Blender animation is a powerful way to bring your 3D models to life. However, if you're new to Blender animation, it can feel overwhelming at first. The key to animating in Blender is keyframes, which allow you to animate almost anything—not just geometry but also material properties like color changes.
Basic Animation with Keyframes in Blender
To create a Blender animation using keyframes:
Select an object (e.g., a cube).
Hover over a property (such as location, rotation, or a material color).
Press the I key to insert a keyframe.
Move the timeline forward (e.g., 50 frames).
Change the value of the property.
Press I again to insert another keyframe.
Now, when you play the animation, Blender will smoothly transition between these keyframes, making it easy to create a Blender animation with minimal effort.
Making Blender Animation Easier with Auto Keying
If manually inserting keyframes feels difficult as a first-time animator, enable Auto Keying (the red circle at the bottom of the timeline). With Auto Keying enabled, Blender will automatically create keyframes whenever you move an object or change a property.
A great way to start with Blender animation is by moving a cube around with Auto Keying on. Remember also to move the timeline forward as you make changes—Blender will automatically insert keyframes.
I couldn’t find a YouTube video specifically about Auto Keying, so I created one for you: Auto Keying in Blender.
How to Use Blender for Animation
If you want to get a good overview of Blender animation and start animating models quickly, this YouTube video is a great resource. The pace is a bit fast, and it gets slightly complicated, but it provides a great introduction to Blender animation.
If that video feels too advanced, try focusing on Auto Keying first.
Here’s a great beginner-friendly tutorial that provides a clear introduction to animation in Blender. It’s especially useful because it walks you through the fundamental concepts step by step, making it easier to understand how Blender animation works.
One important topic covered in the tutorial is keyframe interpolation, which determines how Blender transitions between keyframes. Understanding interpolation is essential because it controls whether an animation moves smoothly, abruptly, or follows a specific motion pattern.
Don't be fooled into thinking that only a cube is being animated—there’s a lot to learn from this tutorial! Even though the example may seem simple, the techniques apply to all kinds of objects, properties, and more advanced animations.
If you're new to animation in Blender, this tutorial will give you a solid foundation to start experimenting with your own animations.
My own short video that shows whales with different interpolation types.
Once you understand the basics of Blender animation, experiment with moving objects, animating colors, and playing with different keyframe values.
Lastly a fun video
May your Blender animations move forward! 😊
I made this popular keyboard shortcut pdf including keyboard shortcuts for animating. Download it here.
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