Rotating an object along a motion path

Learning Resources > Tutorials > Getting Started with Maya > Animation > Lesson 3: Path animation >

As the aircraft travels along the motion path, its orientation remains the same throughout the animation. A real aircraft rolls to one side (banks) as it flies in an arc. To make the aircraft roll to one side as it travels along the path you set keyframes for the Twist attributes in the Channel Box.

To animate the roll of the aircraft along the path

Ensure the aircraft is selected.
Set the Time Slider to frame 120.
The aircraft is repositioned along the curve near the first bend.
In the Inputs section of the Channel Box, click on motionPath1 to view its attributes.
Ensure the Front Twist value for motionPath1 is set to 0.
In the Channel Box, select the FrontTwist channel by clicking on its name.
Right-click on the selected name.
A drop-down list appears.
From the drop-down list, choose Key Selected.

To set the remaining keyframes for the rotation of the aircraft, use the table below as a guide, keeping in mind that you set the keyframes in the following order:

Set the frame in the Timeslider
Set the values for Front Twist in the Channel Box.

Select the Front Twist channel by clicking its name. Right-click on the selected name and choose Key Selected.

Frame	Select	Set channel attribute	Choose
130	Aircraft	Front Twist: -15	key selected
135	Aircraft	Front Twist: -45	key selected
150	Aircraft	Front Twist: -70	key selected
165	Aircraft	Front Twist: -45	key selected
170	Aircraft	Front Twist: -15	key selected
180	Aircraft	Front Twist: 0	key selected

Click play on the Time Slider playback controls to play back the animation.
The aircraft rolls to one side (banks) as it travels along the motion path.