Communicating molecular motion effectively is a crucial step in both understanding and sharing molecular models, especially in research presentations and teaching environments. Still, representing dynamic behaviors without overwhelming the audience can be a challenge. One simple yet valuable technique for adding subtle realism to your model presentations is the Rock animation in SAMSON.
Rather than keeping molecules static or overloading animations with complex trajectories, the Rock animation offers a gentle movement that gives the perception of a flexible, breathing system — especially useful when you’re trying to evoke the dynamic nature of biomolecules like proteins, DNA, and molecular complexes without distracting from the molecular structure itself.
Why use a Rock animation?
Sometimes, less is more. If you’ve ever tried to create molecular animations for presentations, you know that animations can become visually cluttered quickly. The Rock animation provides a way to give life to a molecular model without overcomplicating the scene. It rotates a group of atoms around their geometric center, simulating a light oscillatory motion along an axis collinear with the Z-axis — much like gently shaking a structure to express flexibility or soft dynamics.
This gives your viewers a sense that they’re looking at a molecule that is alive — a critical perception when presenting molecules to students or non-specialist audiences who may not have deep familiarity with dynamics at the nanoscale.
How to add the Rock animation in SAMSON
Here’s a quick overview of how to get started:
- Select a group of atoms or particles you’d like to animate. This could be an entire protein, a sidechain, or any subset.
- Open the Animation panel in SAMSON’s Animator workspace.
- Double-click on the Rock animation to apply it to the selected group.
- SAMSON will automatically place two keyframes. You can move these around the timeline for timing control.
You can fine-tune the feel of the rock motion by adjusting the easing curve. This lets you define how the animation progresses between frames — for example, making the motion start smoothly and slow down towards the other keyframe for a more organic feel.
Real-world example
View an example of this technique applied to a molecular structure here: 2BRD – Rock animation. It shows a segment of a structure gently moving, making the entire scene more engaging with minimal animation overhead.
A small step, a large impact
In academic communication, clarity and accessibility are everything. With the Rock animation, you can subtly express flexibility and motion without requiring complex simulations. Whether you’re preparing a conference presentation, a lecture, or an online visualization, this small animation technique can have a big impact on audience engagement and information retention.
To learn more or start trying it out in your models, visit the original documentation: Rock Animation – SAMSON Documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.