How do I Scale keys?

# 1 25-01-2010 , 09:38 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: Winston Salem, NC

Posts: 33

I am looking for an easy way to scale keys. Preferably in the graph editor, but any way is better than none.
Thanks

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# 2 26-01-2010 , 01:09 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: Jul 2006

Location: London

Posts: 567

How exactly do you mean scale keys?

As you mentioned the graph editor and that would be exactly where you could scale them (aka select a key/bunch of keys) and you can drag them left and write to stretch out the time or up and down to change the value of the key.

At the top of the graph editor are 2 white boxes, when you select a key they display the frame of animation you are on (eg. frame 1, 50) and the value for the key you have set (eg. translate X, rotateZ). You can use these boxes to or just drag the keys around tp change the timing etc.

cheers,
Chris

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# 3 26-01-2010 , 01:42 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: Winston Salem, NC

Posts: 33

That brings up a new question, but I will ask that next. What I am looking for is how to scale a group of keys. For example, if I have a bouncing ball animation that takes 60 frames to complete, but then feel it is too long. How do I uniformly scale it down to 30 frames?

The question you raised in your response reminds me of another issue I have. I can select a group of keys, but I can only seem to move them one at a time. Any idea what I am doing wrong?

Thanks

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# 4 26-01-2010 , 06:08 PM

EduSciVis-er
Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Toronto

Posts: 3,374

I'm trying to remember off the top of my head, so I could be wrong, but I think there might be a scale option in the menus of the graph editor, or maybe I'm thinking of copy/paste... so two options

1) Select all your keys, grab the scale tool, MMB+Shift drag scaling the keys together (the Shift constrains it to changing the time and not the values too). This will probably result in keys being between/within? frames. Select some keys and check the frame at the top of the graph editor. It might say 12.645 or something. Select the keys again and move them to snap to keys (there's a snap function somewhere, I know).

2) Copy or cut (can you cut?) all the keys, then go edit > paste option box. There will be many confusing options on how/where to paste the keys. The default settings will probably work, but there should be an option to scale them in the paste settings.

Sorry, don't have maya here or I'd test it out, but either of those should give you what you want.