Create a short movement for one object, review its timing, and keep it as a named action. This is a good first animation because it does not require a skeleton.
Start with a Clear Base Position
Open a saved scene, choose one unlocked object, and place it where the movement should begin. Leave enough space around it to see the change.
•Enter Animate - Poly opens the timeline and creates or selects an action for the object. A new default action starts at frame zero with Position, Rotation, and Scale tracks.
•Identify the action - Use the action selector to confirm which movement you are editing. Give it a meaningful name such as Lift or Turn.
•Check Auto-key - Enable it before posing the object. Without Auto-key, an ordinary transform changes the object's base placement instead of recording movement at the current frame.
Record the Movement
•Choose a later frame - Scrub the ruler or enter a frame. For a quick first motion at 30 FPS, frame 30 gives you a point one second after the start.
•Set the next pose - Complete a Move, Rotate, or Scale gesture. Confirm that the appropriate key appears at the playhead.
•Add a return if useful - Move to a later frame and return the object toward its starting pose for a movement that should loop smoothly.
•Preview the action - Play it, then pause or scrub to inspect the transition. Stop returns to frame zero.
The viewport shows the evaluated movement without rewriting the base pose on every playback frame. You do not need to save each displayed frame.
Improve the Timing
•Move a key - Drag a key to another frame to make that part of the motion earlier or later.
•Remove an unwanted key - Select and delete it, then preview the revised transition.
•Check the loop - Toggle looping according to the intended result. If the last pose and first pose differ sharply, a repeated action may jump at its boundary.
Create or duplicate an action to explore a different movement without mixing every experiment into the same one. Current authoring uses linear interpolation; there is no curve editor for easing individual segments.
Save and Hand Off
Wait for Saved before leaving. To export the supported object animation, use Export scene and review its Animation option and result report. A rendered preview is not itself an animation export.
For joint-based deformation, continue with Rig and Pose a Mesh. Imported source clips have different editing and export boundaries, explained in Animation and Rigging.
