Way to copy keyframes to other actions?

[Jon.Topps]

I have two actions, one is a guy crouched, the other is the guy idle. I want to do another action where he goes from idle to crouch, then another from crouch to idle.
If I select all bones, then go into the idle, and copy one of the keyframes, when I paste it in the crouch animation, it pastes a keyframe that seems to be either empty, or the same as the crouch animation. Basically, it is not copying the actual idle animation's locrot.
Is there a way to copy the locrot position of selected bones from one action to another? It seems silly that I even have to ask, because it should be obvious and intuitive, but right now it feels like I can't even do it. Is there a way?

[still__alive]

I don't know enough about the animation side of Blender yet.

Are you using poses and the pose library?

Looks like you position the bones, then make a pose, then you can clear all transforms and/or apply any poses to the armature. So clear transforms, go to the frame you want, select your idle pose, paste the idle pose onto the armature, keyframe it, go to your next frame and then paste your crouch pose. Then keyframe that.

I think that is the kind of thing you're looking for, you just use poses instead of copy/pasting the actual keyframes. But again, I know very little about the animation process.

[still__alive]

I'm not sure what you mean by "I have two actions". I'm assuming that is something other than the pose library, but if its not and I've contributed nothing, sorry :P

Edit: Sorry if my description of the pose library is lacking too, I literally just figured out how to use it on the fly right now.

[Jon.Topps]

Sorry I don't think this sounds right. I do believe there is a pose library, which I'm not familiar with, so you might be right, but it still doesn't sound right in terms of how things are done.
Blender seems really stupid in some ways in regards to animations. You can't have different frame lengths on actions or animations (but you can if you push it to the NLA), it automatically deleted entire animations unless you tell it not to, and you can't really copy keyframes effectively (it's in other situations too). Sadly, I think what I want to do just isn't possible, even though it makes complete sense.
But yeah I have "poses" in the sense that each keyframe is effectively a pose. I'm not sure if there's another thing that can mean maybe? Like I will create a new action, go to frame 0, pose the armature how I want, select all bones, then create a keyframe for that pose at that frame. I'll go to the next frame I want to change things on, adjust armature, select relevant bones, create another keyframe for that pose, and so on. Then when that action is done I make a new one (remembering to click the button to make it not forget the action I made). I've done this about a dozen times for my little soldier dude. It just seems really stupid that you can't just select the bones, and copy some keyframes from one action to another.

[still__alive]

Let me take a screenshot of what I'm looking at. Post it in a minute.

[still__alive]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2818736225

In pose mode (obviously :P) there is the pose library in the bar on the side.

How this library seems to function is that when you add a new pose it takes the current position of the bones to make the new pose. Haven't found a way to make new pose library object then pose the bones, seems you must make the pose first then the pose library object.

You can go to any particular keyframe it seems though and make a new pose from that keyframed position. So I'm suggesting you go to your idle animation keyframe to pose the armature as you want, then make a new pose library object out of it. Effectively "copying" the keyframes, in a sense.

Then there is a button to apply the selected pose object to the armature. So after making your idle pose object and your crouch pose object you should be able to apply those poses where you want in your timeline, then keyframe them again.

If that is making any sense. As far as I can tell you're working with the keyframes in the dope sheet/action editor, which I don't know anything about.

[still__alive]

Or in other words, you seem to be trying to copy/paste keyframes themselves, directly, to other actions in the action editor and the timeline.

My suggestion doesn't have you directly copy/pasting keyframes.

You can pose your armature in your crouch pose, then there is two things you can do with that. The first is keyframe it (to an "action" apparently) and the second is to apply it to the pose library.

Keyframes, as you're saying, must not be re-usable. But the pose library lets you put all the bones back into their positioning at the time you created the pose. Then you can simply keyframe it again to the new action.

[Jon.Topps]

Hey yeah that worked! You can just save a pose in there, never saw that aspect. Strange to do it that way, but it works! It says it's legacy, so I'm guessing they're planning on removing the pose library?
Thanks this is super helpful.

[still__alive]

Originally posted by Jon.Topps:

Hey yeah that worked! You can just save a pose in there, never saw that aspect. Strange to do it that way, but it works! It says it's legacy, so I'm guessing they're planning on removing the pose library?
Thanks this is super helpful.

Ah, cool, glad I helped.

Like I said, I know almost nothing about animation, but I am comfortable enough with Blender itself to just hop in and start figuring it out on my own, lol.

I don't know anything about their plans with the pose library.

And word of warning, there is some weirdness with the pose library too. I've broken something here somehow. Seems there might be a link between the pose library and the action editor, indirectly. There can also be multiple pose libraries I see.

Or maybe the poses are ignoring certain rotations of the bones when applying poses. I don't know how yet, but I broke something in my test file. My default pose is supposed to make the cylinder stand up straight, and it works, part of the time. For whatever reason when I apply the tip over pose all of a sudden the default pose doesn't work anymore. Until I reset the pose manually. Then I can swap between the bend pose and the default pose as much as I want, no problem. But as soon as I apply the tip over pose, the default pose breaks.

Just to give you a heads up. I think all you'll break is the new poses you mess with, but keep a backup save just in case.

I need to go to bed, I'm done messing with it for tonight. Good luck :-)