3DNature

3D Landscape Design & Visualization Software published and supported by AlphaPixel

  • 0
    • Menu

    Part 2A. Animating the Camera

    Part 2A. Animating the Camera
    Getting Started with VNS 3: Animation Basics

    Part 2A. Animating the Camera

    1. The last tutorial laid the groundwork for basic VNS scene construction. Let’s build on those basics and animate Components. Create a new project and name it Flyby. We’ll use the Island project as a starting point, so Clone an Existing Project.

    Dialog box titled "New Project" with options to create and save a project. Options include cloning an existing project from disk, and including templates. There are checkboxes and a create & save button.

    2. Browse files to open the Clone Project file requester. Go to the Island project folder and open the Island project.

    A window titled "Clone Project" displays files with various extensions, including ".wsm" and ".proj". The file "Island.proj" is selected, and the mouse cursor is hovering over the "Open" button.

    3. When you Create & Save, VNS will create a copy of the Island project, called Flyby, in a new Flyby folder under WCSProjects. The terrain elevation file is still in the original Island folder.

    Screenshot of a "New Project" window with fields filled in and options to clone an existing project. The "Create & Save" button is clicked, and there is a "Cancel" button next to it.

    4. We already have the terrain data we need, so answer No in the Import Data window.

    A dialog box labeled 'Import Data' asks, "Your new Project has been created and saved. Would you like to import some data now?" with 'Yes' and 'No' buttons, and the cursor hovering over 'No'.

    5. Activate the Island Planimetric view and return the camera to its default camera position.

    A screenshot of a software window titled "Island Planimetric" with a tooltip displaying "Default View Position (Set View's Camera Floating)." The background is blue.

    8. We’ll be working with the Animation Toolbar, so let’s take a closer look at it. Turn on the Key Frame Group toggle, which keys all parameters in a group when one is keyed. This will make more sense shortly when we create the first keyframe. Keyframes are frames where you set parameters. VNS does the rest of the work and creates the frames in between. Let’s start by animating the Main camera.

    9. Go to the Render Task Mode and open the Main Camera Editorto the Position & Orientation page. Select the Animation Operations to the right of the Latitude field and select Create Key.

    Screenshot of a Camera Editor software interface showing settings for position and orientation, with options for latitude, longitude, elevation, heading, pitch, and bank, plus a dropdown menu with more options.

    10. The Input Request window will ask for the keyframe time and default to the current frame. This is the beginning of the camera path, so use the Enter key to set the first keyframe at 0 seconds.

    Dialog box prompts user to enter time in seconds for a new key frame, with empty input field, and "OK" and "Cancel" buttons.

    11. The Animation Operations icon turns green for all 3 members of the camera position group because we’re in the Key Frame Group mode.

    Screenshot of a Camera Editor main menu displaying options for Position and Orientation settings with fields for Latitude, Longitude, Elevation, Heading, Pitch, and Bank.

    12. In the Scene-at-a-Glance, keyframed parameters are indicated by a red key.

    A screenshot of the Visual Nature Studio 3.0 software interface showing the Cameras menu with options like Island Overhead, Island Planimetric, and Main, along with sections for Render Jobs and Render Options.

    13. Expand the Main Camera category. The Camera Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation all have red keys.

    A screenshot of Visual Nature Studio 3.0 interface showing a list of camera views under the "Cameras" section.

    14. Now we’re going to keyframe a new camera position. The Main camera is still active, so Ctrl-click a new camera location northeast of the island.

    Computer screen displaying a topographic map of an island with elevation data visualized in different colors. A cursor is visible on the map interface.

    15. Clear the elevation field in the Value Request window and OK. When no elevation is entered, the camera is placed at the current elevation.

    A dialog box titled "Value Request" prompting to enter a new elevation for a camera. Buttons for "OK" and "Cancel" are visible, with the cursor pointing at "OK.

