It’s a familiar scenario for many molecular modelers preparing visual presentations: you’re building a molecular animation and want specific atoms, molecules, or protein subunits to appear smoothly at a precise point in time. You don’t want them to fade in using transparency—you simply want them to suddenly “be there” and remain visible afterward. If you’ve been trying multiple tricks with visibility and separate animation tracks, SAMSON’s Show animation might save you a lot of effort.
The Show animation effect in SAMSON was designed for exactly this use case. It allows you to control when selected nodes become visible. At a specific keyframe, nodes appear instantly and stay visible until the end of the animation. This is done through visibility—not through fading or transparency—so it’s ideal when you need a clear, sharp introduction of new elements into your animation.
Why visibility matters
Depending on the storytelling you intend with your animation, control over when structures appear can highlight the dynamic formation of molecular complexes, simulate docking processes, or clarify structural rearrangements.
Unlike other effects like Appear or Fade In, the Show animation doesn’t interpolate through opacity. There’s no ghosting, no partial transparency. One moment the node is not visible, and the next—it’s there.
Using the Show animation in SAMSON
Here’s how to add the Show animation to your molecular story:
- Select the nodes (atoms, molecules, structures) you want to show.
- Double-click on the Show animation in the Animation panel of the Animator.
This effect creates three keyframes:
- Keyframe 1 to 2: Selected nodes remain hidden.
- Keyframe 2: The nodes instantly appear.
- Keyframe 2 to 3: Nodes remain visible.
You can move these keyframes to control exactly when the transition happens. For example, if you want a ligand to appear precisely when a receptor changes shape, aligning the Show animation’s second keyframe with that change could strongly emphasize the event.
Tips
- Use easing curves to control the transition speed if desired.
- You can combine Show with Hide or Disappear animations to fully control object visibility over time.
- Need more flair? Combine with Flash or Pulse for emphasis after the object appears.
It’s a simple tool, but a versatile one for making point-in-time reveals that look clean and focused. If you’ve struggled to time object appearances before, this feature gives you an easy and reproducible approach.
To learn more, visit the official documentation page for the Show animation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.