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Create dynamic movement simulations and detailed turntable animations in Alias using animation techniques.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
22 min.
Transcript
00:00
The animation tools in Alias allow for proof-of-concept for moving parts and for in-app presentation of work-in-progress concepts.
00:11
Simple keyframe animation is used here to explore the opening capacity of the trunk,
00:17
so the rotation on the node can be updated on the relevant keyframe channels
00:22
and then played back using the Animation Editor.
00:26
For presentation, the Turntable tool can be used on its own to do a simple 360-degree playback of the design.
00:37
Keyframe, motion path and camera animation can be combined into more complex presentations.
00:43
The smoothness of the playback will depend on the size of the data set and the performance of your machine,
00:48
so paying attention to the quality settings is key for the in-app playback.
00:54
So, the animation functions are there to assist in the development of a design for final presentation work.
01:01
The model will still be exported out into another system like Maya or VRED.
Video transcript
00:00
The animation tools in Alias allow for proof-of-concept for moving parts and for in-app presentation of work-in-progress concepts.
00:11
Simple keyframe animation is used here to explore the opening capacity of the trunk,
00:17
so the rotation on the node can be updated on the relevant keyframe channels
00:22
and then played back using the Animation Editor.
00:26
For presentation, the Turntable tool can be used on its own to do a simple 360-degree playback of the design.
00:37
Keyframe, motion path and camera animation can be combined into more complex presentations.
00:43
The smoothness of the playback will depend on the size of the data set and the performance of your machine,
00:48
so paying attention to the quality settings is key for the in-app playback.
00:54
So, the animation functions are there to assist in the development of a design for final presentation work.
01:01
The model will still be exported out into another system like Maya or VRED.
Transcript
00:00
To animate objects in Alias, I need to work with the Animation Editor.
00:05
This has got playback controls and a timeline with a playhead that I can drag to position.
00:13
And a list of items in the scene, which can be filtered to only display the picked objects, which makes the Animation Editor easier to work with.
00:22
It's a simple keyframe animation, so the default workflow is to first position the playhead on the timeline,
00:29
and then set the keyframe either from the menu, Set Keyframe tools, or using the right mouse button on the object in the list.
00:38
So now, the Parameters icon is highlighted, and I get a diamond symbol for the keyframe here.
00:45
So, then I'll move the playhead again, move the sphere, and then set a second keyframe.
00:53
And this now gives me a linear bar between the two keyframes, which I can play back.
00:58
And the speed of the playback is determined by these Frames per Second setting.
01:03
And if that's set at 0, it just goes as fast as it can.
01:06
So, I'm going to put, say, 50, just so that I get a reliable playback.
01:12
And if the Range is not selected, it just loops between the 1st and the last keyframe.
01:19
So, my ball is moving, but it's not yet rolling.
01:24
So, let's have a look down at the parameter level, and you can see the keyframes have been set for all of the transform parameters,
01:31
but only the X translation is actually changing.
01:34
So, I can use the Delete Static Actions tools here to get rid of all the unused channels.
01:41
And now, if I use Set Keyframe down at this parameter level, it's only going to set the keyframes for that particular parameter.
01:48
So, I can set it at 0 at the beginning, and then on the final keyframe, I'll give it some rotation, and then set that second keyframe.
01:58
And if I play that back, it's now rolling somewhat.
02:03
But if I want to change any of the values on any of these parameter keyframes,
02:06
I can use my right mouse to access that rotation and increase it to, say, 360°.
02:13
And that's looking better.
02:15
So, I could continue to edit that parameter value or, up at the Summary Bar level,
02:21
I can shorten or lengthen the entire animation to speed it up or slow it down, or I can drag the whole bar to adjust the timing.
02:30
Now, if I want to navigate within the animation editor window, I've got two options.
02:35
The first is to use my normal Shift+Alt, middle, and right mouse button for zooming and panning.
02:42
And this will work in the main Channels window.
02:45
The second option is to use the scroll button, so in the main area it'll zoom in and out,
02:50
on the timeline it will scroll left and right, and on the object list, it'll go up and down as normal.
