Animation Tool Kit v1.1.3 Released
Animation Tool Kit v1.1.3 adds the Blue Pencil Flipbook Manager, smarter toolbar docking, improved viewport thumbnail capture, persistent Maya hotkeys, and a new website shortcut.
Animation Tool Kit v1.1.3 Released
Animation Tool Kit v1.1.3 is now available with the new Blue Pencil Flipbook Manager, improved toolbar docking, and several workflow fixes for Autodesk Maya.
Blue Pencil Flipbook Manager
The Blue Pencil Flipbook Manager is now available directly from the ATK toolbar under Viewport Tools.
The manager provides a visual way to review Blue Pencil drawings using thumbnail cards. Each card now includes a dedicated Go To Frame button, allowing you to jump directly to the drawing’s location on Maya’s timeline.
Improved Viewport Capture
The thumbnail capture system has been rebuilt to better match what is visible in Maya’s viewport.
The manager now tries multiple capture methods and automatically rejects failed images containing missing geometry, black viewport content, or only the Blue Pencil overlay.
Floating ATK windows, preview windows, tooltips, and other temporary UI elements are also hidden during capture so they are not included in the thumbnails.
Existing thumbnails should be refreshed after updating to v1.1.3.
Smarter Toolbar Docking
The ATK toolbar now changes orientation automatically based on where it is placed:
- Left or right side: Vertical toolbar
- Top or bottom area: Horizontal toolbar
This works when using the toolbar settings, dragging with the grip, using Maya’s native dock zones, or moving the toolbar directly between dock areas.
The update also fixes overlapping icons when a horizontal toolbar is moved into a narrow side panel.
Improved Maya Hotkeys
The Blue Pencil hotkey system has been rebuilt so shortcuts are correctly added to a writable Maya hotkey set and saved between sessions.
The updated hotkey editor includes:
- Shortcut conflict detection
- Custom hotkey-set creation
- Persistent Maya hotkeys
- Restore Defaults
- Remove All
- Individual shortcut clearing
Blue Pencil commands can also be found in Maya’s Hotkey Editor under:
Custom Scripts → Blue Pencil Flipbook
New ATK Website Button
A new ATK logo button has been added beside the Settings gear.
Clicking the logo opens shepstone.ca.
The logo has also been enlarged and given a white outline for better visibility against Maya’s dark interface.
Download Animation Tool Kit v1.1.3
Download the latest release from the Animation Tool Kit software page:
Download Animation Tool Kit v1.1.3
After installing the update, restart Maya or reload the ATK toolbar. Refresh any existing Blue Pencil thumbnails to regenerate them with the improved capture system.