Page 1 of 1
Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:53 pm
by StickJump
Hi there. I know that this question is very simple, but I don't know how to do it.
Sorry for my english.
How to make layer with mesh and bones appear on certain moment in timeline, like when you move a bit your timeline and at this position adding some new image, so this image will show in animation only at that moment where I added it, but how to make it appear and disappearing more easely way and with any layer? Thanks a lot!
Like that:

Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:56 pm
by hayasidist
simple answer:
in the layer properties tab there's a "Compositing effects" section with a "Visible" checkbox.
on frame 0: make sure this box is checked.
on frame 1: uncheck it
on (e.g.) frame 24: check it again.
(repeat the last two steps with any frame number pair - e.g. 50/75 - to turn visibility off/on again...)
If you need / want a more sophisticated approach for whatever reason (e.g. you've used the sequencer) just say...
hope that's helpful...
Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 1:25 am
by StickJump
hayasidist wrote:simple answer:
in the layer properties tab there's a "Compositing effects" section with a "Visible" checkbox.
on frame 0: make sure this box is checked.
on frame 1: uncheck it
on (e.g.) frame 24: check it again.
(repeat the last two steps with any frame number pair - e.g. 50/75 - to turn visibility off/on again...)
If you need / want a more sophisticated approach for whatever reason (e.g. you've used the sequencer) just say...
hope that's helpful...
Thanks a lot! It's helped me very much mate!
Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:52 am
by Greenlaw
Just in case: be sure Allow Animated Layer Effects is also enabled. You need this before you can keyframe the layer properties.
Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 8:31 am
by hayasidist
Greenlaw wrote:Just in case: be sure Allow Animated Layer Effects is also enabled. You need this before you can keyframe the layer properties.
not if it's just visibility...

but absolutely so for other animated layer effects
Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 4:23 pm
by Greenlaw
Oh, geez...you're right.
I've always assumed you had to enable this option to animate any item in a panel marked '(animated)'. Good to know it's not necessary for Visibility but this seems a bit inconsistent.
Is there any benefit to not enabling the option? Just wondering if keeping it disabled makes the project smaller or more efficient, especially with larger scenes.
Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 7:50 pm
by synthsin75
Greenlaw wrote:Oh, geez...you're right.
I've always assumed you had to enable this option to animate any item in a panel marked '(animated)'. Good to know it's not necessary for Visibility but this seems a bit inconsistent.
Is there any benefit to not enabling the option? Just wondering if keeping it disabled makes the project smaller or more efficient, especially with larger scenes.
I assumed the same thing, due to consistency as well.
I assume this was added because someone kept making changes on frames other than zero and didn't want them animated. Personally, I think "Allow animated layer effects" should probably be enabled by default (considering how many times that trips people up), but it's been so long, I'm use to it.
Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 9:43 pm
by hayasidist
yeah - inconsistent! But I guess it could save a lot of space in the file and maybe also execution time in files with many layers - if you choose "allow animated" the other effects all get "frame 0" keys even if they're not actually animated...
I'd be in favour of moving layer vis out of "animated" and up above those "advanced animatable attributes" panels along with a wording change to make it clearer that you always have animatable visibility but you have to make a positive commitment (and pay the performance price whatever that actually is) to get all the rest.
Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 9:47 pm
by Greenlaw
hayasidist wrote:...I guess it could save a lot of space in the file and maybe also execution time in files with many layers - if you choose "allow animated" the other effects all get "frame 0" keys even if they're not actually animated...
Thanks for clarifying that. I thought that might be going on internally but I wasn't sure. I'll avoid enabling the option from now on when Visibility is all I'm animating.
Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 9:50 pm
by Greenlaw
Hm. Flip Horizontally and Flip Vertically don't need the option enabled for keyframing either. I think they should also be placed in their own group along with Vis.
Re: Layer appearing. Simple question please help
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 9:59 pm
by hayasidist
Greenlaw wrote:Hm. Flip Horizontally and Flip Vertically don't need the option enabled for keyframing either. I think they should also be placed in their own group along with Vis.
+1 to that!