animating a fan problem

# 1 27-03-2006 , 09:08 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2005

Posts: 54

hello chaps, i wonder if anyone could help with a minor emergency i have.

i have an electric fan in a scene that is initially off. it gets turned on at a certain point and spins continuosly until a button for the faster rotation is pushed.

my problem is this, i cant get the fan to stop slowing down. i've keyframed the start of the rotation and the point where it is to speed up and the end point. all this seems to do is make the fan slowly pick up speed, stop the get faster as it passes the second keyframe. is there an easy way to do this like with a piece of script or something? tried a google which spat back nothing so please guys, help me...

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# 2 28-03-2006 , 09:02 PM

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Join Date: Jul 2005

Location: Split, Croatia

Posts: 41

I'm not sure what you are trying to say, but...
Well, in your problem, i think it's all about keyframing and the stuff that's called a breakdown.
You know, Maya calcuates other keys between your two main keyframes.
Look:
you have translate X keyfrmaed
at frame 1 --> translateX = 5
at frame 5 --> translateX = 25
if you playback you will see object moving from point A which is 5 on x axis to point B which is 25 on x axis. this is the result of that in-betweens! you only have 2 main keyframes but maya "creates" even more of them to create that animation".
If you stop animation at frame 3 you will see that your object is located on 15th point on x-axis.
But let's try this...
go on the frame 3 and set translate x of an object to 20!
you will see that object goes a bit faster until it reaches frame 3 abd then goes very slowly till it reaches frame 5.
I hope you understand why is that happening.
using this knowlege you can speed up and slow down certian parts of animation.
To animate something, I think you have to understand how keyframes, breakdowns and in-betweens work. user added image

If that's what you are asking for, then I'm happy that I helped you somehow, if not, I'm sure someone will find this helpful.
cheers

If the worst hasn't happened yet, that's because you haven't tried everything yet!

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# 3 29-03-2006 , 01:18 AM

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Join Date: Jul 2005

Location: London

Posts: 520

hi vin 209,

with the info ex-nitro gave you, you could open the graph editor under WINDOW/ANIMATION.
Select you fan, or the object that is rotated. Now you should see one or many curves, depending on how many attributes you have keyframed. On the left side click on the attribute you want to focus on. I your case rot. x, y, or z. Now you see the corrosponding curve, with your keyframes displayed as black dots.
The x -bar of the graph editor displays time and the y-bar the amount (like rotation, or position.)
If you select one of your keyframes two handle will apear. If you push and pull them your curve will react accordingly. That's how you can "fine tune" your animation. You can add keyframes, delete move them around. I can't explain all the buttons inthe graph editor, but if you play a little with the handles and the basic functions it has I am sure you can fix your problem. Check the maya help as well, it explains the graph editor quite well.

I hope it helps.

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# 4 29-03-2006 , 03:14 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2005

Location: Split, Croatia

Posts: 41

That's right! GRAPH EDITOR is great thing to fine tune your animation. I strongly suggest you to take a look at GRAPH EDITROR every so often and focus on how curves "go up and down".
It all takes time, don't be dissapointed if you can't get the results you want right away. user added image

If the worst hasn't happened yet, that's because you haven't tried everything yet!

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# 5 29-03-2006 , 05:35 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2005

Posts: 54

hello guys and thanks for the replies!

the project had to be handed in on tues morning so unfortunately i got the replies to late to help me there, but that was more my problem having posted like a few hours before the due date of the project!

i did actually use the methods outlined above with the emphasis being on the use of the graph editor. i was able to use it to correct the fans motion so now, instead of slowing down then speeding up it has a definite increase in speed. once you get your head around the layout of the graph editor it's actually a lot of fun.

more practice is needed but at least i know from knowledgable replies here that i'm on the right track.

thanks once again chaps and look out for more panic posts soon!

p.s.

i heard mention that you could make a script for this action, is this true? if so how would i go about it and is there a good book somebody could recommend for this and other maya animation concepts that don't just deal with keyframing?

Last edited by vin209; 29-03-2006 at 05:39 PM.

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animating a fan problem

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