Hello everyone, it's Jen from Olde Tinkerer Studio
In this tutorial, we will be learning about nonlinear animation in Blender 2.83
So, let’s get on with the tutorial
The NonLinear Animation (or NLA) editor allows you to manipulate and repurpose actions within an animation
It can repurpose an animation
It can chain together a sequence of animations
It can also be used as layers within an animation
The NLA editor makes it easy to organize and control your animation
We will be making two simple animations for this tutorial
The first will be a simple bounce in place
The second will be a simple flipping action
Under the Animation workspace, change the camera view to the NLA Editor
Move the cube up along the Z-Axis so it sits on top of the grid
*TIP: The easiest way to do this is to select the Cube and then G + Z + 1 > ENTER
Add a plane for the floor and scale it [15]
Select the cube and add a single bone
Under the Data Object Properties tab and the Viewport Display section, choose “In Front” so we can see the bone
Tab into Edit mode and select the tail of the bone
Move the tail of the bone up along the Z-Axis so it is the same height as the cube
Tab into Object Mode
Select the cube and Shift-select the bone
Using CTRL + P to open the Set Parent To options, choose “With Automatic Weights”
Now we are going to make a simple bounce in place
Deselect everything and go into Pose Mode
Change the Dope Sheet to the Action Editor
Make a new action and name it [inPlace]
Select the bone and add keyframes for Location, Rotation, and Scale on frame 1
Move forward to frame 10
Scale the cube along the Z-Axis for the initial squash [0.5]
Add keyframes on frame 10
Move forward to frame 20
Scale the cube along the Z-Axis for the stretch and move it to the midpoint of the animation
Add keyframes on frame 20
Move forward to frame 30
Scale the cube along the Z-Axis for the second squash and move it to the top-most point of the animation
Add keyframes on frame 30
Move to frame 40 and copy the keyframes from frame 20 and paste them on frame 40
Move to frame 50 and copy the keyframes from frame 10 and paste them on frame 50
Move to frame 60 and copy the keyframes from frame 1 and paste them on frame 60
Change the End Frame to 60
If we choose “Push Down” from the header section of the Action Editor,
we will turn the active action into a new NLA strip at the top of the NLA stack
If you double-click on the name of the NLA strip you can rename it
Now we will make the second animation with the cube doing a flip
Make a new action and rename it [flip]
If we uncheck the box next to the lock on the initial Nla Track, we can hide the animation – this is called muting
Select the bone and add keyframes for Location, Rotation, and Scale on frame 1
Move forward to frame 10
Scale the cube along the Z-Axis for the initial squash
Add keyframes on frame 10
Move forward to frame 20
Scale the cube along the Z-Axis for the stretch and move it to the midpoint of the animation
Add keyframes on frame 20
Move forward to frame 30
Scale the cube along the Z-Axis for the second squash and move it to the top-most point of the animation
Add keyframes on frame 30
Move forward to frame 40
Rotate the cube along the Y-Axis for the initial rotation and move it along the X-Axis
Add keyframes on frame 40
Move forward to frame 50
Rotate the cube and move it diagonally toward the plane
Add keyframes on frame 50
Move forward to frame 60
Move the cube diagonally toward the plane, rotate the cube toward the plane, and scale it for the last stretch
Add keyframes on frame 60
Move forward to frame 70
Scale the cube for the final squash and move it back onto the plane
Add keyframes on frame 70
Move forward to frame 80
Scale the cube back to the original size and move it back onto the plane
Add keyframes on frame 80
Change the End Frame to 80
If we choose “Push Down” from the header section of the Action Editor,
we will turn the active action into a new NLA strip at the top of the NLA stack
If you double-click on the name of the NLA strip you can rename it
Now we will quickly look at using the NLA editor
The star on the left of the track name allows you to play the animation on that particular track
The check mark box on the right of the track name allows you to mute a track
The lock on the right of the track name allows you to lock the track
The menu gives you a bunch of options for the NLA editor
For new, go to the Add dropdown menu and add an empty track
Make sure you have both of the original tracks unmuted
Now we can left-click on the flip track and move it to the new NLA track
(make sure you leave enough room for the inPlace track)
Then, we can left-click on the inPlace track and move it to the new NLA track
You do have the option of duplicating these tracks under the Edit menu if you don’t want to use the original tracks
Change the End Frame to 140 so we have enough frames on the timeline to play the entire animation
Unmute the newest track and mute the other two
If you have a request for a tutorial or a question about Blender, feel free to leave a comment
If you are interested in learning more about 3D art and animation,
don’t forget to subscribe and turn on the notification bell
Thanks for watching
Have a good day