Animate a bridge

tallbridgeguy · 16 Apr 2011, 16:42

I came up with an odd idea for a bridge. Totally impractical but I would like to animate it turning. Is it best to use sketchup and scenes? Would I make the bridge a group and turn it a little for each scene? I have thea so I could try it in there?

Any advice would be appreciated!

The concept is for a merry-go-round sort of bridge. The bridge would rest on rollers on the banks and turn slowly. You hop on one side and off the other. (The material I used may be a little slippery...) I am going to redraw it in sketchup, with the rollers and maybe some safety rails.

Thanks!
S

Gaieus · 16 Apr 2011, 18:09

@tallbridgeguy said:

I am going to redraw it in sketchup, with the rollers and maybe some safety rails.

Well, safety rails is not a bad idea. Imagine it goes nuts and spins everyone off.

Have you considered any of those animation plugins out there?
Without them, it is still feasible (in SU) with lots of copies of that group (or in this case, better components), slightly rotated and placed on different layers finally a lot of scenes with only one layer of those visible at a time.

tallbridgeguy · 16 Apr 2011, 18:43

Hi Gaieus, I know the bridge is not exactly safe.....but I think it will be a fun concept to improve my modeling skills. (Maybe I should have someone flying off!)

I did not know there were animation plugins? Are they for use in sketchup or after export? I will look around the forums.

Thanks!

S

wyatt · 16 Apr 2011, 18:56

You could also try using Sketchyphysics. The learning curve is high and in my limited experience things that I think are simple require more work and knowledge of ruby than I think they should. I know that sounds like a total downer, but if you can get past those things it might be perfect for you.

tallbridgeguy · 16 Apr 2011, 20:06

Thanks Wyatt, I will check it out! The learning curve seems to be steep on everything..(at least for me.)

I also heard something about"proper animation"?

thanks!
s

watkins · 16 Apr 2011, 22:36

Intersting idea, but more so if you use the power of the river to turm the bridge about its pivot point. Something lke this:

You might also get ideas from here

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Markovic_SP_River_Pump#Photos

Regards,
Bob

Dave R · 19 Apr 2011, 12:27

Stuart, whether or not it is practical, it's an interesting idea. Sort of an amusement park ride with another purpose. I'd probably make the deck surface textured so it isn't slippery. some folks might exit the bridge unexpectedly.

tallbridgeguy · 19 Apr 2011, 14:19

Thanks Dave!

I know the bridge is, well, lets say impractical but it is fun to think about and model.
(So far I have learned how to use Keyframe animation, how to export and render in Kerkythea and how to post it in Sketchucation. Not well of course, but I am learning...)

I am looking at some ways to make it practical but I think it may be too dangerous!

Stuart

david_h · 19 Apr 2011, 14:32

practical schmatical . . . The world could use a few more bridges like this. I think you should make it MORE scary. Add a few monsters in the water-- and I think it should spin really fast and you should get a prize if you can stay on. It has Sort of an old Coney Island Fun house feel to it.

I like it.

Dave R · 19 Apr 2011, 14:38

Hazards in the water. And a greasy bridge deck.

david_h · 19 Apr 2011, 14:58

and just as an aside. .. I think moving walkways in airports could go much faster -- with giant boxing gloves on extender arms that come out of the walls or ceiling to try and knock you off!

p.s. love your avatar. . .I am a huge Wallace and Gromit fan.

More Cheese Please!

Dave R · 19 Apr 2011, 15:12

Wensleydale.

David, I agree with you. Flying is certainly not any fun anymore. They could make up for it in the trips to and from the gates.

Alan Fraser · 19 Apr 2011, 18:33

If you had safety rails all the way around, you'd never be able to get on in the first place...or you'd have to stand there, waiting for a gap to come round. And how do boats get past? I'd turn it on its side like a Ferris wheel...great view going one way, free bath going the other. The boats could then just sail through the middle. Of course the whole think would need to be a self-supporting ring, resting on and driven by the rollers on the bank...without any spokes, otherwise the boats might get sliced in half. Although that could make life interesting too.

watkins · 19 Apr 2011, 22:25

You are not crazy! This is crazy:

The Falkirk Wheel Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland

Information about and images of the Falkirk Wheel rotating boat lift on Undiscovered Scotland.

(www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk)

...but quite beautiful. Engineering at its best.

Also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj_h13Fu1yo

Regards,
Bob

tallbridgeguy · 19 Apr 2011, 22:48

@unknownuser said:

and just as an aside. .. I think moving walkways in airports could go much faster -- with giant boxing gloves on extender arms that come out of the walls or ceiling to try and knock you off!

p.s. love your avatar. . .I am a huge Wallace and Gromit fan.

More Cheese Please!

Thanks David! The avatar is a picture of a Wallace and Gromit alarm clock my wife gave me about 12 years ago. It rings "time for walkies". (The sad thing is, it is not so far from reality!)

And yes the Falkirk wheel is amazing! Take a look at this fun bridge.

Alan Fraser · 19 Apr 2011, 23:13

Yes, a wondrous piece of engineering. Rather like a canal version of the Gateshead Millenium Bridge.
[flash=640,390:3357v2id]http://www.youtube.com/v/l0jWqziY3Kw?version=3[/flash:3357v2id]

tallbridgeguy · 19 Apr 2011, 23:46

Alan that is also a great bridge! I was trying to come up with an "original" bridge idea that moves..I like the kinetic structures.

I think you asked a good question about river traffic and debris. I had another unworkable idea...fun but 2X dangerous.

I just thought of this one last night but I'm not sure if it will work....a spinning bridge over a small stream?

Thanks!
S

tallbridgeguy · 20 Apr 2011, 01:39

Updated: I tried keyframe animation but it seemed to have a limit on filesize. My bridge was 10mb and it would not work. I tried it with a smaller size and it worked great. I also tried "proper animation" which works but seems to "hide" parts of material during playback? Both almost worked great! So still not luck.

Thanks Bob! The videos are pretty cool. I think having the river turning the bridge is a good idea, I would just have have a governor to keep the bridge speed until control!

I could also use the turning of the bridge to power some lights! Now I have to figure out how to do a night render....
Thanks for the cool videos!

I am downloading Keyframe animation and I will give that a try.

Update: Keyframe animation worked pretty well. I found out you can export the scenes to Kerkythea but not Thea. So I made a quick test render. (The bridge is moving too fast and it has the wrong materials but you get the idea.)
http://youtu.be/CmfDhTV5yRg
[flash=480,385:2e8ojgqk]http://www.youtube.com/v/CmfDhTV5yRg?fs=1&hl=en_US[/flash:2e8ojgqk]

Stuart

tallbridgeguy · 24 Apr 2011, 17:45

I made a little video of what I did. Sorry I put this in two places....it looks alright at 720p, fullscreen. Sorry about the narration.

s

YouTube - tallbridgeguy-keyframe animation Tutorial
[flash=853,510:1uv24slv]http://www.youtube.com/v/UxUMMdSJTgs?fs=1&hl=en_US[/flash:1uv24slv]

dylan · 25 Apr 2011, 12:57

I did not know about the Falkirk wheel. It is a fantastic piece of engineering and must be a great experience in a boat.