KeyPro revamps Maya

KeyPro replaces the idea that a timeline has to be a thin row of ticks and regret. It adds a compact strip beneath Maya‘s native timeline and renders four separate data layers in the same horizontal space. The core promise is density without clutter. The strip keeps the same broad job as a classic time slider, but it packs in readouts that normally live in separate editors, separate overlays, or separate moments where you sigh and zoom in again.

Four layers, one strip, zero panel flipping

KeyPro renders four independently updated layers in the strip, and they update in real time as you work.

One layer draws an audio waveform. It uses cached RMS waveform rendering and draws per pixel at any zoom level. It also automatically reads Maya’s audio node when a scene loads, so the waveform appears without manual hunting.

Another layer shows key density. Every keyframe on every selected node renders as a tick. The ticks change colour based on density across a three-stop ramp that goes from blue to orange to hot pink. The point is fast visual triage for where animation gets heavy.

A third layer is a heat bar. It is a 2-pixel chromatic bar at the top of the strip that encodes how deep your current view span sits relative to the master range. Red indicates you are zoomed deep in, and blue indicates you are at full master scale.

The fourth layer is a master range that persists with the scene as a JSON file. Cyan markers show the start and end, and handles can extend the range for ease and out frames.

If you have ever lost track of whether you are looking at the full shot, the trimmed shot, the shot plus handles, or the shot you swore you would retime later, this combination aims to make that state visible at all times.

Rig-aware tools on top, not hidden in a drawer

Above the strip, KeyPro includes an animator toolbox. It includes tween presets and stepped keys. It also includes eight tools designed around constraint chains, space switching, and rig conventions.

Those rig-focused targets matter because a timeline feature only helps if it respects the reality of production rigs. Key changes often ripple through constraint setups, and space switching workflows can create keys that look simple until you touch them.

The toolset positions itself as production-grade key management, and that phrasing is a marketing claim. Still, the specific focus on constraint chains and space switching describes the kind of problems it intends to solve inside the timeline instead of pushing you out to separate editors.

Interaction that tries to feel native

KeyPro also leans on direct manipulation. Left drag scrubs. Scrolling zooms. Middle drag moves keys. The stated goal is muscle memory. The idea is that the tiemline should feel like it always belonged there, even while it shows you more than the stock UI does.

Who built it and why that matters

KeyPro was made by developer Andrew Conroy. His credits include work as an animator on Ice Age, Life of Pi, and Love Death &Robots. That background does not guarantee anything about your specific rig, your studio pipeline, or your scene scale. But it does set expectations about intent: the tool targets animator pain points inside the daily grind of key management and timing.

Pricing and licensing in plain English

KeyPro sells for 49 US dollars as a one time purchase. The price is a single purchase that you keep. No subscription.

Why this is interesting right now

Timeline UX is one of those corners of animation software that everyone touches and almost nobody talks about until it hurts. KeyPro targets that pressure point directly by compressing multiple kinds of feedback into a single strip and pairing it with a toolbox aimed at everyday rig behaviors. If it lands in your workflow, the win is not a flashy new solver. It is fewer context switches, fewer blind scrubs, and faster decisions about where to spend your cleanup time.

And if it does not land, at least it is a reminder that the most valuable tool upgrades sometimes live in the least glamorous UI row in the room, right under the playhead.