When creating scientific animations, small choices in transitions can make a big difference in how clearly your message is received. In molecular design, showing the evolution of a system often requires highlighting some parts of the structure while reducing the prominence of others. But suddenly making components vanish can be jarring and confusing. That’s where the Disappear animation in SAMSON can help.
The Disappear effect fades selected structures out of view by progressively increasing their transparency instead of simply hiding them instantly. This is particularly useful for smoothly transitioning between molecular states, such as highlighting binding interactions, visualizing substitution, or modeling removal of water or ligands over time.
Why not just use ‘Hide’?
Hiding a node immediately removes it from the scene. This is fine for quick toggles but can disrupt the flow of an animation. When you want your visuals to feel more natural or cinematic — for example, in a presentation, educational video, or during exploratory analysis — a gradual fade looks much better and gives viewers time to adjust their focus.
How does it work?
The Disappear animation works with nodes that have a transparency attribute, such as structural models, visual models, meshes, and labels. For nodes that don’t support transparency (like individual atoms or bonds), it’s better to apply the animation to their parent structural model instead.
Using the Disappear animation is straightforward:
- Select the nodes you want to fade away.
- Open the Animation panel in the Animator.
- Double-click the “Disappear” effect.
SAMSON automatically adds 4 keyframes:
- Between keyframes 1 and 2: nodes remain fully visible (opaque).
- Between keyframes 2 and 3: fade-out occurs as transparency increases.
- Between keyframes 3 and 4: nodes are fully transparent (essentially invisible).
You have full control of the timing by repositioning keyframes as needed. For instance, you can slow down the fade if you want to draw more attention to the transition, or make it quicker if the element is secondary.
Additionally, the Disappear animation supports easing curves. This means you can customize how quickly or slowly the fading starts and ends — a powerful feature for fine-tuning the feel of your animation.
When to use it
Here are a few useful scenarios:
- Focus shifts: Fade out background elements to focus on active sites or ligand binding.
- Step-by-step mechanisms: Remove intermediates smoothly to show catalytic cycles or reaction steps.
- Before-and-after comparison: Dissolve one model before fading in another to show mutations or structural changes.
With just a few clicks, you can make your molecular presentations more intuitive and visually engaging.
To learn more, visit the official documentation page on the Disappear animation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.