Skip to content

Blender 4.5 LTS: Animation & Rigging

Rigging

  • Bone viewport display mode can be overridden per-bone (8bf73386f2)
  • Deprecated constraints (Python, Rigid Body) have been removed (ba04393fde).
  • The Drivers Editor now has separate transform snapping settings from the other animation editors, meaning snapping can be toggled independently. (d2f1b6570d)

Shape Keys

  • A simple "Duplicate Shape Key" operator has been added (7a4ce4184d)
  • A new operator "Update from Objects" updates shape key data with the positions of selected objects with matching names (12e626f31f).

Vertex Groups

  • In edit mode, assigning vertex weights via the Vertex Group "Assign" button in the properties panel now respects auto-normalization. When auto-normalization is enabled, the other vertex weights will be automatically adjusted to achieve normalization when possible. Additionally, to make auto-normalization easier to manage in that situation, a checkbox for the auto-normalize setting has been added below the weight slider. (4e7dfcbe3f)

Animation

  • The "Select Grouped" operator in Pose Mode now has 4 more options (Children, Immediate Children, Parents, Siblings) which is in line with what Edit Mode already had. (717fa42e5e)

Playhead Snapping

It is now possible to snap the playhead (current frame indicator) to elements visible in editors with a timeline. Those editors are the Graph Editor, Dope Sheet, Timeline, NLA and Video Sequencer. The Video Sequencer already had snapping functionality to strips, which is now contained in this more generic snapping.

The elements that can be snapped to are Frames, Seconds, Markers, Keyframes and Strips. Of course not all editors can show all these elements. If a setting is enabled, but an editor does not show that element, no snapping will happen. Snapping can be toggled while dragging the playhead by pressing Ctrl. (87a28fa117, Manual)

Demonstrates how the playhead can be snapped to various elements

Copy Global Transform

  • The Copy Global Transform add-on now supports keying sets (640255bbbf). This is limited to built-in keying sets; custom keying sets are "absolute" in the sense that they fully specify which properties of which object/bone to key, while the Copy Global Transform operators always work on the selection.

User Interface

  • The 'Available' option of the Insert Keyframe menu (K hotkey in the 3D Viewport) is now always included, even when no animation data is available (c4acb840ef). This helps to keep hotkey assignments for the menu items remain the same.
  • The operator graph.keyframe_jump has been deprecated and replaced in keymaps with screen.keyframe_jump. The latter now supports all functionality that the former had. Combining that functionality in a single operator makes it easier to set up keymaps. (9663d287fc)
  • It is now possible to take screenshots for pose assets. For more info see the User Interface section