are there any special techniques on how to get a better overview about
animations in povray?

i mean, you only have clock goin from 0 to 1 (or whatever you set it to)
and everything else has to be referenced by this variable. and if you add
more and more moving things to it, it all gets a whole chaos.

im actually workin on a short movie where some things are animated. and they
all start and end at different times. and im so far now, that i have
created an extra variable for each of it. but im still kinda confused. any
tips?

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On Tue, 13 Aug 2002 10:45:50 EDT, "GRUMBLE" <gru### [at] SPAMgmxat> wrote:
> any tips?

http://www.puzzlecraft.com/cm/ClockMod.html

ABX

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in news:bc7ilucrumpvf1jaah7di9itascs6cod3s@4ax.com ABX wrote:

>> any tips?
> 
> http://www.puzzlecraft.com/cm/ClockMod.html
> 
> 

and put objects or groups of related objects in their own sepperate 
include file.

Ingo

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"GRUMBLE" <gru### [at] SPAMgmxat> skrev i melding
news:web.3d591b9e84f39dd52c0cb40@news.povray.org...
> are there any special techniques on how to get a better overview about
> animations in povray?
>
> i mean, you only have clock goin from 0 to 1 (or whatever you set it to)
> and everything else has to be referenced by this variable. and if you add
> more and more moving things to it, it all gets a whole chaos.
>
> im actually workin on a short movie where some things are animated. and
they
> all start and end at different times. and im so far now, that i have
> created an extra variable for each of it. but im still kinda confused. any
> tips?
>
I won't and can't claim this is professional animation management =) But
I've recently started another animation project, and so far it works out
well, I'm at the first scene which so far has 4 stages..

I've done it like this:
1) Build a animatable object ( I did a Alien which can move it's head, arms
and hover above the ground with fanzy fire coming out :)
2) Then assign the Alien to a macro, something like
Alien(Headrotate,Armsrotate,Translate).
3) Animate the Alien the way you want, using Alien_Clock going from 0 to 1
4) Model another object ( I did a transport ) Assign it to a macro like
Transport(Translate)
5) Animate the transport the way you want it to move, using Transport_Clock
going from 0 to 1.
6) Then piece the two object together like this in a macro(with clock going
from 0 to 1):

#macro Fill_Transport(Fill_Transport_Clock)
    #switch (Fill_Transport_Clock)
    #range (0,0.5)
        #declare Alien_Clock = Fill_Transport_Clock*2;// makes the clock go
from 0 to 1
        Alien(y*360*Alien_Clock,x*10*Alien_Clock,x*20*Alien_Clock)
        Transport(0)// Transport not moving
    #break
    #range (0.5,1)
        Alien(0,0,0)// Alien not moving
        #declare Transport_Clock = (Fill_Transport_Clock-0.5)*2; // makes
the clock go from 0 to 1
        Transport(x*100*Transport_Clock)
    #break
    #end
#end

Now you can initiate the macro in the next stage by just using
Fill_Transport(clock moving from 0 to 1)
Always make sure the macro clock goes from 0 to 1, first when you model it,
then modify the clock to fit when you initiate the macro.
If you want to make stuff start at different times you could do it like
this:

// command line: +KI0 +KF1 +KFI0 +KFF19 +w320 +h240

#local Pclock = clock;

// white ball
#switch (Pclock)
#range(0,0.5)
    #local MY_Clock = Pclock*2;
    sphere{x*2,1 translate y*2*MY_Clock pigment {rgb 1}}
#break
#range(0.5,1)
    sphere{x*2,1 translate y*2 pigment {rgb 1}}
#end

// red ball
#switch (Pclock)
#range(0,0.6)
    #local MY_Clock = Pclock*(1/0.6);
    sphere {x*-2,0.1+0.9*MY_Clock pigment {rgb <0.2+0.8*MY_Clock,0,0>}}
#break
#range(0.6,0.8)
    #local MY_Clock = (Pclock-0.6)*5;
    sphere{x*-2,1 translate x*-6*MY_Clock pigment {rgb <1,0,0>}}
#break
#range(0.8,1)
    sphere{x*-2,1 translate x*-6 pigment {rgb <1,0,0>}}
#break
#end

Since I've noe used this method for very long, I'm not sure how this will
work with even more stages, or if you want to go back and change a lot
(minor changes work well at this stage though)..In theory, it could work :)
I never use clock directly in my code, but rather declare another variable
like Pclock, because then I can just change Pclock to something between 0
and 1, and render a single frame at any stage in the animation.

