Controlling the timing of when molecular elements appear in a presentation or a movie can be tricky. Whether you’re building a video for a publication, crafting an educational animation, or presenting your research, ensuring that molecular fragments appear precisely when you want them to is crucial for clarity and impact.
The ‘Show’ animation in SAMSON addresses this exact issue. Instead of manually juggling a sequence of hide/show commands, the ‘Show’ animation lets you make selected nodes (atoms, molecules, structures) appear exactly when needed—and stay visible for the duration of your presentation or animation.
What Problem Does It Solve?
In many workflows, especially when creating scientific animations, users face a common frustration: how to precisely time the appearance of specific molecular parts while keeping the rest hidden or already visible. This often requires chaining several animation effects in just the right order. But this can quickly become cumbersome and error-prone.
The ‘Show’ animation streamlines this by combining the behavior of two other SAMSON animations—Hidden and Shown—into a single, intuitive control.
How It Works
The ‘Show’ animation operates over three keyframes:
- Between keyframes 1 and 2: The nodes are hidden.
- At keyframe 2: The nodes become visible.
- Between keyframes 2 and 3: The nodes remain visible.
This makes it easy to make parts of your molecular model appear right on cue, without having to define separate animations to hide them first and show them afterward.
Adding the ‘Show’ Animation in SAMSON
Here’s how to use the animation in your own work:
- Select the nodes you want to appear.
- Double-click the Show effect in the Animation panel of the Animator.
- Adjust the keyframes as needed to define when you want the nodes to appear.
Once added, you can always move the keyframes around to better match the timing of your animation story.
Customization and Easing
While the ‘Show’ animation deals primarily with visibility, you can fine-tune the transition by modifying the easing curve. For instance, if you want the appearance to feel more cinematic or gradual, use an ease-in or ease-out instead of a linear change. Keep in mind, though, that because this is based on visibility rather than opacity, transitions remain sharp without transparency effects.
When to Use It
If you are:
- Preparing a time-sequenced animation showing the assembly of a molecular complex
- Creating step-by-step tutorials with selective highlighting of molecular structures
- Trying to declutter your animation timeline without adding multiple visibility states
… the ‘Show’ animation can simplify your workflow and make your animations clearer and more focused.
To learn more about the ‘Show’ animation and how it can help you streamline visibility control in molecular animations, visit the full documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/show/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.