In few words, the animation process is a constant mix of two actions: drawing frames and preview the current status of the project as new frames are added in the timeline. It's a routine, digital artist uses to switch between the Animation tab and the Player tab frequently as they build the scene, so they can check how smooth and fluid are the movements of the characters and objects they are animating. The main goal of the Player Module is to give you constant access to the render of your animation project since the first frame is drawn and anytime you need to review your work.

Fig 24. Player Module Interface

Tip: To switch to the Player module from other module tabs, use the shortcut Ctrl+2.

Tip: To switch quickly between the Animation and the Player tabs, press Enter key.

Besides the preview display, this module contains other components. Let's take a closer look at them:

As any interface to reproduce audiovisual content, the Player module provides a set of controls to play, stop and play back your animation projects every time you need to. Digital artists require to review their works thousands of times as they must check the details of their animations to ensure that there are no subtle mistakes between frames and that the sensation of movement is smooth and accurate.

Fig 25. Player Controls Panel

As a handy complement for the Player module, the Properties Panel provides a set of technical information about your project and some other useful features related to the animation display, as a shortcut to the Export module.

Fig 26. Player Properties Panel

These are the components of the Properties Panel:

• Scene Selector. This control allows you to choose the scene you want to review from the animation display, assuming that your project has several scenes.
• Frames Total. This value is a useful reference to dimension the size of the current scene.
• FPS Control. This item indicates the “speed” of the animation in terms of the amount of frames displayed per second. Besides, as a control, it allows you to change that parameter, which means to change the speed of your scene. Tip: The higher FPS value you choose, the faster and shorter your animation will be. Therefore, the lower FPS you choose, the slower and longer your animation will look like.
• Duration. This item indicates current scene's duration in seconds. A useful value to calculate the progress of your project in relation with the total of seconds assigned for the current scene.
• Loop Option. This checkbox allows you to play the current scene as an endless loop if it's enabled, otherwise, the scene will be played just once.
• Export Option. This button opens the Export wizard that allows you to convert your animation projects into video files, depending on the format extension you choose.

Finally, it's time to visit the News Module. So, let's go!

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