In molecular modeling, dynamic presentations can help clarify complex mechanisms far better than static images. Whether you’re illustrating a potential drug interaction, conformational change, or even just repositioning molecules to highlight geometry, animations go a long way in explaining scientific insights visually.
But here’s a common challenge: how do you smoothly animate molecular structures between different positions without the tedium of manually interpolating every frame? That’s where SAMSON’s Move atoms animation comes in. More specifically, its keyframe-based system.
Why Keyframes Matter
Keyframes allow you to define certain ‘snapshots’ in time. SAMSON automatically interpolates the atom positions between these keyframes, resulting in smooth transitions that you can control frame by frame. If you’ve ever struggled to visualize how a molecule transitions from one state to another—or wanted to showcase multi-step motion without scripting—keyframes are your friend.
Getting Started: Adding the First Keyframe
1. Select and place your atoms where you’d like them to begin.
2. Open the Animation panel in the Animator.
3. Double-click on the Move atoms animation to set the starting keyframe in the animation track.
Adding More Keyframes: Capturing Motion
To simulate motion, simply click further down the timeline in the animation track. Then move your atoms to the new positions. A new keyframe is created automatically, and SAMSON will interpolate movement between them.
Complex Transforms with Custom Editors
If the built-in Move atoms controller isn’t enough for your needs, you can choose other transformation tools. For example, you might want to apply a twist or impact-like rotation using SAMSON’s Twister editor or Move editors.
Just disable the default animation controller in the Document view and activate the editor of your choice. Make the spatial transformation and add a new keyframe. Once you’re set, switch back to the Select editor to continue working.
Editing and Removing Keyframes
Timing adjustments are easy. You can drag keyframes along the track to delay or accelerate transitions. Want to discard a motion step? Just right-click on any keyframe within the Animator’s Track view and click Remove keyframe.
Fine-tune with Easing Curves
The transitions can be further refined using the Easing curve and the smoothing options in the Inspector tab. This helps control whether movements start slowly and accelerate (ease-in), decelerate to a stop (ease-out), or follow more complex dynamics.
Try It Out
A couple of examples available on SAMSON Connect – Documents show keyframe animations in action:
Whether you’re preparing a research talk or just want a clear way to visualize transitions, mastering keyframe animation in SAMSON can be a helpful addition to your workflow.
For a more detailed walkthrough, visit the original documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/move-atoms/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.