offset animation of particles in Element3D

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

In the animation engine you have several options for animating from one state to another: uniform, directional, radial, random, shape order, each of which has further options for smoothness, randomness and direction. And even dual animation to start with one type and end off with another.

Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer

[Ido Shor]

not sure I am quite following here.

I want to give an animation to the particles and I wanted it to be offset for each particle.
I tried importing an OBJ seq, but the animation still started at the same time for all the particles.

I don’t understand how can I use the animation engine in this case?
does the animation engine get’s the animation from a baked animation in the OBJ seq? or does it relays on a key frame animation from the AE timeline?

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

Can you describe in more detail what you’re trying to do? The animation engine can take two states and interpolate between them. So you can set group one to the beginning point and group two to the end point and use the animation engine options to interpolate the animation between those two. Is that not what you are trying to do?

Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer

[Ido Shor]

I am not trying to interpolate the particles between two states, no.

lets sat my particle (3D model) is a sphere.
now let say I want 100 duplicated of this sphere to be scattered in Z space.
now, let’s say my animation is scale from 0 to 100%.

if I set the particle two keyframes in the Duplicator, every particle I duplicated will have the same timing. (they will all start and finish the animation at the same time.

what I want is a variation. I want the particles to randomly start their animation. (hence: “offset the animation”)

I tried to do it also with OBJ seq’ which had a baked animation in it, but still wasn’t able to do it.

was that clear enough? ☺

(p.s. I know I can do it with particular, but because of render issues, and other design aspects I prefer using Element3D on this one)

[Ido Shor]

ok….. I got the Solution!

There are two Parameters inside “Baked Animation”: Frame Offset and Frame Offset Random.
Apparently you can give negative value to Frame Offset, and a positive value to the Frame Offset Random.
the result is that all the particles are randomly starting the animation, and the total animation start in the delay you set. therefore the birth of all the particles start in the beginning of the sequence.

Urray! ☺

and thanks for you attention Kannisto.

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

Based on your description you can use the animation engine. Set the scale in group 1 to 0 and in group 2 to 100 and select “Random” for the animation direction. Then the particles will scale with random timing from 0 to 100. (Or, in random order, to be accurate).

This is without the need for an OBJ sequence, just the two groups.

Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

As in the attached.

12976_multiobjectscaleanim.aep.zip

Turns out it needs to be Uniform animation with the Randomness setting high. Not Random animation, which doesn’t match the particles up.

Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer