You can keyframe brush and stroke attributes to achieve special effects. For example, you can animate tube curl, so that hair goes from straight to curly over time. You can animate elevation so that a character’s hair stands on end. You can animate brush width or global scale so that flames appear to grow and spread. The possibilities are endless.

The following procedure describes just one way of keyframing. For other methods, refer to the Animation guide.

To keyframe brush attributes

1. Click Auto keyframe toggle (the key icon at the bottom right corner of the Maya main window) and move to the first frame.
2. Select the brushes you are animating. For details, see Select brushes in your scene.
3. In the Attribute Spreadsheet, select the attribute values you are keyframing and select Key > Key Selected.
4. Move to another frame and edit the attribute value.
5. Repeat step #4 as required.
6. Switch to the scene view, if you are not already in it, and click the Play Forward button to check that the attributes are behaving the way you want them to.
7. Render the animation. See Render a scene with Paint Effects strokes.