Result animation
 
 
 

The result animation is the animation you see in the Viewer window when you click Play in the Transport Controls. It is the combination of animation set on all the layers in the stack.

The result animation depends on the order of layers in the stack, the layer hierarchy, and a number of layer settings.

Muted layers

When a layer is mute, its animation is not included in the result animation. The BaseAnimation layer cannot be muted. See Animation layer stack and Muting, Soloing, and Locking animation layers.

Layer weight

A layer’s Weight value determines how much of its animation plays in the result animation. See Animation layer weight.

Order of evaluation

You can reorganize layers by changing the order of the layers in the stack (see Reordering animation layers). However, it is important to first understand how re-ordering layers can change the result animation.

First consider which properties are animated on each layer, then consider each layer’s Animation layer mode and Accumulation mode.

For example, if none of your layers share animation of the same properties, the order of evaluation does not matter and re-ordering the layers has no impact on the result animation.

If you have keyframed the same properties on more than one layer, there are two settings that can affect your result animation when you re-order the layers: Animation layer modes and Accumulation modes.

Animation layer modes

Animation layers in Override mode block the animation from any preceding layer with shared properties. Changing the position of an Override layer changes which layers it overrides.

Note Changing the order of layers in Additive mode does not change the result, no matter what type of property is animated. Unlike in Maya, MotionBuilder calculates all properties animated on Additive layers in Additive mode, including boolean properties (such as Visibility) and Enum type properties (such as Layer Accumulation).

See Animation layer modes.

Accumulation modes

For layers with rotation properties, re-ordering layers only affects the result if you set the Accumulation option to Per Layer. Re-ordering does not affect the result if you use Per Channel.

See Animation layer modes.

Animation layer hierarchy

Like re-ordering layers, parenting layers that contain animation for the same properties can affect your result animation.

See Parent and child layers and Parenting and unparenting animation layers.