Sign Swing Animation?

Development Programming & Scripting
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1

Best way to make a Sign swinging Animation?

2

To make a sign swinging animation, you can follow these steps:

  1. Draw or design your sign in a graphic design software like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.
  2. Export your design as a PNG or SVG file.
  3. Open your preferred animation software like Adobe After Effects or Blender.
  4. Import your sign design into the animation software.
  5. Create a new composition or scene in the animation software.
  6. Add your sign design to the composition.
  7. Create a new null object in the composition.
  8. Add a keyframe to the null object’s rotation property.
  9. Move the timeline cursor to where you want the sign to start swinging.
  10. Set the null object’s rotation value to 0 degrees.
  11. Move the timeline cursor to where you want the sign to be at the peak of its swing.
  12. Set the null object’s rotation value to the desired swing angle, like 45 degrees.
  13. Move the timeline cursor to where you want the sign to complete its swing.
  14. Set the null object’s rotation value to 0 degrees again.
  15. Adjust the timing and easing of the keyframes to make the swing look natural.
  16. Preview your animation and make any necessary adjustments.

By following these steps, you should be able to create a basic sign swinging animation. You can add additional elements like wind or lighting effects to enhance the animation further.

3

Thanks but the Sign is geometry, probably should have said.

I’ve tried using a Timeline and works ok but having trouble with Physics Constraint.

4

FWIW, that answer looks a lot like what ChatGPT would generate …

Anyway, you can’t use both physics constraint and timeline at the same time. Timeline animations are entirely forward kinematic, not physical.

If you have a physics constraint, and the sign is already put up on a hinge, you can add a random amount of force to the sign each tick, to make it swing a bit. If you make the random force be modulated by something like the sine of the current time, plus some offset and modulation parameters, it can look pretty nice.

5

Not using both at the same time, seems pointless anyway.

I’ve added a Sphere for the constraint which works but having trouble getting the Static Mesh Component to swing with it. Can’t enable Physics for the SM.

6

You presumably want a box that surrounds the sign, rather than a sphere?
And a constraint that locks into world space, anchored at the hinge point of the sign.
Also, is this component attached to something else? A root level static mesh should work for physics.

7

Thanks for the help, turns out all I needed to do was add Collision to the Static Mesh for Physics Simulation.