Randomize: Absolute vs. Relative
The Randomize operator has two modes that work very differently. Here’s when to use each one:
Relative Mode (Default)
Relative mode adds random variation around your existing keyframe values. It keeps the overall shape of your animation but makes it less perfect and more natural.
Perfect for:
- Handheld camera shake: Add subtle random movement to your camera animation
- Making walk cycles less robotic: Vary the timing and height slightly on each step
- Adding life to idle animations: Small random movements make characters feel more alive
- Motion capture cleanup: Add controlled noise to overly smooth mocap data
- Natural imperfection: Make any smooth animation feel more organic
Example: Your character’s head bob goes from 0 to 2 to 0. With Relative randomization, it might become 0.1 to 1.8 to -0.2 – still the same basic motion, just with natural variation.
Absolute Mode
Absolute mode pushes your keyframes toward specific values you choose, regardless of where they started. Use the Amount slider to control how much they move toward those target values.
Perfect for:
- Crowd animation variation: Make 20 characters have slightly different poses within a specific range
- Constraining values: Force all your keyframes to stay within acceptable limits (like keeping rotations between -30 and +30 degrees)
- Procedural scattering: Randomly position objects or keyframes within defined boundaries
- Gradual transitions: Slowly move your animation toward a new range of values using Amount less than 100%
- Random starting points: Give each character in a crowd a random but controlled starting position
Example: You want all your background characters’ arm rotations to be between 10-50 degrees, no matter what they currently are. Set Min: 10, Max: 50, Amount: 100% in Absolute mode.
Quick Decision Guide
- Want to keep your animation but add variation? → Use Relative Mode
- Need values to end up in a specific range? → Use Absolute Mode
- Making natural imperfections? → Use Relative Mode
- Creating crowd variations? → Use Absolute Mode
- Adding camera shake? → Use Relative Mode
- Constraining values to limits? → Use Absolute Mode
The Amount Slider
- Relative Mode: Higher Amount = more variation. 200% gives twice as much randomness.
- Absolute Mode: Amount controls how much your keyframes move toward the target range. 50% = halfway there, 100% = fully random within your Min/Max range.