I hope I managed to explain this good enough.. Hope you can use it, and if
you want to do accelration etc. take a look at the bottom of this page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/2006/ptip26.htm

Or use clockmod :)

I'm a newbie at animation, so please, if anyone out there knows better ways
to do this, please tell :)

Good luck!

-Peter
http://hertel.no/peter

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I've got a generic curve generator called POVHerm.  It generates
.INC files that give you a 3D Vector for each frame in the scene.
The control points are easy to use and modify - I find this kind
of curve works very well in animations.  Full descriptions of
Hermite Curves and how to use the program on the website:
  http://www.geocities.com/emory_stagmer/povherm
Since POVHerm is a DOS executable, I generally setup a
.BAT file to use as a pre-scene shellout which runs 
povherm against each of my data files, then put that
in an .INI file so the .INC's get re-generated everytime
I run the animation.

I'm currently working on an animation for TechTV's EyeDrops
show, and I'm making use of these curves, especially
for camera movements - one curve for viewpoint, another for look_at.
I started this animation years ago (5!) and never finished it,
and that was before I really got this utility working, so there
is stuff in the scenes that are using techniques like those below
(which work JUST FINE BTW!).

Peter's examples are great!  I've been using POV for so long
(since 2.2 I think) and macros are kinda new, so I tend not to 
use them too much - you can teach an old dog new tricks, but
it takes more milk bones!! ;)

Emory

Peter Hertel wrote:
> 
> "GRUMBLE" <gru### [at] SPAMgmxat> skrev i melding
> news:web.3d591b9e84f39dd52c0cb40@news.povray.org...
> > are there any special techniques on how to get a better overview about
> > animations in povray?
> >
> > i mean, you only have clock goin from 0 to 1 (or whatever you set it to)
> > and everything else has to be referenced by this variable. and if you add
> > more and more moving things to it, it all gets a whole chaos.
> >
> > im actually workin on a short movie where some things are animated. and
> they
> > all start and end at different times. and im so far now, that i have
> > created an extra variable for each of it. but im still kinda confused. any
> > tips?
> >
> I won't and can't claim this is professional animation management =) But
> I've recently started another animation project, and so far it works out
> well, I'm at the first scene which so far has 4 stages..
> 
> I've done it like this:
> 1) Build a animatable object ( I did a Alien which can move it's head, arms
> and hover above the ground with fanzy fire coming out :)
> 2) Then assign the Alien to a macro, something like
> Alien(Headrotate,Armsrotate,Translate).
> 3) Animate the Alien the way you want, using Alien_Clock going from 0 to 1
> 4) Model another object ( I did a transport ) Assign it to a macro like
> Transport(Translate)
> 5) Animate the transport the way you want it to move, using Transport_Clock
> going from 0 to 1.
> 6) Then piece the two object together like this in a macro(with clock going
> from 0 to 1):
> 
> #macro Fill_Transport(Fill_Transport_Clock)
>     #switch (Fill_Transport_Clock)
>     #range (0,0.5)
>         #declare Alien_Clock = Fill_Transport_Clock*2;// makes the clock go
> from 0 to 1
>         Alien(y*360*Alien_Clock,x*10*Alien_Clock,x*20*Alien_Clock)
>         Transport(0)// Transport not moving
>     #break
>     #range (0.5,1)
>         Alien(0,0,0)// Alien not moving
>         #declare Transport_Clock = (Fill_Transport_Clock-0.5)*2; // makes
> the clock go from 0 to 1
>         Transport(x*100*Transport_Clock)
>     #break
>     #end
> #end
> 
> Now you can initiate the macro in the next stage by just using
> Fill_Transport(clock moving from 0 to 1)
> Always make sure the macro clock goes from 0 to 1, first when you model it,
> then modify the clock to fit when you initiate the macro.
> If you want to make stuff start at different times you could do it like
> this:
> 
> // command line: +KI0 +KF1 +KFI0 +KFF19 +w320 +h240
> 
> #local Pclock = clock;
> 
> // white ball
> #switch (Pclock)
> #range(0,0.5)
>     #local MY_Clock = Pclock*2;
>     sphere{x*2,1 translate y*2*MY_Clock pigment {rgb 1}}
> #break
> #range(0.5,1)
>     sphere{x*2,1 translate y*2 pigment {rgb 1}}
> #end
> 
> // red ball
> #switch (Pclock)
> #range(0,0.6)
>     #local MY_Clock = Pclock*(1/0.6);
>     sphere {x*-2,0.1+0.9*MY_Clock pigment {rgb <0.2+0.8*MY_Clock,0,0>}}
> #break
> #range(0.6,0.8)
>     #local MY_Clock = (Pclock-0.6)*5;
>     sphere{x*-2,1 translate x*-6*MY_Clock pigment {rgb <1,0,0>}}
> #break
> #range(0.8,1)
>     sphere{x*-2,1 translate x*-6 pigment {rgb <1,0,0>}}
> #break
> #end
> 
> Since I've noe used this method for very long, I'm not sure how this will
> work with even more stages, or if you want to go back and change a lot
> (minor changes work well at this stage though)..In theory, it could work :)
> I never use clock directly in my code, but rather declare another variable
> like Pclock, because then I can just change Pclock to something between 0
> and 1, and render a single frame at any stage in the animation.
> 
> I hope I managed to explain this good enough.. Hope you can use it, and if
> you want to do accelration etc. take a look at the bottom of this page:
> http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/2006/ptip26.htm
> 
> Or use clockmod :)
> 
> I'm a newbie at animation, so please, if anyone out there knows better ways
> to do this, please tell :)
> 
> Good luck!
> 
> -Peter
> http://hertel.no/peter

