Introduction to Blender 2.79 Animation Tools

Open, save, and export Blender projects using the .blend format, manage recent files from the information editor panel, and import or export formats for cross-application use.

Learn how to bring external assets into a Blender 2.79 scene using linking and appending, including creating proxies for rigs and working with linked data for lightweight files.

Customize blender's user interface through preferences to tailor tool tips, navigation, and editing workflow; configure startup settings, add-ons, themes, and startup file for consistent animation sessions.

Use the scene's simplify option to reduce subdivision surface details in the viewport, making animation movement smoother and more efficient while keeping render subdivision levels high.

Configure custom blender animation layouts using the default animation setup with the dope sheet, timeline, 3d view, and properties editor, then save as startup file for future sessions.

Explore how frames store data, key frames capture location rotation and scale, and Blender uses interpolation and frame rate to animate objects such as Suzanne.

Explore the Blender 3D view, the main animation workspace, and switch between object, edit, and pose modes while using display options, layers, and basic navigation.

Navigate Blender's 3D view with the view menu and hotkeys, pan with the middle mouse button, and switch to front, right, top, or camera views using number keys.

Switch between object mode and pose mode in Blender’s 3D view to animate rigs. Pose mode lets you manipulate armature bones and controllers with quick resets: Alt+G, Alt+R, Alt+S.

discover how blender’s 3d view uses red x, green y, and blue z axes to define coordinates, origin at zero, and moving a cube alters its x, y, z location.

Learn to select and transform objects and control bones in Blender, using object and pose mode, box selections, and constrained move, rotate, and scale with g, r, s.

Explore the Blender 3D cursor, its role as an object placement tool and pivot point, and how to snap, set origins and pivot positions for precise animation.

The Blender timeline lets you scrub and playback frames, adjust the playback range and start/end points, set markers, and manage keyframes with keying sets.

Press M to place markers. Markers appear in the dope sheet, graph editor, and video sequence editor; rename, move with G, delete with X, duplicate with Shift-D for lip-sync.

Explore the dope sheet and timeline in Blender to view, insert, and adjust keyframes, manage actions, and refine animation timing across frames.

Learn to set key frames manually in blender, using location, rotation, and scale options, including insert single key frames and available channel methods.

Learn how to enable automatic key framing in Blender and manage which channels are keyed, including location, rotation, and scale, using key sets and preferences.

Explore the graph editor in Blender 2.79 to fine-tune animation timing with F curves (function curves), key frames, interpolation, and handles, alongside practical view and editing tools.

Learn to navigate blender's graph editor and use function curves to control Z channel animation with key frames, interpolation, and easing in and out for smooth motion.

Explore Blender's graph editor: manipulate F-curves handles to shape keyframe interpolation, choose handle types (free, vector, aligned, automatic, auto clamped), and refine a bounce with a 24-frame timeline.

Master the Blender graph editor by applying extrapolation and modifiers to create looping bounce and forward motion, using cyclic and linear extrapolation, location keyframes, and edits.

Explore Blender's non-linear animation editor, the NLA editor, to mix multiple actions—bounce, squash, spin, and progress—using action stashes, track ordering, and blending with f curves for efficient, repeatable animation.

Use copy, paste, and mirror across the x axis in Blender to build a walk cycle with mirrored poses and deliberate symmetry break for realism.

Explore visual keying in Blender 2.79 by comparing standard and visual location, rotation, scaling, and combination keyframes, using a constrained Suzanne head parroted to a cube.

Learn to use constraints to enhance Blender animation by attaching objects to a character’s hand with a child-of constraint, then drive objects along curves via follow path and keyframe techniques.

Visualize and refine animations in real time using the ghost tool for armatures, adjusting range and steps, and viewing ghost frames across key frames and the graph editor.

Learn how motion paths display a line of action and frames for armature and mesh objects, calculate paths, adjust start and end frames, and update paths after edits.

Explore Blender's grease pencil for planning animation with 2D strokes in a 3D scene. Master drawing modes, layers, onion skinning, and 3D placement to plan keys and in-between frames.

Refine animation between key frames with in-between tools such as breakdown, push, and relax to adjust the midpoint and create ease in and out.

Learn how to use blender's pose library to store and reuse poses, apply them to selected bones, and maintain facial expression consistency to speed up animation.

Load reference footage with background images, set the clip length to match the timeline, adjust start and offset, and tweak opacity and fit options for accurate animation alignment.

learn to use audio reference in Blender's video sequence editor by syncing audio and video strips, enabling audio scrubbing, markers, and playback preferences for lip sync and animation.

Render quick test animations by using Blender's render workflow and outputting an AVR JPEG sequence instead of a single PMG frame, enabling faster previews of timing and spacing.