In this lesson, you learned how to:
You can animate most any attribute in Maya, not just the Translate, Rotate, and Scale attributes of a surface. For example, you can animate the intensity of a light, the transparency of a surface, the rotation of a camera view, or the position of CVs.
The Graph Editor is the best tool for editing keyed animation by reshaping animation curves. You can use it to change key positions, add or remove keys, and alter the fluidity and symmetry of animation.
Each key point on an animation curve has a Tangent setting that specifies the curvature leading into that point. The default Tangent setting (Spline) creates rounded curvature—useful for animating attributes that change smoothly over time. The Linear setting creates angular curvature, useful for a bounce effect or any other abrupt change in attribute value. Other Tangent settings are available for different animation effects. For example, a Stepped setting lets you make an instantaneous leap in value, useful when you want to flash a light off and on.
Although the Graph Editor is a popular animation tool, you can also cut, copy, paste, and delete keys directly in the Time Slider to edit animation. Select a key position in the Time Slider, then right-click to select the desired operation from a pop-up menu.
You may find the following techniques useful when keyframing your animations: