# Animation Details

## Overview

You can create animations to define how your model moves over time. Maverick Model 3D allows you to use bone joints to create skeletal animations or to set vertex positions exatly with mesh deformation animations (called "Frame" animations in Maverick Model 3D).

Animations have one or more frames which are consecutive points in time. Each frame lets you specify what the model should look like at that time. The frame rate, or FPS for "Frames Per Second", indicates how many frames are shown in one second when the animation is running at full speed.

## Creating an Animation

Select "Animation | Start Animation Mode...". The Animation Panel will appear at the bottom of the screen. Select <New Animation> from the drop-down menu. Enter a name for your new animation and then select "Skeletal" for a skeletal animation or "Frame" for a mesh deformation animation.

You can create multiple animations of either type. When you have animations of both types, the animation names in the drop-down selection box list all skeletal animations first, followed by all frame animations.

## Animation Details

In skeletal animations you only change bone joints. Any vertices or points attached to the bone joints will move with the joints. Generally you only want to use rotations (think about how you move your arm by rotating the shoulder and elbow, not by dislocating the joints).

Any time you rotate or move a bone joint it sets a rotation or translation keyframe for that animation frame. If you want the default position to be a keyframe in that frame, you can select the joint and then select "Animation | Set Rotation Keyframe". Often you will want to do this on the first and last frame of an animation for every joint that will be affected by the animation.

In frame animations you set the position for each vertex and point in each frame. Bone joints have no effect (and are not even rendered).

You can copy and paste entire animation frames by selecting the copy or paste option from the "Animation" menu. Clearing the frame will erase all keyframes for the current frame of a skeletal animation and will restore the model to the default position for a frame animation.

## See Also

- Bone Joints
- Influences Menu

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