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"Gwen & Emory Stagmer" <emo### [at] comcastnet> skrev i melding
news:3D8### [at] comcastnet...
> I've got a generic curve generator called POVHerm.  It generates
> .INC files that give you a 3D Vector for each frame in the scene.

Sounds much like a spline to me. Except you can call a spline within POV-Ray
without use of any .BAT or include files. Docs [6.1.9] - Spline dentifiers.
Then again, teaching an old dog new tricks? :)

> Peter's examples are great!  I've been using POV for so long
> (since 2.2 I think) and macros are kinda new, so I tend not to
> use them too much - you can teach an old dog new tricks, but
> it takes more milk bones!! ;)

Thank you! Macros are a awesome tool! I've been using POV-Ray since v3.1,
(already for 4 years.. :-) But I learn new stuff (almost) every day. It
always take some time before I start to use the new things I learn though..
But macros are one thing that have saved me a lot of work.

-Peter
http://hertel.no/peter

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Hermite curves are a type of spline.  I think they're easier
to specify, and they're piecewise smooth across control points.
For camera animations, that means that the velocity is smooth
from one portion of the curve to the next.  Each control point
is specified by a point and vector and the direction and 
magnitude of the vector (again for something like a helicopter)
determines the speed it's traveling both into and out of the
control point.
I know about splines, but hermites are more the way I tend to
think about animations...

Emory

Peter Hertel wrote:
> 
> "Gwen & Emory Stagmer" <emo### [at] comcastnet> skrev i melding
> news:3D8### [at] comcastnet...
> > I've got a generic curve generator called POVHerm.  It generates
> > .INC files that give you a 3D Vector for each frame in the scene.
> 
> Sounds much like a spline to me. Except you can call a spline within POV-Ray
> without use of any .BAT or include files. Docs [6.1.9] - Spline dentifiers.
> Then again, teaching an old dog new tricks? :)
> 
> > Peter's examples are great!  I've been using POV for so long
> > (since 2.2 I think) and macros are kinda new, so I tend not to
> > use them too much - you can teach an old dog new tricks, but
> > it takes more milk bones!! ;)
> 
> Thank you! Macros are a awesome tool! I've been using POV-Ray since v3.1,
> (already for 4 years.. :-) But I learn new stuff (almost) every day. It
> always take some time before I start to use the new things I learn though..
> But macros are one thing that have saved me a lot of work.
> 
> -Peter
> http://hertel.no/peter

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