Frames, Keyframes and Layers

These are very important for organisation in your timeline. In this blog post I will quickly highlight the uses of each one.

Layers

Layers are like different sections in which you create parts of your animation. In the end they will play simultaneously to present your animation. In the layers you add in keyframes and frames to create objects that move around. If you want more than one moving item, you will need multiple layers as it is easier to manipulate only one thing per layer. When making a quick change it will make your life so much easier to have multiple layers.

Creating and Deleting Layers

In your timeline (like the one above) you already have one layer set up for you automatically. When your timeline looks like the one above, the steps to create a new layer are simple,

1. Right click on space above existing layer
2. Choose Insert New Layer

Later you may realise that a layer is not necessary and want to delete it, simply do this by

1. Right clicking on layer you want to delete
2. Clicking Delete Layer

Renaming Layers

To improve organisation I recommend renaming your layers from “Layer 1” to something more creative that tells you what you are making in the layer. For example when you have a layer in which you make a ball bounce up and down you can rename it “Bouncing Ball”. To do this you;

1. Right click on layer of which you want to change the name
2. Click on Properties
3. Write the name in the field of text that appears in the middle of screen
4. Click OK

Frames and Keyframes

A frame and keyframe is added by right clicking on the slot of the timeline you want it in.

The difference between Frame and Keyframe

In a keyframe you can introduce new items as a keyframe will give you more options to manipulate this object when you have drawn it. If in action script, you can also add in code in the animation in a keyframe. A frame simply serves as a extension of what was drawn in the previous keyframe. A frame could also never be in a tween, these have been expalined in a previous post. A frame and keyframe will always show what was shown on the frame or keyframe before it, so no redrawing is neccessary, but if you don’t want to have the previous drawings on the new keyframe you can also insert a blank keyframe (there is no such thing as inserting a blank frame but if you leave the keyframe blank, you pretty much have the same result).

Inserting and Deleting Frames and Keyframes

Inserting and deleting frames or keyframes is very similar to inserting and deleting layers. To insert a keyframe or frame you;

1. Right click on empty slot on timeline
2. Click either
   1. Insert Frame
   2. Insert Keyframe
   3. Insert Blank Keyframe

To delete a frame you simply right click on it and click remove frames