Animated GIFs

[ashscott]

I've had a decent hunt on the forum but can't find an answer so I'll post here.

A user on sketchucation said that you can include animated GIFs in a twilight render V2.
I have got the GIF in the render but can't seem to get any animation out of it. I'm animating objects etc successfully with Keyframe Animation but my GIFs don't move, any help is much appreciated

[ashscott]

Fletch achieved something like this here: http://twilightrender.com/phpBB3/viewto ... =33&t=2730
using Twilight 1

[Chris]

Twilight Render V2 does have animated GIF support built in.

Maybe Fletch can make us an animated snippet for it

Here is an overview of the steps necessary.

1. Open the Twilight Render V2 material editor
2. Choose your material to edit
3. Change the color type to Texture.
   Here's where it can get a little tricky.
   1. You might be automatically prompted for a texture.
   2. If so, go ahead and browse to and select your .GIF image and click OK or Open
4. After the texture is loaded, click on the drop-down arrow next to the filename
5. When the drop-down opens, click on the checkbox that says 'Sequence / Animated GIF'

That's it. Now when you render an animation, the Animated GIF will automatically loop through each frame (1 GIF frame per 1 animation frame).
In addition, if you want to use a .GIF image in a single image, static render, you will most likely have to check this button (Sequence / Animated GIF) in order for it to render correctly.

[Fletch]

1. Insert a copy of your animated .gif image that has been saved as a .jpg or .png format as a texture in your SU scene, you will likely need to apply a Twilight Template to the texture. Do this because SketchUp doesn't support .GIF (go figure). However, you are going to want something in SketchUp so you can properly align/position the texture. Save a copy of the GIF as a jpg so you that you can load it as a place-holder into SketchUp and use it to position the texture. Then using the Twilight Render material editor, you will tell Twilight Render to use the GIF instead of the SketchUp file when rendering.
2. Change the Color slot in the material from the default "SketchUp" to "Texture"
3. Change the "type" of image texture file to search for .gif file types.
4. Choose your animated GIF file that matches the .jpg or .png texture file you have inserted into SU's material.
5. Set up your animated camera if so desired. For still camera, you will need to duplicate your scene, as scene transition time is what determines the length of your video.
6. If you have set up multiple cameras, go to SketchUp pull-down menu "Window>Model Info" and set interval in seconds for your cameras, such as "1" second or "2" second transition.
7. Open the Animation Editor/Render Animation Dialog for Twilight Render via the Extensions (Plugins) pull-down menu>TwilightV2>Animation Render
8. Choose to Animate All
9. Choose your desired render setting - suggested to use the Animation Render Settings folder.
10. Set the length for your animation. This will be a function dependent on how many cameras you have and what transition interval you have specified in SU.
    Animation length explained: If the transition time is 2s and you have only 2 cameras, the length of the animation will be 2seconds. If you have 4 cameras, this is 3 transitions... so 3x2=6 second animation length.
11. Choose a very low resolution for test rendering.
12. Choose your framerate - default is 30 frames per second (fps) 5fps is recommended for test rendering. 24fps is movie theater film framerate 30fps is television frame rate.
13. The animation will be rendered one frame at a time and saved in the format, and named, and placed in the location you specify under "Base Image Name"
14. Hit Play to render the animation.
15. After render is complete, open the image sequence in a video editor such as Quick Time Pro on Mac or Windows Live Movie Maker or Virtual Dub for Windows.
16. Using the Video Editor > Save the animation as .mpg or .mov or .avi or other video format of your choice.

[Chris]

Fletch just pointed out that there appears to be a bug with animated GIFs in the latest release of Twilight Render V2. We'll get it sorted out; until then, your animated gif animations may not render correctly. It depends on the format of the animated GIF. Certain formats, how they were created, aren't rendering correctly.

Sorry about that. We'll try to get it fixed as soon as possible.

[Chris]

The problem is fixed now. We'll include it in the next update.

What is really great is that the animated GIFs are not just limited to materials. You can use them for Projector lights and for sky backgrounds.

[ashscott]

Do you think you could be so kind as to send me a patch so I can animate the GIF?

Or what version can I temporarily go back to to make it work?

I had done the steps you mentioned already and it certainly doesn't work as far as I can tell

[ashscott]

Fletch, regarding your instructions, I'm a little unsure what you mean by "Insert a copy of your animated .gif image that has been saved as a .jpg or .png format as a texture in your SU scene".

If I save it as a jpg or png won't that take away the animated "giffiness"?

[Chris]

Whether it works or not currently will depend on the GIF you are using. Some work, some won't.
Unfortunately, we can't "patch" a distribution. It will have to be a complete release. We will try to get a new release out quickly.

As far as Fletch's explanation...
SketchUp doesn't support .GIF (go figure). However, you are going to want something in SketchUp so you can properly align the texture. Fletch is recommending converting the GIF into a jpg so you can load it into SketchUp and use it to position the texture. Then using the Twilight Render material editor, you will choose to use the GIF instead of the SketchUp file.

[ashscott]

Great explanation, thanks Chris