Creating Keyframes

When the Animate button is enabled, combustion automatically creates keyframes when you make changes to animation channels. An interpolation method is used to calculate the rotation of in-between frames and create continuous motion.

Keyframes can be independently created and edited for multiple channels. For example, you can have a layer travel along a complex motion path and spin all around the screen, incorporating numerous keyframes, while the opacity of the layer smoothly fades away to 0% using just two keyframes.

You can disable automatic keyframing for selected channels, if necessary.

To create a keyframe:

1. Go to the frame where you want to create a keyframe.
2. Make sure the Animate button is enabled.
3. Select the layer for which you want to create a keyframe.
4. Set the keyframe value using one of the following methods:
• Modify the layer in the active viewport. Keyframes are automatically created for all channels that change.
• In the Composite Controls panel, click the Transform button then use the sliders to adjust the values for the channels you want to animate. Keyframes are added automatically for all channels that change.
• In the Timeline list, double-click the channel you want to keyframe, and type a numeric value in the field that appears. You can also click and drag a value in the Timeline list to increase or decrease it.

To add a keyframe without adjusting the channel value:

In the Timeline list, select the channel that you want to keyframe, and click the Add Key button in the Timeline controls.

Note: You can also click anywhere on a channel curve to add a keyframe at that point.

A keyframe is created at the current time for the selected channel. This procedure is useful when you want to create a keyframe without editing a channel value.