SU Animate 3.

1 Guide

Table of Contents
What’s New to Version 3.1 ..................................................................... 1
Animate Components ............................................................................. 1
Animation Preview Controls .................................................................. 2
Target-Per-Path or multiple targets ....................................................... 2
SU Animate Toolbar ............................................................................... 2
Install...................................................................................................... 4
Cameras, Curves & Paths ...................................................................... 4
Use a Camera path to create a simple walk thru effect. ...................... 5
Animating Objects with Groups or Components ................................... 5
Using other features in SU Animate ...................................................... 7
Exporting the Animation ........................................................................ 7
Some Tips ............................................................................................... 8

SU Animate is a simple animation plug-in for Google SketchUp 6, 7 or 7.1 for Windows and Mac. The program
will animate groups along a path by creating scenes automatically. You can also create walk thru animations by
animating SketchUp’s camera along a specified path. You can then export the scenes to an AVI file using
SketchUp’s export animation feature.

What’s New to Version 3.1

SU Animate 3.1 has new features to further streamline the animation creation process as well as increase the
complexity of animations that can be made. SU Animate 3.1 has the following new features: the ability to
animate nested groups or components, animation preview controls, and multiple camera targets.

Animate Components
SU Animate can now utilize components in animations along a path. In previous versions, only groups could be
animated. Once a component is given a name, (above “definition name” in the entity info window) it will
appear in the animation parameters window.

Nested Animation – two motions for any group/ component

SU Animate now has the ability to perform nested animations. Nested animations allow the user to create
animations such as the wheel of a car rotating as it moves along a path. Other applications would include a
propeller on a plane as the plane flies through the air or a drill bit spinning as it drills through a material. In the
example of a tire on a car, the tire must be a group assigned to a circle animation path both of which are grouped
in a second or outer group or component. The second group or component (the tire and the path) is then

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assigned to the animation path the tire will travel along.
Please see “What's New in SU Animate 3.1” video tutorial here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdQ-
vI1GvTE.

There are also several video tutorials demonstrating this new feature in the “Nested Groups or Components -
wheel rotates and moves forward” section.

Animation Preview Controls

When previewing an animation, a control box will appear. The user will have the option of making the preview
run faster or slower. The more times the “Faster” button is pressed, the faster the preview will run. Similarly, the
preview will run slower and slower the more times the “Slower” button is pressed. Pressing the cancel button
will terminate the preview so the user can go back to editing the animation.

Target-Per-Path or multiple camera targets

A model can now have more than one camera target. This is very useful in walk thru animations. Each unique
path can have its own target assigned to it. The target-per-path option allows the user to switch between targets.
Since SU Animate will progress to the next path after a path has reached its end, if the next path is assigned to
another target, the target is effectively switched and the camera will follow that target. Please take a look at the
Multiple Target video on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m4JWERBh-E or go to the
www.ohyeahcad.com/suanimate/ page.

SU Animate Toolbar
All of SU Animate’s features are accessible via a toolbar.

Here is a description of each of the buttons on the toolbar:

Polyline Path Tool

When selecting this tool, you are asked to input a value for the radius of arcs created between each line. If you
make a mistake, you can right click to bring up the ‘Undo Last’ option. When finished creating the path, you
can right click and select done or simply double click to bring up the animation path window. Double clicking
to end path creation may cause crashing when creating paths with many points.

Circular Path tool

This tool can be used to quickly make a circular path and jump right into the animation path window. Simply
drag the circle to the size you desire, or type a value for the radius into the SketchUp VCB after selecting the
circular path tool.

Edit Polyline/Circular Path

These tools are for when you decide to edit the shape, length or size of a polyline or circular path that has
already been created. The edit polyline tool allows you to click on a line to reposition and select nodes of the
path to reposition as well. Circular paths can be resized to a different radius after selecting the Edit Circular

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Path tool.

Make Path from Curves

As in previous versions of SU Animate, you can still create a path by linking together arcs and curves. You can
either context click and select Create Animation Path, or select the toolbar button ‘Make Path From Curves’.
Either method will bring you directly to the animation path window to set animation parameters. Note: paths
created in this manner cannot be manipulated with the Edit Polyline path tool.

Edit Animation Path

With a path selected, click this button to bring up the animation path window. This is the same window that
comes up immediately after creating a path. This tool is if you decide to change the number of frames or what
group is animating on the path.

