Feature request - Graph editor like After Effects

bhale

Any chance we can get a graph editor where we can see all our keyframes on a graph? After Effects has it where the graph editor takes up the same real estate as the dopesheet. Its implentation is more familiar and offers a better workflow than animation one curve at a time or all linked.

jbnatali

Hi Bhale,

I am completely with you on the basic idea that the graph/curve editor is compulsory, and really is the basic of any animation software. Moreover, with the implementation of new features such as path constraint, a visual representation of acceleration and deceleration is incredibly helpful.
And surely Spine Dev Team, this is a daunting task but, hey, we have seen you making much bigger things happen in the last couple of years. I do not want to be forced to swap to Unity for animation (dropping the rank of Spine as rigging tool) for that single missing feature.

So, where about is the creation of a curve editor on your priority list? When should we expect to see it pointing its nose?

Thanks

dshuta

yes indeed, this is an important feature.

i'm really wobbling on the fence toward purchasing spine pro (was actually thinking of buying it today!), so many awesome and time-saving features yet i'm seeing some things that i'm afraid would be a workflow problem. the limited graph editor is one of the major "dings" that is keeping me from committing to purchase. i'm a long-time after effects/apple motion/flash/toonboom harmony/3d software user and not having a "full", continuous graph is a stumbling block for me. also, is there no way to separate the axis of control in the graph? this is also a big compromise. i'd expect to be able to chart the x and y of translation independently, etc..

in addition, sorry for being fussy but man those are some of the ugliest curve-lines i've seen in any animation graph editor, to the point where they are (possibly) confusing to interpret. they have giant, geometric "steps" to them that make it look like the animation is going to be stepped and linear/jumpy in that way, even though the actual motion is smoothly interpolated. not good.

it is clear that the graph editor needs an overhaul, and i'm afraid this is going to be a perpetually low priority for development attention. if there is going to be some development on the graph editor, maybe direct integration with the dope sheet panel is a good idea? maybe have the "translate" row in the dopesheet drop down to show the individual axes (same with the other transformation rows) and you can select one or more of these to show up in the graph editor, and the graph editor would show ALL of the keys and interpolation controls for the selected rows. this would be bliss!

AlaNintendo

I'd vote for this too. Maybe the spine guys can combine these threads into one giant [Request] thread for a proper curve editor :happy:

Nate

There are many threads about the curve editor. Eg, see here:
[Request] A switch to Maya's graph editor

dshuta, at runtime a Bezier curve is broken into line segments and interpolation is done using those. The default number of segments used at runtime is 10. This is high enough most interpolation appears smooth, but low enough to not waste a lot of memory when there are thousands of keys across all animations in a skeleton. The segments you see in the Graph view represent those 10 segments at runtime, to give an indication of how smooth the transition will actually be. In 3.6 we draw smooth curves instead, and also line rendering itself is much improved.

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