DriveWorks Pro 22

Animate Translation

Animate Translation

The Animate Translation entity allows you to animate the translation or position of a Node in a 3D scene over a set period of time. The entity lets you set the animation type, time frame and a new target position. When the entity is enabled the Node will move to the newly specified target position in the animation.

The Animate Translation entity is great for animating models in a scene. It can be used to make your models more interactive and realistic. It can also perform demonstrative animations such as: drawers opening on a cupboard, opening a sliding door or showing an exploded view of a model.

The example above uses Animate Translation with an Ease Type called "Out" and an Ease Curve called "Bounce". The target position is then alternated every time the Node reaches the target position. This causes it to bounce back to its initial starting position.

The animate entities use Easing Curves to perform these animations. Commonplace on the web and in 3D, they are basic forms of animation that add further realism to a model or scene.

Information Panel

With the model Node selected and the Animate Translation entity added to the Node, the following will be displayed in the Information Panel:

Animate Translation Enabled

Enable and disable the Animate Translation entity. Disabling the entity will stop any animation from running and the Node will stay in its current position.

Target

Target is the new position or target for the Node to animate towards. Target can be specified in two ways. You can target another Node in a DriveWorks 3D Document or you can enter the position as a pipe delimited list (X|Y|Z).

• Target a Node

  Root\Model\Model-1

• Target a position

  1000|2500|500 - X|Y|Z

Use World Position

Use World Position changes the behavior when targeting a position. When targeting a position (X|Y|Z) this property determines if that position is relative to the current Node or to the world space.

Nodes can be parented to each other and offset from each other in any axis. This changes their overall world position. For example, if you have 4 nodes parented and offset from each other by 100mm in the X direction, the fourth Node will have a world position of 400mm in the X axis.

This property lets you set the position of a Node relative to its local position or world position.

Duration

Duration controls the length of the animation in seconds.

Ease Type

Animate Translation uses easing curves to perform an animation. These are predefined curves that determine the animations behavior. Ease type is the type of curve to use. These are split into "In | Out | InOut | OutIn". These affect the behavior of the chosen curve.

Ease Curve

Ease Curve is the animation curve to use. This defines the path and animation behavior for the Node. Easing functions are common in web and 3D animation. You can find out more about Easing Functions here.

On Complete Macro Name

On Complete Macro Name is used to specify a Specification Macro Name. This runs a Specification Macro at the end of the animation letting you trigger other events or further animations.

On Complete Macro Argument

On Complete Macro Argument is used to specify an argument for the Specification Macro running. This argument is passed into a Specification Macro like other Specification Macros usually are.

Parameter Panel

With the model Node selected and the Animate Translation entity added to the Node, the following will be displayed in the Parameter Panel:

• Animate Translation Enabled

  Animate Translation controls the enabled state of the Animate Translation entity. Enter either TRUE or FALSE to control the enabled state of the entity.

• Target

  Target is the new position or target for the Node to animate towards. Target can be specified as a Node path or as a 3D point (X|Y|Z).

• Use World Position

  Use World Position determines whether to position the model against the Nodes local position or against the world position. Enter either TRUE or FALSE.

• Duration

  Duration controls the length of the animation in seconds. Enter a number.

• Ease Type

  Enter the type of Ease Curve you want to use. These can be one of the following: Out | In | InOut | OutIn.

  This specifies the type of curve to use. This alters the behavior of the curve.

• Ease Curve

  Ease Curve defines the animation curve to use.

  These are as follows:

  • Linear
  • Exponential
  • Circle
  • Quadratic
  • Sine
  • Cubic
  • Quartic
  • Quintic
  • Elastic
  • Bounce
  • Back
• On Complete Macro Name

  On Complete Macro Name is the name of the Specification Macro to run once the animation completes. Enter the Specification Macro name as a string.

• On Complete Macro Argument

  On Complete Macro Argument is used to pass an argument into the Specification Macro Name above.