Learning Resources > Tutorials > Getting Started with Maya > Animation > Lesson 1: Keyframes and
the Graph Editor >
Introduction
When you set a keyframe (or key), you assign a value to an object’s attribute (for example, translate, rotate, scale, color, and so on) at a specific time.
Most animation systems use the frame as the basic unit of measurement because each frame is played back in rapid succession to provide the illusion of motion.
The frame rate (frames per second) that is used to play back an animation is based on the medium that the animation will be played back (for example, film, TV, or a video game.)
When you set several keys at different times with different values, Maya generates the attribute values between those times as the scene plays back each frame. The result is the movement or change over time of those objects and attributes.
In this lesson, you will use simple keyframing techniques to make a ball fly over a fence and bounce off the ground.
In this lesson, you learn how to: