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[Tohron]

Alright, since I'm trying to make objects fade in and out in an animation, but there's apparently no way to control transparency in scene mode, I'm going with toggling the visibility of multiple object copies in the same position.  However, since adding and scaling each instance of an object individually into scene mode would get ridiculously tedious, is there any way to create additional versions of object(s) already in the scene (with all their current properties)?

[RudySchneider]

Yes, it's too bad that Anim8or doesn't support fading.  However, like you suggest, there is a way to fake it, which I've done several times.  In Object Mode, start with the original object, and create multiple copies (9 is OK, 19 is better), changing the name of each one to reflect its level of transparency.  That is, let's say your original, fully-visible (transparency set to 1) object is named "Box."  If you decide to make 9 copies, name the first copy Box9, and change its material settings to a Transparenecy of 0.9.  Copy this object and paste it as a new object, with a name of Box8, and change its material settings to a TRansparency of 0.7.  Repeat this process until you create Box1.

Next, in Scene mode, let's assume you want to fade out.  First, "build" a Target into the scene, and parent your Box object to it.  Then, use the target to orient your Box where you need it in the scene.  Place objects Box9, Box8, Box7, ... Box1 in the scene, and be certain you parent each to your original Target.

Next, make sure you're at Frame 0 in your timeline , one-by-one, select Box9, Box8, Box7,... Box1, and Key in a value of 0 for its visibility.  This makes sure that only your fully visible Box is visible at the beginning of your video.

Finally, in the timeline editor, select the frame where you want to start your fade.  Here, double-click on Box, and set its visibiliity key to 0.  Select Box9, and set its visibility to 1.  Move to the next frame (or you may want to change every TWO frames), and set the visibility for Box9 to zero, and set the visibility for Box8 to 1.  Repeat this process for Box7 thru Box1, and on the final frame of the fade, set the visibility for Box1 to 0.  It's an involved process, but you've now got a fade-out with visibility fading 10% (5% for 19 copies) for each step.

I know it's a pain, but it's the best you ca do with Anim8or right now.  Good luck...

[thecolclough]

...or you could cheat, and do the fade effect in post-production. 

if you've got any sort of video editing program (microsoft movie maker comes as standard with xp and vista, i believe), then you can just render two versions of the scene, identical apart from the one object you want to fade, which will be present in one version, but not the other.  if you're fading out, and you want the fade to last for, say, 20 frames (we'll call them frames 40 - 59, and say it's in the middle of a 100-frame scene, for argument's sake), then you render frames 0 - 59 with the object, and you render frames 40 - 99 without it, then in the video editor you just put a 20-frame fade transition between the two clips, and voila!  your object will fade out as planned, without any tedious repetition of objects in anim8or. 

this method has the advantage that you can make a really long and smooth fade (100 or 200 frames, even), without making even a single duplicate object, whereas the duplicate-objects method would generate huge file sizes (if your object is complex) and take tonnes of work, even for a very short fade, and a long one would be a suicidal undertaking.

of course, it doesn't work if you haven't got an editing program, but they come with most computers these days, and if you don't already have one, they're not hard to come by.

- colclough

[boron]

Or you could try terranim8or. It has animated materials.  Via replacing objects.

from Lleslie 08 2003

Everything is animatable: colors, weight factors, percents, textures, front & backside.
snip possible combinations of the animated parameters are practically unlimited. From left to right and from top to bottom:
1. animated diffuse texture (fire)
2. animated bump map percent
3. emissive color
4. animated transparency & ambient, diffuse, specular weights
5. animated bump map (image sequence)
6. diffuse texture (decal) animated percentage
7. animated specular factor
8. animated front side transparency (releasing the backside)
9. blue shift (animated diffuse color)
10. The moving ball has a decreasing transparency map percent, hiding the backside

Boron's bold.