Preview Animation
This tool allows you to see how your animation will look before creating scenes. The preview will begin
instantly after clicking the button and will show exactly what the animation will look like when you create
scenes. You are asked to input a number of scenes to account for any delay or path repetitions you may have.
Make Scenes
This tool creates the actual scenes in SketchUp in order to export the animation as a video file, or to render the
scenes with Podium. You will be prompted to enter the number of scenes to be created. Unlike previous
versions, if you have not saved the file, you will be unable to make scenes since the only way to undo the scene
creation is to revert the model to the last time it was saved.

User Interface. The interface makes assigning groups or camera or both to paths, easy. Just put in the number
of frames and SU Animate divides the path for you. Now, there is also an arrow indicating the direction of the
path that will appear when you have the animation path window open. Also you can assign Targets to each path
from the User Interface.

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Install
(Note: the instructions are the same for SketchUp 6 and 7, the only difference will be the version number you
see in the directory.) Click on the SU Animate program. This will install the evaluation version of SU Animate.
(Mac users install the files to - in the Library/Application Support/ Google SketchUp 7/ Plugins folder)

You can activate the evaluation version of SU Animate so it becomes a full commercial version. Make sure
SketchUp is closed before installing SU Animate. Once the program is installed, open SketchUp and go to the
Plugins menu and pick SU Animate. Click on Register if you have purchased SU Animate and want to activate
the program as a full commercial version. If you do not enter a serial number, you will have 10 days to evaluate
the program.

After installing, take a look at the contents of the \Program Files (x86 if you have a Win64 OS)\ Google \
Google SketchUp 7 \ Plugins folder. (Note: Mac version is installed in the Library\Application Support\Google
SketchUp 7\ Plugins folder.)

The images folder contains images used by SU Animate such as in the tool bar. The scripts folder contains all of
the Ruby codes that run the program. The uninst folder contains the uninstall file for SU Animate v 3.1.

Please go to http://www.ohyeahcad.com\suanimate\ to view the various video tutorials including tutorials

that explain

Cameras, Curves & Paths

This section will introduce how to create a very simple walk thru animation along a straight user-defined path.
Go to http://www.ohyeahcad.com/suanimate/ and click on the Walk Through with SU Animate 3 tutorial to
get a jump start on this example.

The SU Animate uses one or more paths to define how an animation is created. A path can be any open or
closed curve defined by the user. The path can simply be a straight line or a complex group of connected lines
and curves. There can be several animation paths in each animation.

For starters we will define a simple path that the camera will follow. The camera will be moving along the path
to create a walk thru effect.

Open SketchUp and draw a 3D box.

Draw a line about 10ft long (305 cm) alongside the 3D box. If you plan on having an elevated path, it is easiest
to draw your paths on SketchUp’s ground plane at first or use the construction grid plugin.
Select the make path from curves button from the toolbar. For the number of frames, type 50.
Click OK in the animation path window.
Using the preview button , you can easily preview the animation before creating the scenes.

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IMPORTANT ITEMS TO CONSIDER BEFORE CREATING THE ANIMATION:

It is very important to save your model before creating scenes. Once you create scenes, the only way to undo the
scene creation is to use File>Revert to revert the model back to the last time it was saved.

This is also a good time to go to SketchUp’s View menu and select Animation>Settings. Change the default
settings of Scene Transitions and Scene Delay both to 0. If you change these values before saving you will not
have to change them every time you revert the model.

Also make sure the Layers, Entity Info, Materials, Scenes or any other windows within SketchUp are
minimized if not closed. Having these windows open will drastically increase scene creation time as well as
slow down the animations when they are played within SketchUp.

It should also be noted that paths will be put onto the path animation layer and this layer can be hidden before
the creation of scenes. Turning off the animation path before Making Scenes will be effective.

From the toolbar, press the make scenes button . The script will pop up a window with as many scenes as you
have line segments in the path. The program also adds one additional scene.

Click “OK” to create the scenes. Any extra scenes added by the user will just be a repetition of the final scene of
the animation.

Use a Camera path to create a simple walk thru effect.

We will now create a more complex path to create a simple walk thru animation.

Start a new model and create a 3D box. Make the box a group and in the entity info window, give the box a
name.
Using the polyline tool create a path that goes around the corner of box.
After creating the path, the animation path window will pop up where you can set your parameters. You will see
the name you gave the box in the animation path window which you can select to animate that group on the
path you created.
Decide on a number of frames for the animation and click OK in the animation path window.
Select the path you created and move the path about 5 feet from the ground plane. Otherwise the camera will
run along the ground where you created the path.
Press the preview button to check how the animation will look.
If you are satisfied with the animation, save your model and click the make scenes button .

