One challenge molecular modelers regularly face is visualizing complex structures with transparency adjustments, especially when dealing with intricate datasets. The Appear animation in SAMSON offers an elegant solution: it allows you to progressively render nodes visible, providing better control over how models emerge in presentations or simulations.
Transparency is pivotal when you need to emphasize specific subsets of your molecular structure or illustrate dynamic changes. The Appear animation is tailored for nodes with transparency attributes—such as structural models, visual models, meshes, and labels. If applied to nodes without transparency, the experience will approximate a Show animation.
How to Add the ‘Appear’ Animation
Getting started is straightforward:
- Select the nodes you’d like to progressively appear. Ensure they have a transparency attribute.
- Double-click the Appear animation effect in the Animation panel of the Animator.
To maximize control, the animation includes 4 keyframes:
- Keyframes 1 to 2: Selected nodes remain fully transparent.
- Keyframes 2 to 3: Nodes progressively become less transparent.
- Keyframes 3 to 4: Nodes become fully opaque (no transparency).
Using SAMSON’s Animator, you can shift these keyframes as per your project requirements, allowing for custom durations and synchronization with other animations or events.
Properties and Customization
The Appear animation is highly versatile, thanks to its support for easing curves. By modifying the easing curves, you can fine-tune how the transparency transitions between keyframes, ensuring smoother or more sudden visual effects depending on your presentation goals.
A Visual Example
Below is an example showing nodes gradually appearing with the Appear animation:
This showcases the changes in transparency across the keyframes, highlighting how the technique can bring clarity and focus to specific molecular structures.
Enhance Your Animations
For a complete understanding and additional related effects, check out other animations like Disappear, Flash, and Pulse.
Learn more about the Appear animation in the SAMSON documentation: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/appear/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.