02:58
And then to delete the animation, I'll typically go back to the starting frame and then just use the right mouse button to say Clear Animation.
03:07
Or, you can use one of the Delete tools on the menu if you want more options.
Video transcript
00:00
To animate objects in Alias, I need to work with the Animation Editor.
00:05
This has got playback controls and a timeline with a playhead that I can drag to position.
00:13
And a list of items in the scene, which can be filtered to only display the picked objects, which makes the Animation Editor easier to work with.
00:22
It's a simple keyframe animation, so the default workflow is to first position the playhead on the timeline,
00:29
and then set the keyframe either from the menu, Set Keyframe tools, or using the right mouse button on the object in the list.
00:38
So now, the Parameters icon is highlighted, and I get a diamond symbol for the keyframe here.
00:45
So, then I'll move the playhead again, move the sphere, and then set a second keyframe.
00:53
And this now gives me a linear bar between the two keyframes, which I can play back.
00:58
And the speed of the playback is determined by these Frames per Second setting.
01:03
And if that's set at 0, it just goes as fast as it can.
01:06
So, I'm going to put, say, 50, just so that I get a reliable playback.
01:12
And if the Range is not selected, it just loops between the 1st and the last keyframe.
01:19
So, my ball is moving, but it's not yet rolling.
01:24
So, let's have a look down at the parameter level, and you can see the keyframes have been set for all of the transform parameters,
01:31
but only the X translation is actually changing.
01:34
So, I can use the Delete Static Actions tools here to get rid of all the unused channels.
01:41
And now, if I use Set Keyframe down at this parameter level, it's only going to set the keyframes for that particular parameter.
01:48
So, I can set it at 0 at the beginning, and then on the final keyframe, I'll give it some rotation, and then set that second keyframe.
01:58
And if I play that back, it's now rolling somewhat.
02:03
But if I want to change any of the values on any of these parameter keyframes,
02:06
I can use my right mouse to access that rotation and increase it to, say, 360°.
02:13
And that's looking better.
02:15
So, I could continue to edit that parameter value or, up at the Summary Bar level,
02:21
I can shorten or lengthen the entire animation to speed it up or slow it down, or I can drag the whole bar to adjust the timing.
02:30
Now, if I want to navigate within the animation editor window, I've got two options.
02:35
The first is to use my normal Shift+Alt, middle, and right mouse button for zooming and panning.
02:42
And this will work in the main Channels window.
02:45
The second option is to use the scroll button, so in the main area it'll zoom in and out,
02:50
on the timeline it will scroll left and right, and on the object list, it'll go up and down as normal.
02:58
And then to delete the animation, I'll typically go back to the starting frame and then just use the right mouse button to say Clear Animation.
03:07
Or, you can use one of the Delete tools on the menu if you want more options.
Transcript
00:00
As our animations become more complex, it's important to be disciplined in how you group and name the elements to be animated.
00:09
I'm using this mannequin model as it's a classic example of how to create group nodes
00:15
and groups of groups into a hierarchy that represents how the objects move.
00:20
And it's these nodes that the key frames and animation channels are applied to.
00:26
So, the Animation Editor shows the same hierarchy.
00:29
So, let's animate the left leg.
00:32
I'll do a keyframe here, then I'll rotate it and do a second keyframe.
00:40
It's only created keyframes for this left leg node.
00:45
And so now if I want to move the lower leg, I can animate this independently.
00:50
So, for example, I can set a keyframe for it here, and then here.
00:57
And again, it's only created free keyframes for this node, it hasn't added unnecessary ones for the other node.
01:04
So now I can play with the timing of these completely independently and without having created unnecessary keyframes.
01:13
So, it's very important to create group nodes for your model if you want to do animation.
01:19
So here for example, this car, the window moving down is a separate animation from the door opening.
01:26
And this side glass being grouped underneath the door assembly is what makes sure it always moves with the door as it opens.
