The Stacker is our special keyframe manager, inspired by traditional animation X-Sheet (which is by far the best tool to manage keyframes). It works in a complementary way with the TimeBar.
Replicating exactly an X-Sheet would not have been pertinent as 3D environment has its own needs and constraints. That is why we imagined something different, something that would mix the "best of the two worlds" (2D and 3D).
The Stacker name does not refer only to the keyframe manager window (editor) but does refer to the animation layer too (content). In this section we will focus on the Stacker window (editor). |
Stacker links keyframes and timings (between the previous keyframe and the current one). It means that:
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Inside the Stacker, a keyframe looks like this:
Extreme () and Breakdown () flags are only visual feedback. It helps you to clearly visualize and distinguish your keyframes. In traditional animation, an “extreme” pose (also called a “key”) represents a “key” moment in an animated sequence. It is the highest level of pose. A “breakdown” (or “passing/middle” pose) is a “main inbetween” pose between extremes. |
By RMB clicking on a keyframe you open the Keyframe Menu:
Create Key: Add a key after the current keyframe with a default timing. After creation, akeytsu selects the new key automatically.
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In Akeytsu, you are forced to create a keyframe before you may edit your character's posing. Therefore, there is no need to confirm posing transformations by creating a new key afterwards. Your modifications are saved automatically. |
Delete Key: Remove the current keyframe(s) selection and its timing.
Display Prev. Ghost: Show previous key or frame of the Stacker as ghost.
Display Next Ghost: Show next key or frame of the Stacker as ghost.
Ghosts reacts to the camera used to render the view. Two distinct views will display ghosts accordingly. If the camera is animated, ghosts will show the position in previous/next frame/key, this way you can easily track any parts of your character and make accurate trajectories. |
Loop Mode: Insert an automatic loop key to simplify cycle animation workflow. The loop key is always positioned at the end of the animation and can't be edited as it always mimics the first key (even if it is modified afterward) ().
Animation curves “pre” and “post” loop mode are automatically modified.
Quick Select Keys: Select all, first half or second half of keyframes.
Timings amount: This field displays the total time amount for the currently selected keyframes. When you edit it, selected keyframes' timings will be scaled to match the value you entered (as best as possible).
The Stacker is also used to manage Audio Clips
To create an audio layer, you will need to go in the mixer window and use the "Create Audio Layer" button
Currently, Akeytsu can support .mp3 .ogg and .wav file formats, more formats may be supported in future releases |
Add Audio Clip : Open the explorer, so you can pick an audio file.
Delete Audio Clip : Removes the current audio clip(s) selection and its timing. If you delete the last audio clip in the stacker/timebar, the audio layer will be removed as well.
Inside the Stacker, audio clips looks like this:
You can find here settings about onion ghosts.
Ghosts on playing: If checked, ghosts will be displayed during playback.
Ghosts always wire: If checked, ghosts will always be rendered in wireframe. It can help visibility.
Prev. ghosts: Set the number of displayed previous ghosts.
Next ghosts: Set the number of displayed next ghosts.
Ghosts on: Choose to display ghosts on keyframes or frames.