How do I make an object stay where it is after it's animated and done it's thang?

[thehappyappy]

[Moderator moved from The Lounge to After Effects.]

Hi Guys,

Sorry if this is a very dumb question, I'm a few hours into using After Effects, (WOW, it's fantastic!) and I am trying to get a 3D model object to play it's animation (that I have created in a 3D package) but then I just want it to sit there and stay but instead after the animation has played it disappears. How do I stop this please??

TIA..

[Mylenium]

You will have to be much more specific and use proper terminology. It is in no way clear what you are actually doing. We simply don't know whether you import a rendered image sequence or use your object via some plug-in. If you use an image sequence, the answer would be to simply use a freeze frame or import the last frame of the animation and place it as a separate layer at the end. If it uses a plug-in, procedures can vary hugely depending on which one.

Mylenium

[thehappyappy]

As an additional question I have remapped the time reducing the sequence time by half. In doing so it seems that now when I freeze on last frame it freezes the sequence half way through, is there any way to make the last frame display even though you have sped up the layer sequence?

[Rick Gerard]

If you exported a 3D amination from a 3D app then you have a movie. When the movie ends the movie ends. If you want to hold the last frame you can apply time remapping to the layer, go to the last keyframe that is applied, back up one frame and set a new keyframe for the last visible frame, delete the keyframe at the end and then reset the out point of your layer.

[ck_jedi · Accepted solution]

There's a slightly more convenient way if you're working in CC. Right-Click on the layer in the timeline. Roll over TIME then choose FREEZE ON LAST FRAME. No more having to futz with keyframes.

[Rick Gerard]

A valid point. The option is also in the Layer menu but if you want to pick the frame you want to freeze you to have an out point set before you make that choice. If you use the right-click shortcut to bring up that part of the layer menu you still have to select Time to find it.  This just automates the Time Remapping and I probably should have mentioned it but I usually introduce time remapping and how that works when I teach those functions so the user can get a better idea of how that works.

We still don't know how or what the happyappy means when he said:

trying to get a 3D model object to play it's animation (that I have created in a 3D package)

It's probably a movie or an image sequence but it could be any one of at least two other common 3D object formats you can get loaded onto a layer in an AE comp.

[ck_jedi]

It's probably a movie or an image sequence but it could be any one of at least two other common 3D object formats you can get loaded onto a layer in an AE comp.

Also valid points. Based on the OP's admitted naivete on the subject, I assumed it was just footage, since loading in an OBJ sequence isn't exactly a beginner undertaking, especially without C4D or 3rd party plugins, and even more especially, animated 3D models.

thehappyappy - please specify the type of file you are loading into AE. Is it an image sequence? A piece of footage (MOV, AVI, WMV)? A 3D mesh (OBJ, DXF)?

[thehappyappy]

Thanks so much guys, really appreciate the help, that's perfect!! Sorry for the dumb noob question!

BTW the movies were quicktime created from iff files.