Video transcript
00:00
As our animations become more complex, it's important to be disciplined in how you group and name the elements to be animated.
00:09
I'm using this mannequin model as it's a classic example of how to create group nodes
00:15
and groups of groups into a hierarchy that represents how the objects move.
00:20
And it's these nodes that the key frames and animation channels are applied to.
00:26
So, the Animation Editor shows the same hierarchy.
00:29
So, let's animate the left leg.
00:32
I'll do a keyframe here, then I'll rotate it and do a second keyframe.
00:40
It's only created keyframes for this left leg node.
00:45
And so now if I want to move the lower leg, I can animate this independently.
00:50
So, for example, I can set a keyframe for it here, and then here.
00:57
And again, it's only created free keyframes for this node, it hasn't added unnecessary ones for the other node.
01:04
So now I can play with the timing of these completely independently and without having created unnecessary keyframes.
01:13
So, it's very important to create group nodes for your model if you want to do animation.
01:19
So here for example, this car, the window moving down is a separate animation from the door opening.
01:26
And this side glass being grouped underneath the door assembly is what makes sure it always moves with the door as it opens.
Transcript
00:00
Let me use set keyframe, and by default, channels are created for all of the transform parameters, but not for the visibility.
00:09
And this is because the keyframe tools refer to what is set up in the parameter control window.
00:15
So, I can use this to, for example, limit the keyframes to only the X translate, and the Y rotate.
00:22
So, if I now delete these static actions and set the keyframe again, it only sets those two channels.
00:30
Let's do the second keyframe and set that.
00:38
So, it means we're not having to use Delete Static Actions all the time.
00:43
So, let's say I have another keyframe I want to set and roll this ball down the slope.
00:50
That's now going to involve a Z parameter.
00:53
But I'd be slightly cautious before doing that move, and I'm going to go back to my keyframes and I'm going to overwrite them
00:59
to include that Z parameter.
01:02
Otherwise, when I set my third keyframe, then this Z value will get baked in the only value, and my ball will stay at this level.
01:16
So, let's have a look at animating visibility.
01:20
And I'll do that on this slope part.
01:24
So, if I go back to the beginning and set that keyframe, I've only got the visibility set there,
01:30
and then if I go to keyframe 10, I can set the keyframe again.
01:35
And the only way to change the visibility is to do it on the keyframe value.
01:42
So, anything below .5 is invisible, and anything above .5 is visible.
01:48
So, if I play that back, my slope is appearing too soon, and that's because these keyframes are being evaluated from 0 to 1,
01:55
so halfway along, it becomes greater than 0.5.
01:59
So when I'm animating visibility, I'll typically use tangent type, which is Step.
02:05
And what Step will do is, it will hold that value constantly until you hit the next keyframe, and then it will suddenly change to the next value.
02:14
and we get our slope appearing when we want it to.
02:17
So, the Parameter Control settings are referred to in the Set Keyframe and also in the Delete Channels tool.
02:24
And it's optionally referred to in the Channels Filter,
02:28
where I can choose to filter what I can see on the screen using that parameter control settings.
02:33
Or alternatively, do it independently by changing the settings in this window.
Video transcript
00:00
Let me use set keyframe, and by default, channels are created for all of the transform parameters, but not for the visibility.
00:09
And this is because the keyframe tools refer to what is set up in the parameter control window.
00:15
So, I can use this to, for example, limit the keyframes to only the X translate, and the Y rotate.
00:22
So, if I now delete these static actions and set the keyframe again, it only sets those two channels.
00:30
Let's do the second keyframe and set that.
00:38
So, it means we're not having to use Delete Static Actions all the time.
00:43
So, let's say I have another keyframe I want to set and roll this ball down the slope.
00:50
That's now going to involve a Z parameter.
00:53
But I'd be slightly cautious before doing that move, and I'm going to go back to my keyframes and I'm going to overwrite them
00:59
to include that Z parameter.
01:02
Otherwise, when I set my third keyframe, then this Z value will get baked in the only value, and my ball will stay at this level.
