow layer blend with layers below, making the object appear
brighter as it combines the glow with the background.

Override Mode: This mode will make the glow layer replace or block out anything below it, so the
glow appears solid and independent, hiding background details behind it.

Pass-through Mode: This allows any adjustments or effects on the glow layer to flow through to
the layers beneath, so the glow softly affects everything below, like a tinted filter.

Each mode changes how the glow layer interacts with the scene!
Extracting non linear animation from base animation in layer editor

Imagine you have a character that’s walking in a straight line (base animation). You want to add a
head-nodding movement without affecting the base walking animation.

Without Extraction: You’d have to directly edit the base animation to add the head movement,
which could be complex and could disturb the original walk.

With Extraction: By using "Extract Non-Linear Animation," you can move the walking animation
to its own layer. Now, you can add the head-nodding animation on a separate layer, allowing you to
control or adjust each animation independently.

what is base animation

Base animation refers to the primary, original set of keyframes or movements assigned to objects in
a scene before any additional layering, blending, or modification. It’s the foundational animation
that defines how objects move or transform by default, without effects or adjustments applied by
animation layers.

Parent layer

A parent layer in animation is used to control and manage multiple child layers or objects beneath it.
The parent layer influences the transformations (like movement, rotation, or scaling) of its child
layers. When you adjust the parent layer, all child layers follow the same transformation, making it
easier to animate and manage complex scenes.

Example:

Imagine you have a character with a body and a head as separate layers:

Parent Layer: The body of the character.

Child Layer: The head of the character.

When you move or rotate the parent layer (the body), the child layer (the head) will follow, keeping
the head in position relative to the body. This allows you to animate the entire character by just
adjusting the parent layer without having to animate the head separately.

Layers > Membership in the Animation Layer Editor

This feature allows you to manage which objects belong to which animation layers. Layer
membership determines what objects are controlled by a particular animation layer.

It is used to

1. Add Objects to Layers:

 Select the objects in the viewport.

 Go to the Layer Editor.

 Use Layers > Membership to assign the selected objects to a specific layer.

2. Remove Objects from Layers:

 Select the objects or layer in question.

 Use the same menu to deselect or reassign objects to different layers.

Setting the weight to 1 in animation refers to giving full influence or effect to a particular
animation layer or attribute. When the weight is set to 1, the animation layer is fully active and has
complete control over the object’s transformation (such as position, rotation, or scale).

Example:

Imagine you’re animating a character with two animation layers:

Walk Animation (Layer 1)

Jump Animation (Layer 2)

If you set the weight of the Jump Animation layer to 1, the jump animation will be fully applied to
the character, and the character will perform the jump motion completely. Meanwhile, you can
adjust the weight of other layers (like the walk animation) to control how much influence they have.

· Set the weight to 0 at the start (layer has no influence).

· Set the weight to 1 at the desired frame (layer has full influence).

Set a Zero Key

Setting a "zero key" freezes or resets attributes (such as position, rotation, and scale) to zero at a
specific frame.
Rotation Accumulation By Component means each part of an object rotates based on its own
position and angle, instead of all parts rotating in the same way.

Simple Example:

 Think of a windmill with three blades.

 Without this feature: If you rotate the windmill, all the blades spin together exactly the same
way.

 With this feature: Each blade spins a little differently, based on its own angle, making the
motion more realistic.

Rotation Accumulation By Layer means each animation layer adds its own rotation on top of the
others, rather than replacing them.

Simple Example:

 Think of a windmill with rotating blades.

 Without this feature: Adjusting one layer’s rotation would override the base rotation.

 With this feature: The base rotation (spinning blades) remains, and you can add extra
movements (like slight tilts or shakes) on new layers for a more dynamic effect.

Scale Accumulation Multiply means each layer's scaling values are multiplied with the base
scaling, instead of replacing or adding to it.

Simple Example:
  Imagine a growing balloon.

 Without this feature: Adding a layer might directly replace the balloon's size changes.

 With this feature: The balloon's original size growth is multiplied by new layer scaling,
creating compound effects like pulsating or exaggerated inflation.

Scale Accumulation Additive means each layer's scaling values are added to the base scaling,
instead of multiplying or overriding them.

Simple Example:

 Think of a tree growing in an animation.

 Without this feature: Adding a new layer could replace the tree’s original growth animation.

 With this feature: The new layer adds additional scaling (like branches expanding) on top of
the base growth, creating a more natural, layered effect.

All Keyable means all the keyable attributes (properties that can be animated) of the selected object
are added to the animation layer.

Simple Example:

 Imagine animating a car.

 Without this feature: You’d need to manually add attributes like position, rotation, and scale
to the layer.

 With this feature: All keyable attributes (e.g., position, rotation, scale) are automatically
added, allowing you to animate the car more efficiently.

From Channel Box allows you to add only the attributes you select in the Channel Box to the
animation layer.
Simple Example:

 Imagine animating a door.

 Without this feature: All keyable attributes (like position, rotation, and scale) might be added,
even if you only want to animate the rotation.

 With this feature: You can specifically select rotation in the Channel Box and add just that
attribute to the layer, keeping your animation clean and focused.

Top Selected Layer and Bottom Selected Layer allow you to merge layers in the animation stack,
with one layer acting as the target and others as the source.

 Top Selected Layer: Merges all selected layers into the layer that is highest in the stack. The
top layer becomes the target, and the others are added to it.

 Bottom Selected Layer: Merges all selected layers into the layer that is lowest in the stack.
The bottom layer becomes the target, and the other layers are added to it.

Layers Hierarchy controls whether child layers must be selected to be included in the merge. You
can choose from options like:

 Include child layers: Merges the selected child layers as well.

 Exclude child layers: Merges only the selected parent layers.

Merging layers:

 Top Selected Layer: Combines all chosen layers into the topmost one, which becomes the
main layer.

 Bottom Selected Layer: Combines all chosen layers into the bottom-most one, making it the
main layer.

 Layers Hierarchy: Lets you decide whether to include child layers in the merge. You can
either merge everything, including child layers, or only the parent layers without affecting
the children.