The Animation Properties dialog controls how a single animation behaves at runtime.
In Blockbench, open it by right-clicking an animation in the Animations panel and selecting Animation Properties.
Why It Matters
Animated Java uses these fields to generate per-animation metadata and runtime behavior.
- Loop behavior decides what happens when the animation reaches the last frame.
- Timing fields control how quickly the animation advances.
- Excluded Nodes lets you layer multiple animations without bone conflicts.
Fields In The Dialog
Name
The animation identifier used in generated function paths and storage keys.
- Keep names stable after publishing packs to avoid breaking function calls.
- Use only safe characters: letters, numbers, underscore, and dot.
Example generated path:
<blueprint_id>/animations/<animation_name>/playLoop Mode
Controls behavior at the end of the timeline.
- once: play to the end, then stop.
- hold: play to the end and remain on the last frame.
- loop: return to frame 0 and continue.
Use hold for poses (for example, aiming or charging) and loop for cycles (walk, idle, run).
Loop Delay
Extra delay in ticks before a looping animation restarts.
- Only applies when Loop Mode is loop.
- 20 ticks = 1 second.
Included / Excluded Nodes
A list of bones (groups) this animation should or should not modify.
This is one of the most important controls for advanced rigs.
Use it to:
- play an upper-body animation while legs continue walking,
- run facial animation alongside body motion,
- avoid two animations fighting over the same bones.
Practical Patterns
Layered locomotion + action
- Walk animation: exclude arm and head bones used by combat.
- Attack animation: exclude leg and root locomotion bones.
Result: both can run at the same time without overriding each other.
Pose locking
- Set Loop Mode to hold for a final pose.
- Trigger a second animation later to exit the pose cleanly.
Common Mistakes
- Renaming animations after datapack integration without updating all function calls.
- Forgetting Excluded Nodes, causing bone conflicts and jitter.
- Setting Loop Delay and expecting it to affect once or hold modes.
- Overcomplicating Molang fields when default timing already works.
