FBX SDK Programmer's Guide > Animation >

# Blending Animation

Blending creates a smooth transition of motion from one animation to another. You can blend two animations that share common attributes and are a part of the same character set. When blending animation, you will get the best results if you blend animation that have similar motion. For example, creating a blend between a walking animation and a running animation.

Multiple animation layers are required for blending animation in a scene. For example, for blending a walking animation to a running animation, you must use two animation layers. The base layer (Layer0) containing the animation curve nodes for the walking animation, and another layer (Layer1) containing the animation curve nodes for the running animation.

Animation layers are evaluated in the order that they are added to the animation stack: Layer0, Layer1, Layer2, and so on.

You can set the weight (the blending weight) property of the animation layers. The weight property determines the amount of influence each animation has during the blend. For example, during the walk-run transition, you can take one-second to change the weight of Layer0 (walking) from .99 to .01, and the weight of Layer1 (running) from .01 to .99.

An animation curve node normally connects one animation curve to one FBX property, but you can also use an animation curve node to simply override the value of a FBX property. See Scene Showing Interrelationships among Data Structures.

NoteAn animation curve node can also be used as a container for the value of a FBX property. See Evaluating the Animation in a Scene.

#### Topics in this section

- Using the Blend Modes
- Bypassing the Blend Mode for Specific Data Types