    16. This time, add a key with Add Key Frame on the Animation Toolbar. Enter 20 seconds for the new keyframe time. The planimetric view will update with the new camera location.

    A dialog box titled "Input Request" asks for time in seconds for a new Key Frame. The field contains "20" and a cursor points to the OK button.

    17. Go to Next Key Frame is now available beside the frame counter. We can jump between keyframes with Go to Next Key Frame and Go to Previous Key Frame .

    18. Click the small Play Animation arrow at the right end of the frame slider to play the animation. VNS has taken the 0 and 20 second camera position keyframes and filled in the frames in between. Play Animation again to stop playback.

    A screen displaying a minimized window titled "WINS.Prefs" with part of a grey taskbar visible below it.

    The smaller arrow to the left of Play Animation plays the animation only as long as it’s depressed:

    A dropdown menu with the cursor pointing to an arrow, displaying the option "WMS.Prefs.

    19. We can also drag the frame slider to move forward and back in the animation. Holding down the right or left arrow keys on the keyboard plays the animation forward and back.

    Screenshot of a software interface showing a time display of 3.6 seconds and a label reading "Main (Camera)." Several tool icons are also visible.

    20. To jump to a time in the animation, enter it into the frame counter. When you’re done, enter 0 to return to the start of the animation.

    21. Let’s change the velocity of the camera between the keyframes using the Timeline Editor. One way to open it is to make the Camera Latitude active in the Scene-at-a-Glance and select Open Timeline for Active Parameter on the Animation Toolbar.

    Screengrab of icon for Open Timeline

    22. The timeline is a graph with the variable on the vertical axis, in this case latitude, and time on the horizontal axis. Triangles represent keyframes and the active one is highlighted in yellow. The latitude timeline represents a change in north-south position with time. The absolute value of the slope is the north-south velocity. The graph is a straight line, which means we have a constant velocity and the camera starts and ends at full speed. We’re going to change the velocity to make the camera start slowly from rest, accelerate to cruising speed, and then decelerate to a gentle stop at the end.

    A software window displaying a graph of camera latitude over time. The Y-axis ranges from 36.671711° to 36.698901°, and the X-axis ranges from 0 to 20 seconds. The graph shows a rising red line.

    23. We could go to the Camera Editor page and use Velocity Distribution to Ease In and Ease Out, but it can’t be previewed in realtime views.

    Camera Editor screen showing position and orientation settings with latitude, longitude, and elevation coordinates. Orientation details include heading, pitch, and bank angles. Various editing options visible.

    24. Instead, we’ll vary velocity in the Timeline Editor. The first key is yellow and active. Change its Tension to 1.

    A graphical user interface showing a curve plotted in the Main (Camera) Latitude window, with options to adjust points and segments. The graph displays the change of a variable over time.

    25. Select the last keyframe and change its Tension to 1. This will give us a latitude velocity that starts at 0 (no slope), slowly increases to a maximum at 10 seconds, and slows to 0 again at the end of the animation (slope decreasing to 0). Keep the changes to set the latitude timeline settings.

    A graph displaying variable change over time. The horizontal axis measures time (0s to 20s), and the vertical axis ranges from 36.6717 to 36.699 overhead degrees.

    26. That takes care of the latitude half of the camera position. The most convenient way to access the timeline is from the Camera Editor. Select Longitude Animation Operations and View Timeline.

    Screenshot of a Camera Editor interface displaying settings for position and orientation, with a dropdown menu open showing various options, including "View Timeline" highlighted.

    27. Repeat the latitude timeline process and change the Tension at each longitude keyframe to 1.

    Graphical interface displaying a plot with a red line showing the variable change over time labeled in seconds along the horizontal axis. Controls and settings for graph adjustment are visible below.

    28. Keep the changes, save the project, and play the animation. The camera now slowly accelerates to a maximum velocity midway through the animation and decelerates to a stop at the end.

    Next
    Scroll to top
    Skip to content