Animation Layers transforms Blender's NLA Editor into a standard layered animation workflow. It provides a dedicated user interface within the 3D viewport and animation editors to quickly create, evaluate, and manage individual layers. The addon supports standard blend modes, per-layer influence sliders, mute toggle, and solo functions.

Users can handle complex animations and mocap data using specialized workflows, such as extracting specific bones to separate layers, inserting adjustment layers, or targeting mocap cleanup by extracting marked keyframes. Built-in baking features include a smart bake option designed to consolidate animations while preserving the original keyframe count. Additional utilities include shapekey layer support for mesh objects, multikey editing functions, an inbetweener slider, and tools for speed or time offsets.