Basically something like this:



So I can offset, trim, scale clips and compose a complex scene. It doesn't have to be pretty, just functional. Thanks in advance.

I have the same question. The time editor was a great addition to Maya. You can basically create an animation sequence, like a walk cycle, and then blend it into another sequence, like throwing a ball, and then blend back into the walk cycle. Interface very similar to a non-destructive video editor like final cut. Just animation clips instead of video clips. Would love to see something like this if there is nothing like it currently.

CHOPS

Lyr
CHOPS

Not exactly a useful answer for the OP!

Maya's Time Editor is conceptually close to the Animation Mixer in Softimage (which was always considered to be a crowning glory of the XSI animation system). Now that Autodesk have killed off Softimage they've brought a modernised version of the animation mixer into Maya. And it's nicely done too, especially from a UX perspective.

Houdini has a feature called the Animation Layer Mixer which is conceptually close to both of the above but unfortunately the UX is nowhere near as slick as Maya's update of the XSI original.

Animation Layer Mixer [www.sidefx.com]

The Animation Layer Mixer in tandem with Chops is very powerful but technically it's not the most user friendly workflow. I have a feeling it's due for an update sometime soon as H16 introduced a bunch of new Chops animation constraints features, which also happen to be fully threaded (I expect the long term aim is to be competitive with Maya's parallel evaluation system).

Much as I think it's not as friendly as Maya's system it's worth learning, especially if you're attempting character animation in Houdini.