Creating molecular presentations that clearly convey structural information is a common challenge in molecular modeling. Whether you’re preparing a video for a talk, teaching students, or documenting your findings, having visual elements that smoothly transition on-screen can significantly improve understanding. One particularly useful technique is to progressively reveal molecular components. In SAMSON, this can be done using the Appear animation effect.
The Appear animation gradually increases the opacity of selected nodes, making them fade in over time. This effect not only enhances visual clarity but also helps draw attention precisely when and where it’s needed without overwhelming the viewer.
What Nodes Can Appear?
The Appear animation only works on nodes with a transparency attribute. These include:
- Structural models
- Visual models
- Meshes
- Labels
Importantly, individual atoms or bonds don’t have a transparency attribute. To animate these, you should apply the Appear effect to their parent structural models.
How the Animation Works
The Appear animation is structured around 4 keyframes:
- Between keyframes 1 and 2: nodes are fully transparent.
- Between keyframes 2 and 3: nodes become increasingly visible.
- Between keyframes 3 and 4: nodes are fully opaque.
This allows you to control the exact moment when your molecular model appears, and to space out the visual transition to match the narrative pace of your video.
When to Use It
This feature is particularly useful when:
- Introducing specific parts of a large complex
- Fading in new hypothesis or comparison models
- Visualizing simulation results step by step
- Highlighting annotation elements gradually
You can adjust the timing by moving the keyframes. Additionally, for finer control over how the transparency changes between frames, you can edit the animation’s easing curve.
How to Add the Appear Animation
Here are the steps:
- Select the nodes you want to animate.
- Open the Animation panel in the Animator (
Ctrl+7orCmd+7). - Double-click the Appear effect.
- Adjust keyframe positions and interpolation as needed.
Ensure you select nodes that support transparency. If nothing seems to change during playback, you might be animating atoms or bonds directly—instead, apply the animation to their structural model container.
Want to explore more ways to control what shows and when? Check out related effects like Disappear, Flash, and Show.
To learn more, visit the official documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.