Animating Scenes
Animating scenes can be a great way to show off your model from different angles or with different styles. After Creating a Scene, you can create an animation in one of three ways:
- Play an animation of the scenes in SketchUp.
- Export the animation to a video file, such as
.mp4. - Export an image set, which is a collection of image files that you can animate with video software.
Animating scenes in SketchUp
After you create and sequence your scenes, animating scenes in SketchUp is easy. You can play the animation by selecting the scene that you want to start with and clicking View > Animation > Play.
To customize the animation, click View > Animation > Settings or Window > Model Info to access the following options:
- Scene Transitions – Enabling Scene Transitions creates a smooth transition from one scene to the next. You can also adjust how many seconds SketchUp will use to make a transition.
- Scene Delay – Use the box provided to set how long a scene appears before SketchUp transitions to the next scene.
Exporting video animations
You can export your animation using one of the following file types:
| Option | Where to Play This File Type | Good to Know |
|---|---|---|
H.264 codec .mp4 | In a web browser, with many video programs, and on many hardware devices | .mp4 is a compressed video format, and one of the most broadly supported video file types. |
Uncompressed .avi | In Windows Media Player or on a Mac, in VLC | Uncompressed .avi generates a large video file and also plays on most computers and devices. You may want uncompressed video if you plan to edit the video in video-editing software. |
Vp8 codec .webm | In the Chrome, Firefox, or Opera web browser, or with a few media player applications, such as VLC. | .webm is a compressed open media file format that works with the HTML5 video tag. The format was designed as an open format for the web. |
Theora codec .ogv | In a web browser or with a media player, such as VLC | An .ogv file is often embedded in a web page via the HTML5 video tag as an alternate to the .webm format. This way, website visitors can use whichever file their preferred browser supports. |
When you export an animation, you can adjust the following options:
- Resolution – Choose among three preset resolutions: 1080p Full HD, 720p HD, or 480p SD. The lower the number, the lower the resolution. Higher resolutions look great when played full screen on a large monitor, but will have a larger file size. Select Custom to set the Aspect Ratio and Frame Size on your own.
- Aspect Ratio – Only available when setting a custom resolution. Choose from 16:9 for widescreen monitors, 4:3 for standard monitors, or Custom to modify the frame's width and height independently of each other.
- Width and Height – Only available when setting a custom resolution. You can alter both the Width and Height of your animation.
- Line Scale Multiplier – Controls the overall line thicknesses of exported animations. If the line weights in your animation are too thick or too thin, you can change the line weights with this option. The larger the number, the thicker the lines in your animation will appear.
- Preview Frame Size – Click to check how your video will look in the frame size that you've selected.
- Frame Rate – The higher the frame rate, the smoother the video and the larger the file size will be. The default setting is 24 frames per second,
