When preparing molecular animations for presentations, teaching materials, or research communication, molecular modelers often struggle with how to introduce elements into a scene without making them pop into view abruptly. Too often, transitions are either too fast or not customizable, reducing the clarity or the visual appeal of the animation. Fortunately, SAMSON offers a built-in solution: the Appear animation.
In SAMSON, the Appear effect allows you to make structural elements fade into visibility smoothly across animation keyframes. This can be very useful for guiding your audience’s attention, illustrating molecular assembly, or simply enhancing the aesthetic flow of a scene.
What does it really do?
The Appear animation works by changing the transparency of nodes over time. You can apply it to any visual element that supports transparency, including:
- Structural models
- Visual models
- Meshes
- Labels
Note that individual atoms and bonds cannot be directly targeted with the Appear animation, since they do not have a transparency attribute. Instead, you should apply the animation to their parent structural models.
How it works: A look at the keyframes
This animation is comprised of 4 keyframes:
- Start: Fully transparent
- Same as frame 1: Still fully transparent
- Transition: Transparency decreases
- End: Fully opaque (non-transparent)
This design offers a high level of control. You can move the keyframes to set how long a node stays invisible and how long the fade-in effect lasts. This is useful, for instance, when you want to introduce multiple elements in sequence or synchronize with other effects like text or camera movements.
Adding the effect
To add the Appear animation, follow these steps:
- Select the nodes you want to animate.
- Open the Animation panel in the Animator.
- Double-click on the Appear animation effect.
- Move the keyframes as needed.
You can further refine the visual effect by adjusting the easing curve, which controls how the transparency changes over time. This grants even more artistic and storytelling flexibility for modelers who want precise control over visual transitions.
When to use Appear
Here are a few common scenarios where Appear can help:
- Introducing different components of an assembly step-by-step
- Highlighting key molecular groups gradually to direct attention
- Fading in visual cues (like labels or arrows)
- Creating clean, non-distracting transitions between scenes
Using transitions like Appear is not just about aesthetics – it’s about helping your audience follow complex molecular content more naturally. Thoughtful use of transparency and timing can make dense information more digestible.
To learn more about how to use the Appear animation in SAMSON and see additional options, visit the official documentation page: SAMSON Appear Animation Documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.