01:16
So, let's have a look at animating visibility.
01:20
And I'll do that on this slope part.
01:24
So, if I go back to the beginning and set that keyframe, I've only got the visibility set there,
01:30
and then if I go to keyframe 10, I can set the keyframe again.
01:35
And the only way to change the visibility is to do it on the keyframe value.
01:42
So, anything below .5 is invisible, and anything above .5 is visible.
01:48
So, if I play that back, my slope is appearing too soon, and that's because these keyframes are being evaluated from 0 to 1,
01:55
so halfway along, it becomes greater than 0.5.
01:59
So when I'm animating visibility, I'll typically use tangent type, which is Step.
02:05
And what Step will do is, it will hold that value constantly until you hit the next keyframe, and then it will suddenly change to the next value.
02:14
and we get our slope appearing when we want it to.
02:17
So, the Parameter Control settings are referred to in the Set Keyframe and also in the Delete Channels tool.
02:24
And it's optionally referred to in the Channels Filter,
02:28
where I can choose to filter what I can see on the screen using that parameter control settings.
02:33
Or alternatively, do it independently by changing the settings in this window.
Transcript
00:00
There are two ways to set up a turntable animation.
00:04
The first is to rotate the camera so the whole scene is turned.
00:10
And the second one is to rotate objects, so the scene remains stationary, and then either all or a selected object gets turned.
00:22
So, start by just zooming in to frame the car, and then choosing the Turntable tool.
00:30
I get quite a quick revolution, and if I click in the window, it stops wherever it happens to have got to.
00:39
So, I can get a bit more control over this if I set up a starting view, and then in the Turntable go to the Options and choose Restore Position.
00:51
And that means whenever I click to stop the animation, it will come back to the starting view.
00:56
Another thing I can do is slow it down by increasing the frame rate.
01:01
And then I get a slower presentation of the car, and when I click in the window, it'll go back to my starting view.
01:10
So, the way in which the animation is positioned in the window by default is determined by the bounding box.
01:19
So, it's the bounding box center that gets positioned in the middle of the view.
01:25
If I want to change that, I've got a couple of options.
01:28
I can center on the grid origin, so you can see that's now in the middle.
01:34
But the option that gets in the most control is to use the object's pivot point.
01:38
So, I've grouped this,
01:40
and I can move the pivot to where I want the center of the rotation to be on the car, so let's put it up there to start with;
01:50
and choose the Average pivot option.
01:53
That now puts my pivot point in the center of the screen.
01:57
So, I probably need to move that down a little bit to get the result I want.
02:02
Let's zoom in, shade that out, and see if that gives me a more controlled result.
02:09
So just by adjusting that pivot point, I can control the positioning of the turntable in my view.
02:22
And finally, if you have other geometry in the scene, then selection becomes important.
02:27
So, if nothing is selected, then with both the Average pivot and the Bounding Box options,
02:34
all the geometry is included in the calculation for the center of the turntable.
02:39
And this applies even if the geometry is not visible on the screen.
02:48
So in this case, if you only want the calculation to be done on the object that's visible,
02:54
you need to do a pick object to select it, and then that will be used for the center of the rotation.
Video transcript
00:00
There are two ways to set up a turntable animation.
00:04
The first is to rotate the camera so the whole scene is turned.
00:10
And the second one is to rotate objects, so the scene remains stationary, and then either all or a selected object gets turned.
00:22
So, start by just zooming in to frame the car, and then choosing the Turntable tool.
00:30
I get quite a quick revolution, and if I click in the window, it stops wherever it happens to have got to.
00:39
So, I can get a bit more control over this if I set up a starting view, and then in the Turntable go to the Options and choose Restore Position.
00:51
And that means whenever I click to stop the animation, it will come back to the starting view.
00:56
Another thing I can do is slow it down by increasing the frame rate.
01:01
And then I get a slower presentation of the car, and when I click in the window, it'll go back to my starting view.
01:10
So, the way in which the animation is positioned in the window by default is determined by the bounding box.
