Quick Tip – Roving Keyframes
Have you had a layer full of keyframes that needed to be adjusted in length but you dreaded it because you didn’t want to have to adjust each individual keyframe? Well, you don’t have to with roving keyframes.
What’s A Roving Keyframe?
Simply put, a roving keyframe is a keyframe that keeps relative distance to other keyframes in the same layer.
How do I do it?
There are two ways to create and move a roving keyframe: individually and in a group.
Individual Roving Keyframe
Right click on the keyframe you want to keep relative distance from the other keyframes and a menu will pop up. Select Rove Across Time and your keyframe will change from a diamond shape to a circle. This means it is now a roving keyframe.
Now, when you move any keyframe other than the roving keyframe, your circular keyframe will keep relative distance from all others.
It’s important to note that if you want this keyframe to move normally you will have to right click on it again and deselect Rove Over Time. Your keyframe will change back into a diamond and all will be well in the world.
Group Roving Keyframes
If you want to move a whole bunch of keyframes or just temporarily move a few all you have to do is select the keyframes you want to move (three or more), hold the Option key (Alt on PC) and click and drag your keyframes. All of the selected keyframes will move keeping relative distance from each other, and you won’t have to worry about changing them back to regular keyframes afterward.
There you have it. Not only have I probably set a record for number of the word “keyframe(s)” written in an article (relative to length, of course), but I gave you some knowledge to take with you into your next project. It’s not the most mind blowing concept ever created, but it sure will save you some time and frustration down the road when you’re dealing with a layer full of keyframes.
John Kostrzewski is the Editor of Fuel Your Motionography and a freelance motion graphics and visual effects artist, videographer and writer living in Minnesota. He is awesome. Follow him on Twitter at and .
Nice tip. Thanks!