from 2007

It is only in the old Terranim8or (v6.6.1).
It's almost self explaining, so there is no need for detailed explanations. Anyway, here it is a hint from one of my old posts (that I found using the Forum Search):
1. Put the object you want to have animated materials (animated color, transparency, or texture) in a separate .an8 file (in order to be imported by Terranim8or)
2. Use Teranim8or v.6 (not the latest v7!) to import the object (Object > Import...)
3. Click Object > Apply Animated Material...
4. In the material editor set the first and last frames for the material transition and the color and/or transparency values for the first and last frame. Close the editor with OK. Terranim8or interpolates smoothly between the material settings.
5. Click Object > Export, choosing a name for the file where you will have the object sequence. It can be a new file, or an existing one.
6. Open the file mentioned in step 5 with Anim8or. There you will find a series of identical objects in the object editor with slightly different materials. Change to Scene mode. There you will find a target named TAN8sequencetarget. This target is the parent of the objects sequence. You have to animate the target and the objects will follow their parent! Each object is visible for a single different frame, so the impression is that there is a single object moving smoothly with smooth material transition.

Terranim8or is a great tool. Sad that people keep forgetting.

[thecolclough]

Terranim8or is a great tool. Sad that people keep forgetting.

yes, boron, well said. 

but... as per my earlier point, if you do your fade in terranim8or, you still end up with a huge file full of duplicated objects, the more so the longer you make your fade.  you avoid that if you add the fade effect in post.  plus there's the fact that if you try to use the in-anim8or approach on a complex, multi-part model, chances are that you'd end up seeing some usually-hidden internal faces during the fade-out, and chances are, you probably don't want that.

- colclough

[boron]

Yes it is a big file usually, you are very right.
The fade requires planning to manipulate it in scene mode

Not sure what you mean about the "chances are that you'd end up seeing some usually-hidden internal faces during the fade-out, and chances are, you probably don't want that."

Possibly a two sided material could have 100 percent transparency on the inside face plus zero specular value?

[ENSONIQ5]

I'm with you colclough.  I use Video Impression (kinda like Movie Maker but significantly better) for post-production effects, like your sneaky fade-out method.  In fact I often spend more time in post-production fiddling than modelling and rigging the animation itself.  Although the multiple object with varying transparency levels and complex visibility switching technique is valid, I personally think it is extremely wasteful of bytes and time, time that could be much better spent in post production.

I have not fully explored Terranim8or's capabilities, using it pretty much exclusively for its terrain mapping function, but I hear it is excellent for things like this.  Definitely worth investigating.

[thecolclough]

Not sure what you mean about the "chances are that you'd end up seeing some usually-hidden internal faces during the fade-out, and chances are, you probably don't want that."

okay, hypothetical scenario: you have a box, with a peg sticking out of each side.  it looks like attachment #1.

if you fade out using the post-production method, as favoured by myself and ensoniq, then at 50% faded, the image will look like attachment #2.  none of the stuff on the other side has become visible.

if you fade out using the in-anim8or multiple-objects method, with semitransparent materials, then at 50% faded, you'll end up with something that looks like attachment #3 - note that once the object becomes translucent, you can see bits on the back, that don't show up using the post-production fade technique.  the two back pegs, which used to be hidden behind the box, become visible once the box is part seethrough.  that's sort of what i was on about in my last post.

hope that explains my convoluted thought processes in a reasonably comprehensible way... 

- colclough

[boron]

Okay-dokay.

A picture makes a thousand words

Thanks for pointing that out!

Better go and buy that ensonique programe

Boron the "M"

[ENSONIQ5]

Video Impression comes packaged with some digital cameras, like Olympus and Konica (at least here down under).  I'm not sure it is actually for sale anywhere, but there are other video editing suites available, no doubt substantially better than VI.  The later versions of Movie Maker are actually quite good and are well worth fiddling with.  Nero Vision Express also does a reasonable job, and is packaged free with just about every DVD burner sold here.  If you don't have anything like that, maybe you know someone who does, not that I am advocating software piracy or anything like that...