How Do You Add Markers In Blender?

Markers in Blender are used to designate key points in an animation, such as scene changes, significant events, or camera switches.

While you cannot add them directly in the 3D viewport, you can easily add, edit, and use them in the Timeline, Dope Sheet, and other animation editors.

How to add and manage markers in the Timeline

Adding a marker

1. Navigate to the Timeline, Dope Sheet, or Video Sequence Editor.
2. Move the playhead (the blue vertical line) to the desired frame where you want to place the marker.
3. Press M on your keyboard to insert a marker.
4. You will see a small white triangle appear on the marker bar at the top of the editor.

Renaming a marker

1. Select the marker by clicking on its triangle with the left mouse button.
2. Press F2 to bring up the rename dialog box. Alternatively, press Ctrl + M.
3. Type the new name for your marker and press Enter. Naming your markers is essential for organizing complex animations.

Moving a marker

1. Select the marker you want to move.
2. Hover your mouse over the marker bar and press G (for "grab").
3. Move your mouse to the new frame.
4. Click the left mouse button to confirm the new position.
5. To cancel the move, press the right mouse button or Esc.
6. For precise movements, hold Ctrl while moving to snap to larger increments, or hold Shift to move with finer steps.

Duplicating a marker

1. Select the marker you want to duplicate.
2. Press Shift + D.
3. Move your mouse to place the duplicate marker at the desired frame.
4. Left-click to confirm the placement.

Deleting a marker

1. Select the marker (or multiple markers) you wish to delete.
2. Press X or Delete.
3. Confirm the deletion in the pop-up menu.

Advanced uses for markers

Binding a camera to a marker

Markers are particularly powerful for switching between multiple cameras during an animation.

1. Go to the frame where you want the camera switch to occur.
2. Create a new marker by pressing M.
3. In the 3D viewport, select the camera you want to switch to.
4. Make sure the newly created marker is also selected in the Timeline.
5. Press Ctrl + B to bind the selected camera to the selected marker.
6. The marker will be renamed to the camera's name, and a camera icon will appear next to it. Now, when the animation reaches that frame, the view will automatically switch to the bound camera.

Local vs. Scene markers

By default, markers are "Scene Markers" and are visible across all editors for the entire project. However, you can convert a regular marker into a "Pose Marker" for more specific actions.

• Scene Markers: Visible and editable in the Timeline, Dope Sheet, and other animation editors. They are used for global animation events.
• Pose Markers (Action Markers): Created specifically for actions in the Dope Sheet or NLA Editor.
  • To create a pose marker, select an action in the Dope Sheet and use the Marker menu to make the markers local.
  • Pose markers appear as diamond shapes in the Dope Sheet, indicating important poses within an animation.

Displaying markers

In the animation editors (Timeline, Dope Sheet, etc.), you can customize how markers are displayed.

• Show Marker Lines: In the editor's View menu, enable Show Marker Lines to display vertical dashed lines extending from each marker down into the editor's workspace. This helps you visually align keyframes or animation strips with your markers.

Summary of common marker operations