creating usable .anim file from scratch

Hello, i just managed to play .anim animations on my character models and it is working excellent with anim files that i have downloaded from the web. However i don't see a way to create a new .anim file from scratch, so i am only using downloaded animations for now. Is there a way to make new .anim files in unity (or in autodesk 3dsmax) so that i won't be confined to other people's .anim files?

 

You're in luck: There's an entire tutorial series on animation. In particular, you'll be interested in the Animation View tutorial, which explains how to use the Animation View to create new animations.