Need help to animate water lock Sketchup file
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I have created a sketchup file of water locks that I am trying to animate so that I can render a avi file.
I have created the sketchup file.
Each water lock is grouped as are the doors of the water locks.
There are barges and everything.
Here is the link to the file.
http://thepump.org/files/8.5.skp It is about 7 megs
Take a look at the file to see if this interests you.
It was all I could do to create the sketchup file so I would really like it if someone could help me finish this project!
Here is a link to my web site http://www.thepump.org
My email address is: steve @ thepump.org
Thanks for the help. I think that I am at the end of my learning curve.
Thank you! Steven Myers -
You are almost there, so don't give up!
First off make some Scene-tabs [Scene Manager] for the view[s] you want.
At the moment you only have two layers - Layer0 and Layer1 [which only contains the 'people' - so perhaps better if you renamed it 'People'?].
All of you base geometry should go on Layer0 [as you have done
] - you can then put 'types' of objects [groups/components] on their own layers to control visibility.
The Layer settings [ON/OFF] are remembered for each Scene-tab [assuming the defaults are checked for what's recalled with each tab].
At its simplest you could have two Scene-tabs with the same camera/view but one with the 'People' layer ON and the other that layer OFF, so by switching between the Scene-tabs the people appear/disappear.
Now consider this... If you make two variants of the lock-gates - one shut and the other open and place these on two new layers called 'Shut' and 'Open'; AND then have just one of those layers ON in each of two new Scene tabs, then as you switch between them the lock-gates will appear to open/shut. The change won't be subtle, but by having some interim versions of the lock-gates at different 'open' increments and additional layers ON/OFF the effect will be better. If you want the boats and water levels to go up/down then again copy those parts [perhaps grouped] onto the new Shut/Open layers and locate them in 3d accordingly...
Now run an animation the Scene-tabs to see the effects...
Under Model Info > Animation you can adjust the transition time/delay etc...
When you've got things working as hoped you can export the scenes as an AVI file etc...
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Hi,
I really appreciate your post. There is a lot of info that you shared. I was lucky to get just the sketchup file created.
For me I think that to animate it would be a daunting challenge for me that is.I am older and all of this is hard to grasp. I have struggled with trying to animate this file of water locks and my brain just doesn’t seem to get how to do it. I have seen tutorials and such but I am still stuck. I am in the position where I need help.
I have great faith that something will happen to complete this project.Thank you, Steven Myers http://www.thepump.org
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Hopefully someone here can help you realize your dream...
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Super! Thank you! That was a great link. I am progressing up the learning curve trying to figure out how to anamate with Sketchup! I am learning slowly but I think that I will be able to anamate my model as soon as I get a little smarter! Thnaks, Steve http://www.thepump.org
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Probably your best bet would be to get the Keyframe Animation plugin from Regular Polygon. This will enable you to animate all of the different elements individually and in a sequence of your own choosing.
This enabled me to animate the figure in the short clip below. It might seem like a single object, but in fact the head, torso and upper/lower arms and legs are all moving independently...just the way you would want the different water levels and boats to do.
It will take some time to get acquainted with the basics of SketchUp animation and in particulat the use of scenes for this purpose, but it is perfectly possible and probably has the shorter learning curve of any method. It's basically just a question of deciding where everything is at the beginning and end of a particular timeframe (The Keyframes) then allowing the software to create all the tweens (the in-between frames)
[flash=640,390:3ire6q3a]http://www.youtube.com/v/lsx9xmUGNvk?version=3[/flash:3ire6q3a] -
I think something like this would do well with the SketchyPhysics plugin, which can let you give the locks and water levels movement. I'll see if I can come up with a preliminary simulation for you.
OK, I made a model and used SketchyPhysics to make moveable stuff (transparent blocks for water, a boat, and locks on hinges.
Made a video.. .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msHAjfqtgdQ[flash=425,344:ui6vzc7j]http://www.youtube.com/v/msHAjfqtgdQ[/flash:ui6vzc7j]
Captured the action using Camtasia Recorder, but CamStudio would work just as well.
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Well since I first started this thread I did not know anything about creating animations using Sketchup! I have had a lot of help and our foundation just finished a video series about how the Great Pyramid was built using water and barges.
Below is the link:
http://www.thepump.org/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69 You can download the .ISO fine to make a DVD you can play in your DVD Player.
I hope you find the series of videos interesting. If you have any questions let me know by emailing me through the web site http://www.thepump.org. I hope everyone can mention this series on their facebook page if you have one. I thank everyone for all the help I have received!
Thanks again!
Steven Myers author of Lost Technologies of the Great Pyramid.[url][/url]
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