01:19
So, it's the bounding box center that gets positioned in the middle of the view.
01:25
If I want to change that, I've got a couple of options.
01:28
I can center on the grid origin, so you can see that's now in the middle.
01:34
But the option that gets in the most control is to use the object's pivot point.
01:38
So, I've grouped this,
01:40
and I can move the pivot to where I want the center of the rotation to be on the car, so let's put it up there to start with;
01:50
and choose the Average pivot option.
01:53
That now puts my pivot point in the center of the screen.
01:57
So, I probably need to move that down a little bit to get the result I want.
02:02
Let's zoom in, shade that out, and see if that gives me a more controlled result.
02:09
So just by adjusting that pivot point, I can control the positioning of the turntable in my view.
02:22
And finally, if you have other geometry in the scene, then selection becomes important.
02:27
So, if nothing is selected, then with both the Average pivot and the Bounding Box options,
02:34
all the geometry is included in the calculation for the center of the turntable.
02:39
And this applies even if the geometry is not visible on the screen.
02:48
So in this case, if you only want the calculation to be done on the object that's visible,
02:54
you need to do a pick object to select it, and then that will be used for the center of the rotation.
Transcript
00:00
A camera is simply an object, but by default, it's not displayed on the screen.
00:07
Once we can work with a camera in this way, then we simply animate it in the same way as we do other objects.
00:15
But there are a few specific things that apply to camera animation.
00:19
So, the first tip is to create an additional camera specifically for animation, and to give that a name.
00:28
So, if I go to my Object Lister, my default camera is on my default layer,
00:33
and I'd set this layer up for this one, and I can rename that to be like, “Anim_Camera”.
00:40
The second thing is to select that camera, and in the Camera, Editor lock it.
00:46
So, what a lock in the Camera Editor means is, if I use my Shift+Alt and try to tumble the view, it won't move.
00:52
If I want to look around my model, I should switch back to my working camera,
00:58
but if I accidentally tumble the animation camera, I will mess up my animation.
01:04
So, I'm going to show you three different ways of animating, and this setup applies to all of them.
01:11
So, the first method requires me to pick the camera as a whole group and then to use simple keyframe animation.
01:20
So, I can't tumble the view.
01:22
I need to move and rotate the camera, get the view that I want, for example, to start,
01:31
and then just come and set the keyframe, move to the next location, make whatever move I want to make on the camera,
01:41
and set a keyframe.
01:50
So that simply lays back between those keyframes.
01:54
And it'll work well with maybe two or three keyframes, but as you can see, there's a little bit of a wobble going on as the camera moves.
02:00
To stop that, we have a second method which involves ungrouping the camera.
02:05
So, the camera is made up of these three components, and the wobble comes from the up vector not being in sync with the eye point.
02:13
So, in my model, I can take that camera and ungroup it.
02:17
So, then I spend a little bit of time just arranging that camera so I've got a really good vertical relationship between my up and my eye point.
02:28
And then I'll group these two together, and I'll just call it “lens”, for example.
02:36
Now I've got a much more straightforward way of controlling my camera view, I can just put my viewpoint where I want it to be on the car,
02:44
and I can take that lens point and I can move that up.
02:47
And as I move that around, you see that's got a lot more control over that view.
02:51
I'm not getting that wobble that I saw before.
02:55
So again, once you've got that set up in that way, you can simply set a keyframe for that grouped up vector and eye point component.
03:04
So finally, we can use a motion path for the camera animation.
03:09
And the way I use this is, I'll start by just moving the viewpoint into the center of the car in this case, if that's what I want to be the focus.
03:17
And then I need to pick the eye component.
03:19
And in the motion path, set the camera Up vector.
03:24
And this will keep it stable as it goes around the path.
03:27
So if I select my path that it moves the camera onto the beginning of the path.
03:32
It's also created a control curve for the Up vector.
03:37
And if I open my Animation Editor and play that back, you see that we get quite a nice smooth and level animation around the car.
