Does any else get this problem? Say I want my figure to raise its arm and hold it there for 20 frames and then bring it down.So I raise its arm from frame 1 to 10,make 10 a key frame and copy that keyframe to frame 30 and come down at frame 40.So between frames 10 and 30 it should be absolutly still.But what happens is that it goes through the craziest contortions from 11 to 29! Also I have just rendered a scene where the shadows have flickered on and off and changed size and intensity for no reason!! Any comments welcomed.

Click on some element that goes crazy, then open the "Graph" menu item. You'll probably see a crazy serpentine line for the dial in question. What you usually want in those places is linear (Straight-line) interpolation. Or in some cases just a constant value.

Poser has interpolated the movement in the arm in a sinusoidal pattern from frame 11 to 29. How to overcome? Two or three options: 1) Open the Key frame editor and highlight the frames for the arm where it moves up (1-10). On the top-right corner of the key-frame editor, you'll notice four buttons: a wave pattern (the sine function default), a jagged wave, a straight line, and the spline break button. Click the jagged wave button (linear section). This will cause the motion at frame 10 to stop at the value you select. The result is not very human like as the arm will stop abruptly. 2) Try the spline break function on the arm at frame 10. This will basically do the same thing as 1 above. 3) This is harder but gives you a little more control. Notice in the top middle of the key frame editor, there's a big red sine wave. Click it. Make sure the body part in question is highlighted or just select it in the drop down menu on the resulting pop up graphic. What you are seeing is a graphic depiction of the arm movement for that particular axis. Each dial setting has one of these. You'll probably note that the arm movement (bend I assume) is just as you want from frames 1-10. Note however that it continues up in a sinusoidal fashion, then falls to meet the parameter you defined at frame 30. You can create key frames by clicking on the wave line anywhere and moving it up and down as suits your taste. Play with it. Basically, you can manually adjust the up movement of the arm to gradually slow as it hits the top portion of the movement, then adjust the line to maintain arm position throught frames 11-29. Finally, you can gradually bring the arm down by adjusting the wave line in a non-linear fashion. Takes practice, let me tell you. Also you'll notice it creates key frames all over the place. Again, kind of messy, but I believe it gives you better control over the figure. I know this is a little confusing, just gotta try it a couple of times...you'll see what I mean.

Those contortions are caused by Poser's default, of using 'spline interpolation' for motion. Check out pages 224 - 228 of the manual to understand this better. The 'Break Spline' button on the animation control panel can help this problem, to a point. I think that converting a figure's entire group of keyframes to 'linear', before starting any animation, is the better way to go. Then, if you need to smooth out a particular motion, you can switch the keyframes back to spline, for only those body parts (or objects) that need them.

Poser's default setting for the interpolation between keyframes is "Spline" (the frames are colored green in the Animation Window). This gives you a more natural curve, but also often overshoots and gives values on some frames that are higher or lower than either of the keyframes. Probably has scared more folks away from animation than anything else. What you want to start with is "Linear" interpolation (the frames are colored orange in the Animation Window). Just select all the elements in the first frame and click the Linear button at the top of the window (or highlight all the frames in the window in an existing animation). If you want to hold an element at a pose for a time, you can set a keyframe at the start and finish of the pose, or use Constant or Break Spline interpolation. Otherwise elements can slowly drift into the next pose. The manual explains interpolation fairly well on page 224. Also read the following section about the graph palette. Once you've got more experience, you might want to use Spline (cautiously), although I often just add keyframes on the graph and pull them around to shape the curve more realistically. For the lights, check the Animation Window and see if you accidently set keyframes for any of the lights by changing their settings while you were on a frame other than the first. HTH - Elisa/gryffnn

LOL - four answers at once - who says there aren't many Poser animators?