I have recently begun using the Dope Sheet editor.
Until now I have only used the Graph Editor.
I have many questions about their similarities and differences and when to use which.
First of all,
when is it better to use the Dope Sheet vs the Graph Editor?
Is the information displayed in the Dope Sheet the same as what is displayed in the Graph Editor, just a different visual representation?
Why is it that when I deselect all keyframes in the Graph Editor window there are still keyframes that remain selected in the Dope Sheet window?
(This inconsistency led me to mistakenly edit more keyframes than I intended to.)
If anyone can address these questions I’ll be grateful. Any advice or best practice tips are also welcome.
Thanks.
“when is it better to use the Dope Sheet vs the Graph Editor?”
I use the dopesheet to move lots of keyframes at the same time, I find they are easier to select (each channel has its own line), move, and judge where they are on the time line relative to each other.
The graph editor is more detailed to compare changes over time, you will see the value of the property on the y axis, and the interpolation between keyframes, this is useful for drivers also.
Key frame can be copied and pasted in Dope Sheet as well. So it is basically a key frame editor. Where as the Graph Editor deals with movement “between” key frames; the speed and translation. Default movement is based on bezier curves.
Other function of Dope Sheet is to create “Action” strips. Strips can be used to create longer animation sequence in NLA editor. Action is also used in game animation.
This is a big help. Just knowing there are different modes has enabled me to now work specifically on what I want to edit.
In the Dope Sheet mode it is easy to accidentally drag more keys than you mean to. But the Action Editor only displays data pertaining to the objects currently selected. I am finding this to be much more useful.
The Dope Sheet is a very compact and efficient timing editor. Personally I keep a Dope Sheet above the Timeline in Default View, and do most animation and timing there. Then when I need to see or tweak curves, I ctrl-arrow over to Animation View.
Note that the little arrow/ghost icons in both Dope Sheet and Graph Editor allows you to filter by selected objects, and by hidden objects. In armatures, this also applies to selected bones.
Thank you.
Yes, I too have found that having one above the other is quite helpful.
I’m glad you mentioned this. Each of the two editor windows has one of that type of ghost button, and then the Graph Editor has a second ghost button which has a totally different mouseover description.
One type says “Include channels from objects/bone that are not visible”
The other type says “Create snapshot (Ghosts) of selected F-Curves as background aid for active Graph Editor”
Would you mind explaining a bit about their differences?
I’m using a more recent build (worth getting for a few animation related things anyway, such as autoselecting bones when selecting animation channels in dope sheet) Hash d71bcab
It’s also possible this shortcut arrived through an addon, I’m really not sure. #1 suspect would be ‘Amaranth’. Highly recommended for animating too.