Dashed line in Motion 5

Question

Level 1

8 points

Dashed line in Motion 5

Hey

I'm trying to animate a vehicle on a dashed line. Basically, the vehicle stands still while the dashed line moves underneath it.

I've created a simple line, then used a replicator; what I have is a series of lines that I now want to animated in a continuous, seamless loop. So far I've tried adding a motion path, which moves the lines, but doesn't loop correctly. I read a post that suggested adjusting the rate on the replicator's tile offset, but that did nothing.

Any other ways to make it happen?

Thanks

MacBook 2GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Feb 2, 2016 4:19 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 2, 2016 12:34 PM in response to SpikeB

Instead of using a Replicator, try using a particle emitter.

Emission angle set to what ever direction you want the lines to travel

Emission range should be 0

Birth rate should be low

Speed set to how fast you want the lines to go by.

Move the emitter's cel to the left of the first frame to "pre roll" it. Adjusting it in time to get the looping correct.

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Answer 2

fox_m

Level 6

12,595 points

Feb 2, 2016 8:05 PM in response to SpikeB

You shouldn't need a Motion Path. Motion can be animated in the Replicator. You shouldn't need multiple lines for the animation path - a single Bezier curve (open or closed) would be better.

Draw a short line to use as the dash.

Replicate it.

Set Shape = Geometry

Drop the path used as the "map" path in the Shape Source.

Set the number of "Points" you need for your dashed line and in Cell Controls, check Align Angle.

Add a Ramp or Rate behavior to your Replicator Offset parameter. You can do that by right clicking on the parameter name and selecting either one from the popup menu. In the inspector set the End Value (Ramp) to 100%; or the Rate value to about 10% (season to taste - and/or to smooth out looping. 10%Rate for a 10 second 30fps project loops smoothly.)

For extra effect, go back to the original "dash" line and set one end to Arrow and the other to Square or None.

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Answer 3

SpikeB Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 4, 2016 1:44 AM in response to fox_m

Hey fox_m

Unbelievable! You've sold in 3 minutes what it's taken me three days to try and figure out… Unbelievably, I couldn't find a single tutorial on how to do it, would have though it would be a fairly common animation.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!

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Answer 4

fox_m

Level 6

12,595 points

Feb 4, 2016 2:05 AM in response to SpikeB

You're welcome!

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