Creating Motion Sequences

Learn how to animate your servos using Bottango’s timeline and keyframes.

Now that your servos are configured, let’s bring your project to life by creating motion sequences using Bottango’s timeline editor.

🎬 Step 1: Understanding the Timeline

The Bottango timeline is similar to animation software:

• Time is shown horizontally from left to right.
• Each servo gets its own track in the timeline.
• Keyframes define servo positions at specific moments.

You can create smooth, lifelike motion by placing multiple keyframes along the timeline.

➕ Step 2: Add Your First Keyframe

1. Select a servo from the left panel.
2. Move the timeline cursor to the 1-second mark.
3. Set the desired servo position using the slider.
4. Click Add Keyframe (or press K).

A keyframe will appear on the timeline — this marks the servo’s position at that point in time.

🌀 Step 3: Add More Keyframes

Move the timeline cursor forward, adjust the servo’s position, and add more keyframes. For example:

• 0s → 90°
• 1s → 0°
• 2s → 90°

This will create a simple back-and-forth movement.

⏯️ Click the Play button to preview the animation.

🧰 Step 4: Fine-Tune the Motion

• Drag keyframes left or right to change timing.
• Right-click a keyframe to delete or change easing.
• Choose between linear, ease-in, ease-out, or custom easing curves for smoother transitions.

🧠 Best Practices for Animations

• Start with slow, wide movements — fine-tune later.
• Use easing to create more natural, lifelike motion.
• Keep an eye on your servo’s physical limits to avoid stalling or jitter.

🔄 Looping & Playback

You can loop the animation by enabling the Loop Playback option.

To play the full sequence:

• Click Play or press Space
• Watch your servo(s) follow the animation in real time!

🎉 You’re Animating!

At this point, your project is moving based on the keyframes you created — no code required. Bottango takes care of the hard work.

Common Issues

• Problem: Keyframe added but servo doesn’t move during playback
• Solution: Check that you’ve set different positions for each keyframe. If all keyframes are at the same position, there’s no motion to display

• Why: Keyframes define positions - the servo interpolates between them

• Problem: Animation is too fast or too slow

• Solution: Drag keyframes further apart (slower) or closer together (faster) on the timeline. You can also adjust playback speed in settings Why: Timeline spacing controls the duration of movement between keyframes

• Problem: Servo movement is jerky or robotic
• Solution: Add easing curves to your keyframes. Right-click keyframe → choose “ease-in-out” for smoother, more natural motion

• Why: Linear interpolation creates constant-speed movement which looks mechanical

• Problem: Can’t see keyframes on timeline
• Solution: Zoom in using the timeline zoom controls (usually mouse wheel or zoom slider). Keyframes might be too close together at current zoom level

• Why: Timeline view compresses when showing long animations

• Problem: Animation loops but has a “jump” at the end
• Solution: Make sure your last keyframe position matches your first keyframe position (e.g., both at 90°)

• Why: If start/end positions differ, the servo will snap back to the beginning when looping

• Problem: Deleted keyframe by accident
• Solution: Use Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo. Bottango supports multiple undo levels

• Why: Undo feature helps recover from accidental deletions

• Problem: Timeline playback stops in the middle
• Solution: Check your timeline length setting. Extend the timeline duration if your keyframes go beyond current timeline end
• Why: Playback stops when it reaches the timeline endpoint

Try it Yourself

Ready to practice your new animation skills? Try these exercises:

1. Wave Motion: Create a 3-second animation that makes your servo wave back and forth (0° → 180° → 0°)

2. Easing Experiment: Create the same motion with three different easing types:
   • Linear easing (constant speed)
   • Ease-in-out (starts slow, speeds up, then slows down)
   • Custom curve (experiment with the curve editor)

   Compare how each one looks and feels!

3. Multi-Servo Challenge: If you have 2+ servos, create a coordinated animation where:
   • Servo 1 moves up while Servo 2 moves down
   • They swap positions at the 2-second mark
   • The animation loops smoothly
4. Realistic Motion: Create a “breathing” animation:
   • Start at 90° (neutral)
   • Slowly move to 95° over 2 seconds
   • Return to 90° over 2 seconds
   • Use ease-in-out for natural movement
   • Enable looping

Bonus Challenge: Can you create a 5-second animation that tells a story? Think of a character nodding “yes” or a robot arm reaching for something!

Next up: Using Triggers and Interactivity

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