Video transcript
00:00
A camera is simply an object, but by default, it's not displayed on the screen.
00:07
Once we can work with a camera in this way, then we simply animate it in the same way as we do other objects.
00:15
But there are a few specific things that apply to camera animation.
00:19
So, the first tip is to create an additional camera specifically for animation, and to give that a name.
00:28
So, if I go to my Object Lister, my default camera is on my default layer,
00:33
and I'd set this layer up for this one, and I can rename that to be like, “Anim_Camera”.
00:40
The second thing is to select that camera, and in the Camera, Editor lock it.
00:46
So, what a lock in the Camera Editor means is, if I use my Shift+Alt and try to tumble the view, it won't move.
00:52
If I want to look around my model, I should switch back to my working camera,
00:58
but if I accidentally tumble the animation camera, I will mess up my animation.
01:04
So, I'm going to show you three different ways of animating, and this setup applies to all of them.
01:11
So, the first method requires me to pick the camera as a whole group and then to use simple keyframe animation.
01:20
So, I can't tumble the view.
01:22
I need to move and rotate the camera, get the view that I want, for example, to start,
01:31
and then just come and set the keyframe, move to the next location, make whatever move I want to make on the camera,
01:41
and set a keyframe.
01:50
So that simply lays back between those keyframes.
01:54
And it'll work well with maybe two or three keyframes, but as you can see, there's a little bit of a wobble going on as the camera moves.
02:00
To stop that, we have a second method which involves ungrouping the camera.
02:05
So, the camera is made up of these three components, and the wobble comes from the up vector not being in sync with the eye point.
02:13
So, in my model, I can take that camera and ungroup it.
02:17
So, then I spend a little bit of time just arranging that camera so I've got a really good vertical relationship between my up and my eye point.
02:28
And then I'll group these two together, and I'll just call it “lens”, for example.
02:36
Now I've got a much more straightforward way of controlling my camera view, I can just put my viewpoint where I want it to be on the car,
02:44
and I can take that lens point and I can move that up.
02:47
And as I move that around, you see that's got a lot more control over that view.
02:51
I'm not getting that wobble that I saw before.
02:55
So again, once you've got that set up in that way, you can simply set a keyframe for that grouped up vector and eye point component.
03:04
So finally, we can use a motion path for the camera animation.
03:09
And the way I use this is, I'll start by just moving the viewpoint into the center of the car in this case, if that's what I want to be the focus.
03:17
And then I need to pick the eye component.
03:19
And in the motion path, set the camera Up vector.
03:24
And this will keep it stable as it goes around the path.
03:27
So if I select my path that it moves the camera onto the beginning of the path.
03:32
It's also created a control curve for the Up vector.
03:37
And if I open my Animation Editor and play that back, you see that we get quite a nice smooth and level animation around the car.
Transcript
00:00
For set motion path animation, you first need to create the curve.
00:04
And then you simply select the object, go to the set motion path options, and I'll start just by doing the motion,
00:12
and then set the length of the animation that I want.
00:15
So, you go and then I'm prompted to select the curve,
00:19
and my object jumps to the start point of the curve, and the curve turns a red color to show that it's being used as a motion path.
00:27
So, if I play that back, you can see the objects going on the motion path.
00:31
It's worth having a quick look at the parameters here.
00:34
So, the motion has set the XYZ translation,
00:37
but they have another level which shows that each of the XY and Z is connected to the same curve.
00:43
And what this means is that if I then make a modification to the curve, then the animation will update to follow that curve.
00:52
So, let's have a look at the Follow and Bank options.
00:55
So, for this, I've created a simple squashed cone shape,
00:59
and I would typically start that by rotating it to approximately the orientation I want at the beginning of the curve.
01:06
And if I go into the Set Motion Path options,
01:09
I'll choose Follow and I'll do Bank at the same time.
01:13
So, for Bank to work, I need to give it a value between 0 and 90°, so I'll just do 45° to start with.
01:20
Down here, you'll notice it has a Sample By value, which I'll just leave at 1 and select that motion path.
