When building animations of molecular systems, clarity is key. Scientists often need to guide the viewer’s attention by revealing or removing parts of a complex molecular structure at the right moment. But creating these effects manually—especially when working with large assemblies—can be time-consuming and error-prone.
This is where the Hide animation effect in SAMSON comes in handy. Whether you’re focusing on a reaction center, highlighting a binding site, or decluttering your molecular scene during a presentation, knowing how to hide atoms, residues, or entire molecules precisely at the right point in time can make your visuals both more impactful and easier to interpret.
Why hiding matters 🔬
Sometimes, seeing less means understanding more. Professional molecular modelers and educators regularly face the challenge of presenting just the relevant parts of a system without overwhelming the audience. For example, during an animation showing a ligand binding to a protein, the solvent or membrane representation may need to be hidden once the key interaction begins. Doing this dynamically—and reversing it elsewhere—adds an important dimension of clarity.
Using the Hide animation in SAMSON
The Hide animation in SAMSON works via visibility control. It does not rely on transparency, which can be visually confusing in dense structures. Instead, it removes the chosen nodes from view at a specific keyframe and keeps them hidden until the end.
Here’s how it works:
- Select the nodes—atoms, residues, molecules—that you want to hide.
- Double-click on Hide in the Animation panel in the Animator.
This adds an animation with three keyframes:
- Keyframe 1 → Keyframe 2: nodes are visible
- At Keyframe 2: nodes disappear
- Keyframe 2 → Keyframe 3: nodes remain hidden
You can then drag any of the keyframes along the timeline to adjust the timing. This flexibility allows you to seamlessly integrate the visibility change into a larger animation—whether you’re simulating an unfolding protein or transitioning between different molecular states.
Tips for effective use
- You can combine Hide with other effects like Appear or Flash to create more dynamic sequences.
- Remember that this animation only affects visibility, not the underlying structure or properties of the nodes. Hidden nodes are not removed—they are simply not shown.
Customize transitions with easing curves
You can adjust how the changes between frames are interpolated using the Easing curve properties. While hiding itself is binary (either on or off), easing can help coordinate it with other animations for a smoother experience.
To learn more about the Hide animation and how to use it effectively in your molecular projects, visit the official documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.