Rotation animation does not rotate objects

Symptoms

If one or more of these match what you are seeing, you are on the right page.

• •The element orbits instead of spinning in place
• •Rotation looks correct at one keyframe and wrong at another
• •The element spins the short way when a full turn was wanted
• •Rotation works on the group but not the member

Causes and fixes

Ordered from most to least likely. Work down the list — each cause is paired with what to do about it.

1. 1

   The anchor point is not where the rotation should pivot.

   Set it before keyframing, using the 3×3 grid in the Properties Panel or Custom Anchor for an explicit offset. In Path Edit mode the anchor appears as a crosshair and can be dragged anywhere, including outside the element bounds.

2. 2

   The anchor was moved after the rotation was animated.

   Changing the anchor retroactively alters how existing rotation and scale animation behaves. Set the anchor, then re-record the rotation keyframes.

3. 3

   A full rotation was entered as a small angle.

   Values above 360° and below -360° are accepted and represent multiple full turns. Enter 720 for two clockwise revolutions rather than 0 to 360 twice.

4. 4

   Auto-orient on a motion path is overriding rotation.

   Auto-Orient sets rotation from the direction of travel along the path. Turn it off to keep a fixed orientation, or use Orient Offset to add a constant rotation on top.

5. 5

   The rotation is on the group rather than the member.

   Group rotation pivots on the group anchor and carries all members with it. Enter the group by double-clicking to rotate a member on its own pivot.

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