"clear animation from layer" destroys vector curve

[basshole]

Here's another one. I don't get this all the time, but sometimes, when I do the "clear animation from layer" command on a vector layer, points where I adjusted the curvature with the curvature tool become pointy. It's very odd. Let's say I draw a hand, and smooth the fingertips by adjusting the curvature of those points. If I then remove the animation from that layer, it will completely sharpen all those points where I made the adjustment. I don't get this. . .if it's smoothed on frame 0, that doesn't count as "animation", does it? Frame 0 is the setup frame, and 1-infinity are animation frames, no? So if something looks a certain way on frame 0, isn't it more or less "permanent"? Why should clearing animation change it?

While we're at it, another thing that isn't always consistent is copying a change in line width or point curvature from any given frame back to frame 0. Someone a long time ago told me about the technique of making adjustments on a frame after 0 (sometimes it's easier to see what you're doing on an animation frame), and copying those keyframes back to 0. I've used this mostly with success, but sometimes line width and curvature for some reason don't copy successfully, while other changes do. Say for instance I have a vector layer that I resize, change the shape of, and adjust the line width on on frame 1, then copy the "point motion" and "selected point motion" keyframes back to frame 0. While the size and shape changes will be reflected, the line width will stay the same. I don't understand the "rules" that govern these operations.


EDIT

Okay. . .I think I posted too soon. Seems like if you only copy/paste the point motion keyframe without the selected point motion key frame, you get curvature problems. Is it the same with the line width/curvature not copying over? STAY TUNED!

MORE EDIT

Yes. That was it. Okay, so we've all experienced some personal growth today. You should feel very proud of yourselves.

[basshole]

Okay, I'm revisiting this. I was apparently wrong. . .sometimes copying/pasting etc. doesn't seem to work, and no matter what, I still lose all curvature when I clear animation from layer. I've tried pasting both "point motion" and "select point motion" to frame 0 from 1 (or wherever I'm making my adjustments), and also from 0 back to 1 (which seemed to help sometimes, believe it or not), no change. I just had to recurve those points manually. Any idea what this is all about?

[synthsin75]

You don't seem to have mentioned copy/paste selected line width keyframes back to zero. If that doesn't work, please post a simple example file.

[mkelley]

Yeah, and in these cases it's MUCH better to copy EVERYTHING to frame 0. That will usually do the trick.

(Of course, the better thing is to not make changes on anything BUT frame 0 -- there is even an AS setting to identify frame 0 differently so you don't screw this up).

[basshole]

Copy selected line? I didn't even know that existed. I'll have to look next time I use the program.

The reason I do stuff in frame 1 instead of 0 is because of how bone offset screws up everything. Once you add bones, or I should say, once I added bones (and bound them, and offset them so everything's correctly placed), depending on what action I'm performing (manipulate bones vs translate points or something), the character tends to "jump around" visually in frame 0, so it's hard to tell what you're doing. If you do stuff on frame 1, you can see how the character actually looks, and then copy the changes back. Otherwise it's pure guess work.

[synthsin75]

That's 'selected line width'. (The one with the red wedge icon) Just make all the animation channels visible in the timeline settings.

Or like Mike said, use 'animation>copy current frame' from the menu to copy everything to frame zero (or at least select the ones you need).

[basshole]

There's a copy everything command? Jeez. You think you've learned so much, then realize just how little you know.