11.1 Dope Sheet and Timeline Editors

The Dope Sheet and Timeline Editors are where Keyframes are set and the length and the

speed of an animation sequence is controlled. An Animation Sequence is a segment of animation

which will ultimately be combined with other sequences to produce a video file.

The Dope Sheet and Timeline Editors are displayed in the 2D Animation Workspace below

the 2D Viewport Editor. By default The Dope Sheet Timeline is fully open while the Timeline

Editor is minimised. Note: It is not necessary to display the Timeline Editor in full since, at this

stage, only the Play buttons in the Header will be used.

Figure 11.2

Frames in the default Animation F1 to F250

Timeline Editor

Dope Sheet Editor

Cursors

Animation Play

Buttons

Mouse over on the panel edge to

show the double headed arrow,

click, hold and drag up to reveal

the Timeline Editor.

Maximum number of

Frames

in

the

Animation (250).

In the default display, the Dope Sheet Timeline Editor and Timeline Editor Frame Scales are

not aligned. It is not necessary, but they may be aligned by manipulating the Scale Bar at the

bottom of the Timeline Editors.

Timeline and Dope Sheet Cursors aligned at Frame 1

Figure 11.3

End Frames aligned

Timeline Editor

Dope Sheet Editor

Change the value to alter

the length of the Animation.

Dope Sheet Editor

Timeline Editor

To align the Frames in the Timelines, click, hold and drag to Pan the Editor.

Click, hold and drag the dots at either end to Scale the Timeline.

Aligning the Timeline Scales

110