You should have a walk thru animation that shows the camera turning the corner of the box.

Animating Objects with Groups or Components

SU Animate has the ability to animate groups in SketchUp. Upon completion of this section, you will be able to
animate any group along a path to create an object animation. Before starting this section, it is recommended

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that you go to http://www.ohyeahcad.com/suanimate/ and click on the Walk Through video tutorial to get an
understanding of how to create paths and assign a camera or a group to the animation path.

Also, take a look at the first video in the Camera Target Group video tutorial.

Notice that there is already a path created behind the forklift. The forklift has been placed at the point of origin
of the path and will move in the direction the path was draw. When the forklift is selected as the target for the
path, the camera will follow it.
Reversing the direction of the curve will change which direction a group will move. Remember that the group
must be at the correct end of the path to attain the desired movement. Like the camera, a group can be animated
to follow a curved or angled path.

NOTE: All the rules before making scenes still apply when animating a group/ component along a path. It is
also important to note that your named group will move in the direction that the original curve was created in. If
your group is moving the opposite way than expected, reverse the direction of the curve.

The following steps are being taking in this video tutorial:

1. Position the camera where you would like it to be as the forklift moves along the path. Camera
placement matters since the camera will stay in a fixed location and rotate to “watch” your target move
and keep it in view.

2. Preview the animation using Preview.

3. When ready, select the Make Scenes option from the toolbar menu to create the animated scenes.

Try making your own group path animation. Make a new file and create a simple group and a path for the group
to follow. If you want the camera to follow the group as it is animated along a path, make sure you name the
group or component so it can be selected from the animation parameters window.

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Note: Animation paths are automatically assigned to the animation path layer. Turning this layer off before
creating the scenes will hide the paths lines.

Using other features in SU Animate

Delay

With the Delay feature, you can assign a delay variable to each path. The delay is measured in a number of
scenes. So a delay of 10 would mean a delay of 10 scenes. If one path is assigned a delay of 10, this means that
the path’s animation will not run until frame or scene 10.

Repeat

Repeat allows the user to set a path to repeat itself. The path and associated group will continue to animate until
all the frames or scenes in the entire animation are completed.

(Note: SketchUp repeats the entire animation sequence as a default. Be aware that SU Animate’s Repeat is
NOT the same as how SketchUp automatically repeats the entire animation sequence.)

For example, SU Animate’s Repeat, allows you to create a path with a few frames. Then the path’s animation
will be repeated for as many frames there are in the entire animation. If the path is an open curve, the animation
will be repeated, starting at the end point of the original curve.

Repeat is effect to use for a wheel that is rotating AND moving forward along a path. Take a look at the
“Nested Groups or Components - wheel rotates and moves forward video”. The nested wheel group with a
circle path should be repeated so the wheel continues to rotate. The “outer group” that contains the inner group
and the circle path will be animated along a straight line.

Many groups along the same path

This useful feature allows you to animate many groups on the same path simultaneously. You can assign more
than one group on the same path using SU Animate’s user interface.

Exporting the Animation

Once you have created a satisfactory animation, you can use SketchUp to export all the scenes to an AVI file.
(Mac version will create a .mov file as a default). AVI file is a audio/ video standard format that can be read by
many Multi-Media programs like Windows Media or Quicktime. AVI files and can be converted to smaller
footprint video files like Windows Media Video (WMV) or other formats by using conversion programs such as
CAMTASIA™ from TechSmith

To export your animation in SketchUp:

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Go to the File pull down menu and pick Export.
From the Export menu pick Animation.
From the Animation dialog box you can decide what to name and where to save the .avi file. The options button
shows you various AVI options.

Some Tips
Before creating an animation with SU Animate in an existing SketchUp model make a copy of the file and
rename it. Create the animation in the new file. If there are any existing scenes in the new file, delete them.
Hide your path before Making Scenes. Paths can be hidden by putting them in a unique layer and turning the
layer containing the path off before creating the scenes. Otherwise, your animation will include the path
entities.
Close extra Windows to make the animation smooth. Make sure that the SketchUp windows for Layers, Entity
Info, Materials, Scenes or any other windows within SketchUp are minimized if not closed. Having these
windows open will increase scene creation time as well as slow down the animations when they are played
within SketchUp.