Animating Drawings

Two types of animations can be created in VectorWorks—Orbit Point and Move Along Path. The Orbit Point animator rotates by a specified number of degrees around a 3D object or selected point in the drawing. The Move Along Path animator moves through the 3D drawing, following a specified path.

In Perspective view, only the portion of the model within the perspective frame (see Perspective) is visible in the animation.

Creating Orbit Point Animations

The Orbit Point animator creates an animation that moves in a circular path around a specific 3D object or point.

To create an orbit point animation:

1.	Set up the drawing view.

Select the desired views from the View menu—Standard Views, Projection, Rendering, and Perspective. In addition, use the Zoom tool to set the drawing magnification level. Ensure that only the layers and classes that should display in the animation are visible.

2.	To specify an object or objects as the center of rotation, select the object or group of objects.

3.	Select Model > Create Animation.

The Create Animation dialog box opens.

4.	Set the Camera to Orbit Point.

5.	Click Animation Options.

The Simple Orbit Options dialog box opens.

 

Parameter	Description
Ground plane	Specifies the center of the ground plane (0X, 0Y, 0Z) as the center of rotation for the animation
Working plane	Specifies the center of the working plane (0I, 0J, 0K) as the center of rotation for the animation
Selection	Specifies the center of the selected object(s) as the center of rotation for the animation
Rotation angle	Specifies the amount of rotation (in degrees) for the animation; for example, to complete an orbit around the selected center of animation, enter 360

6.	Click OK to return to the Create Animation dialog box.

The QuickTime frames per second (fps) value is displayed. VectorWorks uses default compression settings for QuickTime; these settings produce a good-quality animation without an excessive file size. However, the parameters can be modified by clicking on the QuickTime Options button.

QuickTime is a complex program which offers great flexibility in selecting settings. Consult the online QuickTime Player help (available from the QuickTime Help menu) for more information about QuickTime parameters and compression settings.

7.	Specify the remaining parameter settings in the Create Animation dialog box.

 

Parameter	Description
Duration (Sec)	Sets the total length of time of the animation
Time Scale	Specifies the animation rate; a value between 0.1 and 0.99 creates a slow motion effect, while a value between 1.01 and 10.00 speeds up the animation. Leave the default value of 1.00 for a normal time scale.

8.	Click Preview to check the animation before saving it. Depending on the rendering setting, the preview may be shown in wireframe.

To preview only a selected portion of the animation, press Command (Macintosh) or Ctrl (Windows) when clicking Preview. The Preview Duration dialog box opens.

Specify the animation starting and ending time (in seconds) and click Preview.

To stop showing a preview, simultaneously press Command + Period (Macintosh) or Esc (Windows).

9.	When satisfied with the preview, click Save Movie to save the animation.

The Save As dialog box opens.

10.	Enter the name for the QuickTime Movie file and specify its location. Click Save. The progress of movie creation is displayed.

To see the completed animation, see Viewing QuickTime Animations.

Creating Move Along Path Animations

The Move Along Path type of animation moves through a 3D drawing along a specified path. For example, create a walk-through presentation of a house.

To create an animation moving along a specified path:

1.	Set up the drawing view.

Select the desired views from the View menu—Standard Views, Rendering, and Perspective.

The drawing Projection must be set to Perspective.

2.	Save a view for each point along the path to use for creating the animation.

Use the Walkthrough and/or Flyover tools to change views. To save a view, select View > Save View. In the Save View dialog box that opens, enter the View Name, ensure that Save Factors is selected, and then click OK (see Creating Saved Views).

3.	Select Model > Create Animation.

The Create Animation dialog box opens.

4.	Set the Camera to Move Along Path.

5.	Click Animation Options.

The Select Animation dialog box opens.

6.	Click New.

The New Animation Name dialog box opens.

Enter a name for this animation and then click Create to return to the Select Animation dialog box.

7.	Select the name of the new animation and click Edit.

The Edit Path Animation dialog box opens.

The Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons under the graph change the magnification level of the animation graph.

A new path animation uses the default length from the setting in the main QuickTime options dialog box. To specify a different animation length, double-click the arrow to the far right of the timeline.