01:26
You'll see that what it's added to the translation is a set of baked-in keyframes for the rotations.
01:33
This means that the shape will now follow the curve.
01:37
But also, if I have a look from a different angle, it will bank with the curvature of the curve as it goes around.
01:47
Now, the only disadvantage of these baked-in keyframes
01:50
is they won't update very successfully when you change the shape of the curve.
01:54
So typically, I would just delete the animation and start again if I wanted to change the curve.
01:60
So, the attachment point for primitives is the original pivot point that they were created with,
02:06
but that's not the case for geometry we've built ourselves.
02:10
For that, we have to set up a pivot point by creating the geometry with the origin at the place we want the attachment point to be.
02:22
So, once it's positioned with the origin, I can then do an Edit Group,
02:27
which means I've created a new node with the default pivot on that origin.
02:32
So, I can say Set Motion Path, I'll keep all the same settings and pick my curve.
02:38
And of course, what I forgot to do was Orient the plane at the beginning of the curve,
02:43
but it's actually only the motion path that needs that specific pivot.
02:46
I can modify that now.
02:48
I could even, let's say, scale it a little bit, make it smaller and then just overwrite the animation and set it up again.
02:56
And then my object is moving along the path quite nicely.
03:01
So just be conscious of that creation pivot point having to be created at the origin.
Video transcript
00:00
For set motion path animation, you first need to create the curve.
00:04
And then you simply select the object, go to the set motion path options, and I'll start just by doing the motion,
00:12
and then set the length of the animation that I want.
00:15
So, you go and then I'm prompted to select the curve,
00:19
and my object jumps to the start point of the curve, and the curve turns a red color to show that it's being used as a motion path.
00:27
So, if I play that back, you can see the objects going on the motion path.
00:31
It's worth having a quick look at the parameters here.
00:34
So, the motion has set the XYZ translation,
00:37
but they have another level which shows that each of the XY and Z is connected to the same curve.
00:43
And what this means is that if I then make a modification to the curve, then the animation will update to follow that curve.
00:52
So, let's have a look at the Follow and Bank options.
00:55
So, for this, I've created a simple squashed cone shape,
00:59
and I would typically start that by rotating it to approximately the orientation I want at the beginning of the curve.
01:06
And if I go into the Set Motion Path options,
01:09
I'll choose Follow and I'll do Bank at the same time.
01:13
So, for Bank to work, I need to give it a value between 0 and 90°, so I'll just do 45° to start with.
01:20
Down here, you'll notice it has a Sample By value, which I'll just leave at 1 and select that motion path.
01:26
You'll see that what it's added to the translation is a set of baked-in keyframes for the rotations.
01:33
This means that the shape will now follow the curve.
01:37
But also, if I have a look from a different angle, it will bank with the curvature of the curve as it goes around.
01:47
Now, the only disadvantage of these baked-in keyframes
01:50
is they won't update very successfully when you change the shape of the curve.
01:54
So typically, I would just delete the animation and start again if I wanted to change the curve.
01:60
So, the attachment point for primitives is the original pivot point that they were created with,
02:06
but that's not the case for geometry we've built ourselves.
02:10
For that, we have to set up a pivot point by creating the geometry with the origin at the place we want the attachment point to be.
02:22
So, once it's positioned with the origin, I can then do an Edit Group,
02:27
which means I've created a new node with the default pivot on that origin.
02:32
So, I can say Set Motion Path, I'll keep all the same settings and pick my curve.
02:38
And of course, what I forgot to do was Orient the plane at the beginning of the curve,
02:43
but it's actually only the motion path that needs that specific pivot.
02:46
I can modify that now.
02:48
I could even, let's say, scale it a little bit, make it smaller and then just overwrite the animation and set it up again.
02:56
And then my object is moving along the path quite nicely.
03:01
So just be conscious of that creation pivot point having to be created at the origin.
Transcript
00:00
So, I'm going to animate the opening of this trunk and have a look at how we can ease the motion in and out of the keyframes.
