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Simple F-Curves: This Tool Makes Animation Easier

by Alex Quill·Workflow

Images © Alex Quill. Used for product review; image policy.

Why we like it

Earns its place in the superhive library for bringing F-curve shaping into the Timeline editor and adding a set of dedicated animation tools alongside it.

What is Simple F-Curves: This Tool Makes Animation Easier?

Simple F-Curves is a Blender addon from Alex Quill that lets you shape animation F-curves straight from the Timeline editor, using the Graph Editor only to preview. Rather than fishing for handles, you click any icon and control the curve with the movement of your mouse, while live preview automatically zooms into the relevant parts of the curve as you work.

Changes apply to all selected keyframes at once, so you can shape curves in bulk and refine them individually later. The addon includes X, Y and Z axis sync that holds whether the curve direction is positive or negative, plus a Cinema 4D/Maya mode and an Armature mode that adjust how keyframes are deselected.

Alongside the core shaping, you get extra tools to help you animate: Extrapolate, Quick noise, Auto-Bounce, Channel Cleanup, Exaggerate, Smoothen and Keyframe Shaping. It's aimed at hobbyist and professional animators alike, with documentation available and a demo video to show the addon in action.

Who is Simple F-Curves: This Tool Makes Animation Easier best for?

Simple F-Curves: This Tool Makes Animation Easier is best for hobbyist and professional animators shaping F-curves in Blender who want to work from the Timeline editor.

How much does Simple F-Curves: This Tool Makes Animation Easier cost?

Simple F-Curves: This Tool Makes Animation Easier is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Shapes F-curves directly from the Timeline editor, using the Graph Editor only to preview
  • Live preview that automatically zooms into the relevant parts of the curve
  • Click any icon and control the curve with mouse movement, without hunting for handles
  • Applies changes to all selected keyframes at once for bulk shaping
  • X, Y and Z axis sync whether the curve direction is positive or negative
  • Cinema 4D/Maya mode and Armature mode to adjust keyframe deselection behaviour
  • Extra tools: Extrapolate, Quick noise, Auto-Bounce, Channel Cleanup, Exaggerate, Smoothen and Keyframe Shaping

Tags

#Blender#animation#F-curves#Timeline#Graph Editor#keyframes#workflow

Frequently asked questions

Does Simple F-Curves work from the Timeline editor or the Graph Editor?

Simple F-Curves lets you shape animation F-curves straight from the Timeline editor, with the Graph Editor used only to preview. It combines the visual simplicity of the Timeline with the depth of the Graph Editor. Live preview automatically zooms into the relevant parts of the curve as you work, and you click any icon and control the curve with the movement of your mouse instead of fishing for handles. Changes apply to all selected keyframes at once, so you can shape curves in bulk and then refine them individually later.

What extra animation tools does Simple F-Curves include?

Simple F-Curves comes with a set of extra tools to help you animate. Extrapolate uses a prediction algorithm to make selected curves longer and works with multiple channels at once. Quick noise adds noise between two or more selected keyframes from the Timeline editor. Auto-Bounce adds a bouncing effect between or after two keyframes. Channel Cleanup reduces keyframe clutter by removing unused channels and unnecessary keyframes. Exaggerate adds extra oomph to a curve shape, Smoothen gradually smooths out sharp and pronounced curves, and Keyframe Shaping shapes the keyframes between two selected ones.

Does Simple F-Curves help animators coming from Cinema 4D or Maya?

Simple F-Curves includes a Cinema 4D/Maya mode for animators coming from those applications. In Blender, recently created keyframes stay selected, which can mean manually deselecting them; this option emulates the way deselection works in Cinema 4D and Maya. There's also an Armature mode, since Blender doesn't automatically deselect keyframes when you switch bones. Without it you either spam 'deselect all' or risk moving more keyframes than intended, so turning Armature mode on handles that deselection for you when working across bones.

Is Simple F-Curves free to download?

Simple F-Curves is listed as free in this catalog. Pricing and licensing can change over time, so check Alex Quill's developer page for the current terms before you download. The addon runs inside Blender and focuses on shaping F-curves from the Timeline editor, and it's aimed at both hobbyist and professional animators. Documentation is available, and a demo video is provided if you'd like to see the addon before installing it.

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