8.	From the list of views on the left, drag the starting view name to the animation graph.

VectorWorks automatically places the first view at the graph’s origin—0 seconds, 0 drawing units/second.

9.	Select the next view to use and drag it to the animation graph.

A bar with a bead is added to the graph. Drag the bar and bead to change the animation settings (time elapsed between view changes and velocity of camera movement).

The distance between bars is the time in seconds that it takes to move from one view to the next.

Move the bead up and down to determine the slope of the line between bars. This slope indicates the velocity of the movement between views (the number of drawing units/second that the camera moves). In general, the slope should form a steady curve. An uneven curve will cause a choppy camera movement, speeding up and slowing down in a jolting manner. The slope cannot dip below the X axis—this would create a negative velocity.

10.	To set a specific camera target, double-click on a bead.

The Set View Direction dialog box opens.

 

Parameter	Description
Look towards	Specifies what direction the view should look toward
Current view	Sets the view to the current bead’s saved view
Working plane origin	Sets the view to the working plane origin
Center of currently selected object	Sets the view to the X, Y, Z center of the currently selected object(s) bounding box
Center of following named object	Sets the view to look at the center of a named 3D object. Click Select a different named object to open the Look At Named Object dialog box. Select the object to set the view toward (named objects in walls or layer links cannot be selected).
Following point	Sets the view to the specified X, Y, Z coordinates

11.	Click OK to exit the Set View Direction dialog box.

12.	Continue selecting views and dragging them onto the animation graph until the desired views have been included within the time allotment. To view a wireframe version of the animation, click Preview.

To add a pause to the animation, drag the same view twice into the animation graph so that the views are next to each other in sequence. The line between the views should be flat (no upward or downward slope). This creates a velocity of zero and, therefore, a pause in the animation.

Setting the view to different specified X, Y, Z coordinates for each of these frames, makes the camera appear to stop its forward motion and pan from one direction to another.

13.	Click Done to return to the Create Animation dialog box.

The QuickTime frames per second (fps) value is displayed. VectorWorks uses default Compression Settings for QuickTime; these settings produce a good-quality animation without an excessive file size. However, the parameters can be modified by clicking on the QuickTime Options button.

QuickTime is a complex program which offers great flexibility in selecting settings. Consult the online QuickTime Player help (available from the QuickTime Help menu) for more information about QuickTime parameters and compression settings.

14.	Specify the remaining parameter settings in the Create Animation dialog box.

 

Parameter	Description
Duration (Sec)	Sets the total length of time of the animation
Time Scale	Specifies the animation rate; a value between 0.1 and 0.99 creates a slow motion effect, while a value between 1.01 and 10.00 speeds up the animation. Leave the default value of 1.00 for a normal time scale.

15.	Click Preview to check the animation before saving it. Depending on the rendering setting, the preview may be shown in wireframe. Specify the animation starting and ending time (in seconds) and click Preview.

To preview only a selected portion of the animation, press Command (Macintosh) or Ctrl (Windows) when clicking Preview. The Preview Duration dialog box opens.

To stop showing a preview, simultaneously press Command + Period (Macintosh) or Esc (Windows).

16.	When satisfied with the preview, click Save Movie to save the animation.

The Save As dialog box opens.

17.	Enter the name for the QuickTime movie file and specify its location. Click Save. The movie creation progress displays.

To see the completed animation, see Viewing QuickTime Animations.

Adding Text or Title Screens to Animations

Unless text is specifically converted into a 3D object (using the TrueType to Polyline command), VectorWorks and QuickTime view text as 2D. This means text in a drawing exported as a QuickTime movie remains motionless, not moving with the other 3D objects. This principle is also true for any graphic images placed in the drawing.

VectorWorks can be used to create an animated title screen as a separate QuickTime movie, using an Orbit Point animation to move the 2D text. (The Move Along Path animator requires 3D perspective projection.) Then, within the QuickTime program, link the two files together to create one movie.

When creating a title screen animation, ensure that the title movie uses the same QuickTime frame rate setting as the linked animation movie.