Animation
The animation toolbar provides tools for creating animated views in Rhino. You can choose among various viewport display and render modes to display the animation images.
To set up an animation
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In the Animation toolbar, click Setup, then click the animation type.
Turntable
Path
Fly-through
Daily sun study
Seasonal sun study
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Type the number of frames.
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Select the file type.
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Select the frame capture method ( viewport display mode) option.
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Type the viewport name.
The default is the active viewport.
Note: If the viewport name contains spaces, be sure to surround it with quotes (e.g., "My Viewport") when you type it.
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Type an animation sequence name.
This name will be used to name the files in the animation, and for the HTML animation preview page that is generated as part of the animation.
For sequence names with spaces, surround the name with quotes (e.g., "My Sequence") when you type it.
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After setting up the animation, preview or record it.
Limitations
Rhino provides limited tools for creating animations of your models. These animation tools move only the camera and the sun. Rhino includes no tools for animating objects.
Rendering the frames creates a series of still images. These still images can be combined into an animation file using third-party animation tools. See Combine Frames for a list of products you can use.
SetTurntableAnimation
Rotate once around the current target point. To get an idea of what the animation will look like, click in the Perspective viewport and press and hold the left- or right-arrow keys.
Before setting up a turntable animation
Turntable Direction Options
Clockwise
AntiClockwise
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Setup Animation > 360 Degree Turntable Animation
None
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SetPathAnimation
Moves the camera, target, or both.
The three results you can get are: moving camera fixed target, moving target with fixed camera, or moving camera with moving target.
Before setting up a path animation
Options
For a moving camera with fixed target:
Draw a curve for the camera path, and create a point object for the target path.
For a moving target with a fixed camera:
Draw a curve for the target path and create a point object for the camera path.
For a moving camera and a moving target:
Draw curves for both the camera and target paths.
Path animation setup
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the camera path object.
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Select the target path object.
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Setup Animation > Path Animation
None
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SetFlyThroughAnimation
Looks ahead as the camera moves along the path.
Before setting up a fly-through animation
Fly-through animation setup
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Setup Animation > Fly-through Animation
None
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SetOneDaySunAnimation
A daily sun study moves the sun across the sky to show how the shadows change on a given day.
This animation type is useful if you need to see where shadows are going to fall based on the location of the sun. Architects, civil engineers, and city planners use these studies to determine if new construction will block sunlight from existing structures and green spaces.
Sun study animations do not move the camera or target locations. Instead, they animate the sun. You cannot combine sun study animations with other animation types.
Daily sun study animation setup
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Type the latitude as a decimal value.
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Type the longitude as a decimal value.
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Type north angle (clockwise from y-axis).
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Type the day, month, and year for all frames.
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Type the start hour and minutes for the first frame.
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Type the end hour and minutes for the last frame.
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Type the minutes between frames.
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Type file type.
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Type frame capture method to use.
All custom display modes are also listed.
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Type viewport to capture rendered image from.
The default is the active one.
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Type an animation sequence name.
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Setup Animation > One-Day Sun Study
None
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SetSeasonalSunAnimation
Shows shadows at the same time of day throughout the week, month, or year.
This animation type is useful if you need to see where shadows are going to fall based on the location of the sun. Architects, civil engineers, and city planners use these studies to determine if new construction will block sunlight from existing structures and green spaces.
Sun study animations do not move the camera or target locations. Instead, they animate the sun. You cannot combine sun study animations with other animation types.
To set up a seasonal sun study animation
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Type the latitude as a decimal value.
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Type the longitude as a decimal value.
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Type the north angle (clockwise from y-axis).
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Type the day, month, and year for the start day.
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Type the day, month, and year for the stop day.
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Type the hour and minutes for all the frames.
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Type the number of days between frames.
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Select the file type.
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Select the frame capture method to use.
All custom display modes are also listed.
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Type the viewport name to capture rendered image from.
The default is the active one.
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Type an animation sequence name.
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Setup Animation > Seasonal Sun Study (Right click)
None
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PlayAnimation
View the animation sequence in wireframe view.
The preview toolbar lets you view the animation sequence in wireframe. It is much faster than rendering or shading each of the frames.
To preview the animation in the viewport
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In the Animation toolbar, click Preview then click Play Animation.
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The viewport will change showing a preview of the animation. You cannot adjust the speed of the preview playback.
Options
PlayAnimation
Play the animation preview.
ViewFirstFrame
Go to the first frame
ViewLastFrame
Go to the last frame.
ViewNextFrame
Go to the next frame.
ViewPreviousFrame
Go to the previous frame.
ViewFrameNumber
Go to the specified frame number.
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Animation > Preview Animation
Preview Animation > Play Animation
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RecordAnimation
Renders and saves each frame to the specified folder.
When all the frames are rendered, a preview of the animation will be displayed in your web browser.
To record the animation preview
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In the Animation toolbar, click Preview, and then click Record Animation.
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Your animation will be recorded using the RenderPreview mode to capture each frame. This recording is much faster than recording the final rendered frames, but the graphics quality is lower.
The preview is always recorded at the same size as the viewport.
To record the frames
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In the Animation toolbar, click Record.
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Select the output folder
Tips:
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The animation is recorded one frame at a time.
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Set the size and quality of the rendered frames using the RenderOptions command. From the Render menu, click Properties.
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Animation > Record Animation
None
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Combine Frames to Make a Movie
Rhino does not include tools for compiling the frames into animation files, but there are many third-party products that specialize in this process. Some are listed below.
