When presenting molecular models to an audience—whether it’s in a classroom, during a group meeting, or at a conference—how atoms and structures appear can have a surprisingly big impact on clarity. Abrupt visual transitions are jarring, and make it harder for viewers to follow the logical flow of your presentation. This is especially true in animations where molecular systems evolve over time or undergo transformations.
One common issue faced by molecular modelers is the need to show a structure clearly at a specific moment during an animation and keep it visible afterward. While it may sound simple, synchronizing this visibility with the timeline can be tricky. Fortunately, SAMSON offers a straightforward solution through the Show animation.
What problem does Show solve?
Imagine you’re preparing an animation where a molecule needs to enter the scene or become visible exactly when a reaction starts. You want it hidden at first, visible during the process, and to stay visible while the animation continues. Previously, this often meant stacking separate Hidden and Shown animations—a time-consuming process.
The Show animation in SAMSON simplifies this workflow. It combines hiding and revealing actions into one cohesive animation effect. Using Show, you just define when something should appear and it stays visible afterward. No more juggling multiple visibility effects.
How it works
Here’s how the Show animation is structured:
- Keyframe 1 to 2: The specified nodes are hidden.
- At keyframe 2: The nodes appear instantly.
- Keyframe 2 to 3: The nodes remain visible.
To use it:
- Select the nodes you want to make visible.
- Double-click on the Show animation in the Animation panel of the Animator.
- Adjust the positions of the three keyframes to tune exactly when the appearance happens.
This approach significantly reduces setup time and removes common mistakes that happen when chaining multiple visibility changes.
When to use Show
Show animations are ideal for:
- Highlighting reaction products exactly when they form.
- Gradually constructing a large biomolecule piece-by-piece during a teaching video.
- Focusing audience attention on key molecular components at a specific point in time.
The ease of adding keyframes and adjusting them also makes this effect flexible during last-minute edits. You can always move the keyframes later without redoing the animation.
Visual example
Here’s what the result can look like using the Show animation:
Additional controls
You can fine-tune how the appearance is interpolated using the Easing curve options, allowing you to create smoother or more dynamic transitions.
To learn more about the Show animation, including examples and related animations like Hide, Appear, and Pulse, visit the official documentation page.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.