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[2D] Fix Stuttering Character Animation Loop Point

Solution

2danimatoroptimizationspritesanimation

Unity 2021.x - Unity 6.3.x

Published 15 days ago

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Reviewed by _architect

Chief Editor

80 posts
Issue

 2D animation cycles frequently exhibit a visible stall or frame-skip during the loop transition. This typically occurs because the first and last keyframes are identical, causing the engine to render the same pose twice in succession, or because the interpolation curves do not maintain velocity across the loop point.

Quick-Fix

Aligning tangents in the Animation Window ensures velocity continuity and removes the frame-doubling effect at loop points.

Expand Analysis
  1. Open your clip in the Animation Window.
  2. Enable the Loop Time property within the AnimationClip inspector settings.
  3. Switch to the Curves view located at the bottom of the Animation Window.
  4. Select the first and last keyframes for all animated properties to reveal their handles.
  5. Right-click the selected keyframes and choose Both Linear or Free Smooth to synchronize slopes.
  6. Verify that the final keyframe does not mirror the first frame exactly if the loop already contains a duplicate frame at the start.

Additional Tips

  • Use the Animation Window playback controls to step through frames and identify velocity hitches.
  • Match the tangent weights to maintain a consistent speed throughout the transition.

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