Animating means making a property change over time. Blender does this with keyframes: you lock in a value at a given moment, and the software works out everything in between.
The principle
- Move the playhead to frame 1 in the Timeline.
- Position your object, then press I to insert a keyframe (on Location, for example).
- Jump to frame 60, move the object, and insert another keyframe.
Between the two, Blender creates the motion automatically: that is interpolation. Press Space to play the animation back.
What you can animate
- Location, rotation and scale.
- But also the colour of a material or the intensity of a light.
Key takeaway: two keyframes are enough to create movement. The I key inserts the key, and Blender fills in the gap.