00:08
I'll use the Menu Set Keyframe tool to start with because in the options here, it shows us the tangent types,
00:15
and this is what we can use to ease the motion.
00:18
So, I'll start with the default value of Smooth and set the keyframe for 0.
00:23
And then at frame 30, I'll rotate the trunk so that it's open.
00:29
And now even if I use the Context Set Keyframe tool here, it's still referring to the main menu settings.
00:37
So, we get a pretty constant motion for the trunk opening.
00:41
So, if I take a look at the parameters here, and I'll just delete my static actions, make it easier to see
00:47
this Tangent setting is available on each keyframe, and I can change that if I want to.
00:52
So, let's try Flat, for example, on this one, and I'll do the same on this one.
00:57
Now the tangent types make a very subtle difference, so let's look at them side by side.
01:04
The Smooth in fact, gives the same result as a Linear when there's only two keyframes, and you get a completely constant motion.
01:11
Whereas the Flat tangent has eased in with a slow start and a slow end to the motion.
01:19
So, the difference between Linear and Smooth becomes clear when we set more than two keyframes.
01:24
So, this time, I'm going to use the Set Keyframe At tool.
01:28
And this has exactly the same setups for the Tangent Type, and I'll keep it simple by just choosing Linear to start with.
01:36
And this tool allows me to type in a series of keyframes, so I'm just going to do a Start and an End in that position.
01:43
And then if I rotate that to the open position, I can use the Set Keyframe again.
01:49
And I'll set it to, say, 30 and 50, to just hold it up at the top.
01:53
And you can see it's set the four keyframes there.
01:56
So that then opens, holds, and closes.
02:04
So, if we take a look at how the different tangent settings would affect that motion,
02:08
you can see it's a fairly subtle difference.
02:12
But if we take some snapshots, then the linear and the flat are as we would expect,
02:18
and the smooth gives a nice result, but it has this bounce at the top because it's fitting a Bezier curve through those four key points.
Video transcript
00:00
So, I'm going to animate the opening of this trunk and have a look at how we can ease the motion in and out of the keyframes.
00:08
I'll use the Menu Set Keyframe tool to start with because in the options here, it shows us the tangent types,
00:15
and this is what we can use to ease the motion.
00:18
So, I'll start with the default value of Smooth and set the keyframe for 0.
00:23
And then at frame 30, I'll rotate the trunk so that it's open.
00:29
And now even if I use the Context Set Keyframe tool here, it's still referring to the main menu settings.
00:37
So, we get a pretty constant motion for the trunk opening.
00:41
So, if I take a look at the parameters here, and I'll just delete my static actions, make it easier to see
00:47
this Tangent setting is available on each keyframe, and I can change that if I want to.
00:52
So, let's try Flat, for example, on this one, and I'll do the same on this one.
00:57
Now the tangent types make a very subtle difference, so let's look at them side by side.
01:04
The Smooth in fact, gives the same result as a Linear when there's only two keyframes, and you get a completely constant motion.
01:11
Whereas the Flat tangent has eased in with a slow start and a slow end to the motion.
01:19
So, the difference between Linear and Smooth becomes clear when we set more than two keyframes.
01:24
So, this time, I'm going to use the Set Keyframe At tool.
01:28
And this has exactly the same setups for the Tangent Type, and I'll keep it simple by just choosing Linear to start with.
01:36
And this tool allows me to type in a series of keyframes, so I'm just going to do a Start and an End in that position.
01:43
And then if I rotate that to the open position, I can use the Set Keyframe again.
01:49
And I'll set it to, say, 30 and 50, to just hold it up at the top.
01:53
And you can see it's set the four keyframes there.
01:56
So that then opens, holds, and closes.
02:04
So, if we take a look at how the different tangent settings would affect that motion,
02:08
you can see it's a fairly subtle difference.
02:12
But if we take some snapshots, then the linear and the flat are as we would expect,
02:18
and the smooth gives a nice result, but it has this bounce at the top because it's fitting a Bezier curve through those four key points.
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