Animation Pops Between States
Sudden jumps when switching animations
Also known as: Animation transition pop · Animation snaps · Animator transition jump · Blend time animation · Unreal state machine pop · Unity animation transition glitch
Quick answer
Animation pops when the engine switches between two clips that have very different poses and has no time to blend them. Set a blend duration on the transition, typically a tenth to a quarter of a second, make sure the end pose of one clip is close to the start pose of the next, and use a blend space or an additive layer where the motion is continuous. Check the transition conditions so states do not flip back and forth.
How to fix it
Look at the poses on both sides of the transition, and the root position and rotation, since a sudden shift of the root causes a visible jump. Use transitions that start at a matching point in the cycle, such as a foot contact, with sync markers or normalized time. Avoid long blends for fast actions like attacks, where responsiveness matters. Test with the character moving at different speeds.
Tools that use Animation Pops Between States
See also
Animation State Machine
Graph of animation states and transitions
Animation Blending
Interpolate poses between clips
Blend Space and Blend Tree
Mixing animations by a parameter such as speed
Animation Graph
Node-based runtime animation evaluation
Root Motion
Movement driven by the animation, not the controller
Additive Animation
Layering motion on top of other animation