Stagger Tween

Functionality

Creates a zigzag 'stagger' custom ease graph between two keys in a Classic tween. Positions anchor points precisely at frames and offers a choice of several presets, which can later be tweaked by the animators to better suit their needs. 

Suggested use

All cases when strobing 'stagger' progression from key to key is needed to accentuate strain, emotional state of anger, roaring audio or a laughing sound.

Stagger Tween dialog gives the option to chose between Linear, Ease Out or In, different amplitude (Strength), Taper and Curvature. It also provides 3 types of stagger patterns (Steps).

If applied to an existing Classic tween, Stagger Tween will offer the option to use the existing easing curve as the basis for the generated zigzag.

Example: A character giggles a quick and excited „He-he-he-hehe!“. This can be animated and timed in many different ways, but having two keys and progressing from the first to the second in a forth and back manner usually produces good results and allows for some additional acting and variation while staying as close to the audio as possible.
If the highest pitch point of audio is leading to a stretched key (A) and the lowest „hehe“ is represented by a squashed key (B), we can apply a stagger tween between the two keys. Depending on the length of the animation and the offset between the poses we'd choose a graph that works well to support this progression and the desired effect. If we need to re-time the duration of this, the stagger has to be generated again. See notes below.

The stagger movement can be fine-tuned by opening the Custom Ease dialog and adjusting the position of individual anchor points up or down; Alt-clicking on an anchor point will delete it.

Where does it work?

Timeline, multiple layers, Classic tweens

Notes

Important! Because the anchor points in the stagger graph need to match existing timeline frames perfectly, it is important to understand that a stagger cannot be remapped by moving the existing keys of animation away from each other or closer to each other.
If stagger is generated for two keys, (A to B) that are (for example) 10 frames away from each other, you can move the stagger as a whole, but you cannot re-time it without breaking it as the anchor points will fall in-between frames and the stagger will lose its definition.
If you need to re-time the A to B tween to make it longer, just generate the stagger again for the new duration of the tween.

Video demonstration

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This command is part of the Flanimate Power Tools package. Get the latest version from Downloads.