Animation keys

While you are creating animations, you are actually creating animation keys for the parameters that are animated. The animation keys define how the values of those parameters change over time.

Each parameter that can be animated has its own list of animation keys, which is initially empty. In this case, the parameter just has a static value that is the same for the entire frame range, and it is not animated.

When you first change a parameter while Animate mode is on, Ultra Fractal inserts a new key for that parameter at frame 1 with its old value. Then, it inserts a second key at the current frame with the new value.

The time slider shows the keys as blue and yellow dots. Keys are displayed as yellow dots if they are located at the current frame. In this example, if you now move the time slider from frame 1 to frame 50, the parameter animates from its old value to the new value.

Notes

The key at frame 1 with the old value is only inserted when the parameter does not yet have any keys. If the parameter already has one or more keys, Ultra Fractal only inserts a key at the current frame.
If Animate mode is on, and you change a parameter that already has a key at the current frame, Ultra Fractal adjusts the value of that key instead of inserting a new key.
Use the Timeline tool window to edit and delete keys. You can also delete the key at the current frame from the right-click menu of an animated parameter. See Editing animations.
Internally, a key stores its position as a time value, not as a frame number. This makes it possible to scale animations without introducing round-off errors. See Time settings.

Next: Animate mode