When creating molecular presentations or educational visualizations, small movements can make a big difference. One recurring challenge molecular modelers face is how to add subtle, dynamic motion to molecular structures in a way that enhances viewer understanding without overwhelming the scene.
In such cases, a rotating or oscillating motion can help provide visual depth and context — especially in 3D renderings. This is where the Rock animation in SAMSON comes in handy.
What is the Rock Animation?
The Rock animation allows you to make a group of particles perform a rocking movement around their geometric center, along a direction collinear with the Z-axis. It’s like slightly tilting a molecule back and forth — enough to give it life, but not so much that it looks unnatural or distracting.
This is especially useful when:
- You want to draw attention to specific molecular regions without zooming in or rotating the entire scene.
- You need to give an impression of depth in a 3D visualization.
- You’re preparing an educational animation that benefits from a touch of movement to guide the viewer’s eye.
How to Use It
Adding the Rock animation in SAMSON is straightforward:
- First, select the group of particles you want to animate.
- In the Animation panel of the Animator, double-click on the Rock effect.
- Now, your selected group will rock between two keyframes. You can adjust the keyframes’ timing or position as needed to control the speed and extent of movement.
You can also fine-tune how the animation behaves between these frames using the Easing curve — making the movement smoother or sharper depending on your needs.
When to Rock (and When Not To)
Because the Rock animation doesn’t fully rotate the molecule, it’s perfect for small motions that enhance clarity without creating distraction. It’s often ideal for stationary scenes where you want to subtly suggest 3D structure, or highlight a particular group of atoms.
However, it may be less suitable when a complete 360° rotation is needed — in that case, the Rotate animation may be a better fit.
See It In Action
Sometimes it’s easier to understand the effect of a tool through examples. Here’s one from SAMSON Connect that shows the Rock animation applied to a molecular structure:
By using small, controlled oscillations, you can help your viewers better grasp spatial relationships within complex molecular systems — making your animations both more informative and easier to follow.
To learn more about how the Rock animation works and explore its parameters, visit the full documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.