Rigging & animation · Beginner

Frame range

The first and last frame of a scene’s animation, which set what plays and renders

What is a frame range?

The frame range is the first and last frame of a scene’s animation, which sets what plays back and what gets rendered. Together with the frame rate, it decides how long the shot is. In Blender, set Start and End in the timeline or the output properties; a new scene runs from frame 1 to 250.

Think of it like this

It is like marking the start and end of the part of a song you want for a ringtone: the full track is longer, but only the marked part plays.

Where it fits in a 3D project

  1. Create
  2. Surface
  3. Rig
  4. Animate
  5. Render
  6. Export

Animate: Making things move over time.

How the frame range works

  1. 01Set the Start and End frame in the timeline header or the output properties.
  2. 02Playback loops between those two frames.
  3. 03Rendering an animation outputs every frame in the range, one by one.
  4. 04Divide the number of frames by the frame rate to get the length in seconds.

Frame range vs frame rate

PropertyFrame rangeFrame rate
What it setsWhich frames play and renderHow many frames show per second
Measured inFrame numbersFrames per second
Changing itChanges length, keeps speedChanges playback speed and smoothness
Where in BlenderTimeline or output propertiesOutput properties

Set the frame rate once at the start of a project, then adjust the frame range as often as you need to trim or extend the shot.

Where the frame range is used

  • Setting how long a shot or loop runs
  • Rendering only part of an animation to test it
  • Matching a shot’s length to an edit or soundtrack

Beginner tip

Testing a heavy render? Narrow the frame range to a few frames around the trickiest moment, render those, then widen it again for the final pass.

Frame range in Morphic

In Morphic for Blender, Copilot in the Chat tab reads the scene’s frame range along with its objects, materials and active camera before it writes a script for the change you describe.

See Morphic for Blender

Terms related to the frame range

Frame range FAQ

How do I change the frame range in Blender?
Type new Start and End values in the timeline header at the bottom of the Layout workspace, or in the Frame Range panel of the output properties. A separate preview range in the timeline limits playback only, without changing the render.
Why does my animation stop at frame 250?
250 is the default end frame for a new scene. If your keys go past it, playback and rendering still stop at 250. Raise the End value in the timeline to include them.
How do I render only some frames in Blender?
Set Start and End to just the frames you want, then render the animation. To render a single frame, move the playhead to it and render a still image with F12.
How long is 250 frames?
At 24 frames per second, Blender’s default, 250 frames run a little over 10 seconds. At 30 frames per second they last just over 8 seconds. Divide frames by the frame rate to get seconds.

Updated October 29, 2026 · Browse all 3D terms