Is there an addon or some other option to get mutliple animation layers that is intuitive. I try the add mode with NLA, but it doesn’t seem to work that well when I animate visually using the viewport.
Basically, if I animate a box rotating to 20 degrees and push that down to a layer, I then adjust the box to 40 degrees on another layer, but after I keyframe it, it actually jumps to 60 degrees. I know why this happens, I’m actually adding the 20 degree keyframe to the 40 degree keyframe, but that is very counter intuitive. It would be better if the system actually knows that I’m trying to get to 40 degrees and only adds 20 degrees.
I would use replacement mode, but that’s a bit cumbersome to work with and isn’t as easy as using additive mode. Could I be using this wrong?
I think you might want to consider this workflow. Make your first action. Push the little F to keep it. Then the X to unlink it. Then create a new action. Same thing. Now you have two saved distinct actions. Neither of which are in the NLA. You can just select them to bring them back.If you just hit the plus key, then you are layering one on top of the other. If you push an action down to the NLA, you are basically doing the same thing unless you tell the NLA not to use it. Click the little speaker icon in the NLA. So you have two alternatives now.
Thank you, but if I create two seperate animation layers and not push them down, I won’t be able to visually see the totality of my animation at any given frame. If I have motion capture data with 1000 key frames, it would be much easier to leave the motion capture on 1 layer and make quick visual correction throughout the timeline on another additive layer. I believe this would also apply for a complex action animation on singles over 1000 frames.
It would be much easier if they added a proper “additive offset” blend mode, where it takes the difference from 1 layer position to the new position and only add the offset value. This would provide proper visual feedback and make it much more intuitive. Another added benefit is that I can use autokeying without it messing the layer up.
OK I see what your attempting. And yes, the additive in NLA is simply that. It also doesn’t give you correct results in quaternian rotations either. It is simply adding the transforms together. I only thing I’ve been able to do is use them with nothing extrapolated for location additions to current location and also on eulers. So many wishes so little resources. Sigh!
No there are no animation layers. Once in a while a thread like yours will pop and we’ll have to tell them it’s impossible. It’s like announcing a lone mother her sons won’t be coming back from the front. I’ve been requesting this since I use Blender, and nothing so far. Aligorith is the boss of everything related to animation systems, but he’s got his hands full with grease pencil development these days, as far as I know.