Animation Features

Loop modes

Blockbench	In the file	In game
Play Once	"loop": false	plays, then the emote ends
Loop	"loop": true	keeps going until the player stops it
Hold On Last Frame	"loop": "hold_on_last_frame"	plays, then stays in the last pose until the player stops it

Hold On Last Frame is the one for sitting, laying and poses. Molang (below) keeps running while it holds, so you can still add breathing on top.

Keyframes

• Rotation, position and scale on every bone.
• Pre and post values (the two values when you split a keyframe in Blockbench), for instant jumps.
• Interpolation: linear, smooth (catmull-rom) and step.

Rotation is in degrees, position in pixels (16 pixels = 1 block), like in Blockbench.

Easing

Made with the GeckoLib Blockbench plugin? Its easing works. The easing goes on the keyframe you're moving to.

"1.0": {
  "post": [0, 0, 45],
  "easing": "easeOutBack",
  "easingArgs": [1.5]
}

Every GeckoLib / AzureLib easing works: linear, step, easeInSine, easeOutSine, easeInOutSine, easeInQuad ... up to easeInOutBounce, easeOutBack, easeOutElastic and the rest. catmullrom and step work as easing too.

Molang

You can write Molang in any keyframe value instead of a number, Blockbench shows it in the preview too.

"head": {
  "rotation": {
    "0.0": { "post": ["math.sin(query.anim_time * 180) * 5", 0, 0] }
  }
}

That nods the head 5 degrees up and down, once every 2 seconds.

Math - + - * /, comparisons, a ? b : c, and math.* (sin, cos, abs, clamp, lerp, lerprotate, random, die_roll, min_angle, hermite_blend...)
Angles - degrees, like in Blockbench
query.anim_time - seconds since the animation started, starts over each loop
query.life_time - seconds since the emote started, keeps counting while holding the last frame
Player queries - health, speed, is_sneaking and more, see below

Breathing on a held pose: write the Molang right into the last keyframe of the pose. Since life_time keeps counting while the pose is held, the player keeps breathing:

"torso": {
  "rotation": {
    "0.0": { "post": [0, 0, 0] },
    "1.5": { "post": ["20 + math.sin(query.life_time * 120) * 1.5", 0, 0] }
  }
}

Player queries

Molang can read things about the player playing the emote. q. works the same as query..

query.health  max_health  hurt_time
query.is_on_ground  is_in_water  is_in_water_or_rain  is_in_lava  is_on_fire
query.is_sneaking  is_sprinting  is_swimming  is_riding  is_using_item
query.ground_speed  vertical_speed  yaw_speed        blocks per second, degrees per second
query.limb_swing  limb_swing_amount
query.head_x_rotation  head_y_rotation  body_y_rotation  cardinal_facing_2d
query.distance_from_camera  equipment_count  has_head_gear  player_level
query.time_of_day  moon_phase

head_y_rotation is the head's turn compared to the body, so this on head looks where the player looks:

"post": ["q.head_x_rotation", "q.head_y_rotation", 0]

Queries from other mods (that this mod doesn't know) are 0. In the menu previews they read your own player.

Scale

Scale works like in Blockbench: around the bone's pivot, and a bone scales what's nested in it. Scaling torso grows the head and arms with it.

• One number scales all three axes, [x, y, z] each on its own.
• 0 hides a bone.
• body scales the whole player. The shadow, hitbox and name tag stay the same.
• Negative scale (mirroring) shows the part inside out.
• The lower arms and legs only rotate, scale the upper bone instead.
• Scale is capped at 16, so nobody can fill everyone's screen with a giant head :>

Effects

Sound and particle keyframes (Blockbench's Effects row) work, see Sounds and Particles.

What doesn't work

Moving the template's pivots - the game uses its own model, keep them where they are
Position on the lower arm and leg bones - only rotation counts there
Timeline (instruction) keyframes - skipped, they only mean something to the mod that made them
Custom geometry on the player - the game only reads the animation, not your model. Use props for extra stuff