Animating With MicroStation Sample

Animating with
MicroStation
Jerry Flynn
Exton, PA
2007
ANIMATING WITH MICROSTATION
First Edition
Copyright 2007 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
Bentley, B Bentley logo, Bentley Institute Press, and MicroStation are either registered or unregis-
tered trademarks or servicemarks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect
wholly-owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective
owners.
Publisher does not warrant or guarantee any of the products described herein or perform any inde-
pendent analysis in connection with any of the product information contained herein. Publisher
does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any obligation to obtain and include information other
than that provided to it by the manufacturer.
The reader is expressly warned to consider and adopt all safety precautions that might be indicated
by the activities herein and to avoid all potential hazards. By following the instructions contained
herein, the reader willingly assumes all risks in connection with such instructions.
The publisher makes no representation or warranties of any kind, including but not limited to, the
warranties of fitness for particular purpose of merchantability, nor are any such representations im-
plied with respect to the material set forth herein, and the publisher takes no responsibility with re-
spect to such material. The publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary
damages resulting, in whole or part, from the readers use of, or reliance upon, this material.
ISBN Number: 978-0-9714141-9-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007923518
Published by:
Bentley Institute Press
Bentley Systems, Incorporated
685 Stockton Drive
Exton, PA 19341
www.bentley.com
www.bentley.com/books
Printed in the U.S.A.

Foreword
Ray Bentley of Bentley Systems, Inc.
Having powerful animation tools at your disposal is one thing. Becom-

ing an expert user of those tools quite another.
Enter Jerry Flynn's skilled instruction. A revered tutor and mentor for
MicroStation visualization gurus the world over, Jerry has helped thou-
sands of users master MicroStation visualization techniques, both in
classrooms across the globe and through his previous Bentley Institute
Press title, Rendering with MicroStation. Now, with the practical exer-
cises and animation instruction contained within these pages, it's no
surprise that the lessons to follow will help thousands of users get their
models moving faster than ever before.
The development team here at Bentley has worked hard to deliver visu-
alization and animation toolsets that can produce amazing results. I am
part of that team, and I also remain the biggest advocate for making our
powerful visualization tools accessible to our users. It's a challenging
combination, but a challenge we enjoy with each success.
The latest release, MicroStation V8 XM Edition, now contains powerful
and easy-to-use animation tools. Once configured, MicroStation's pow-
erful engine can process a model and its animation to deliver high-qual-
ity, 30-frames-a-second action that delivers a fluidity and realism that
rival Hollywood CGI.
iii
iv Foreword
Put yourself in the director's chair. Pan, tilt, zoom, focus, and highlight a
scene anyway you'd like. Flyovers and walk-throughs are a breeze, espe-
cially when you can simulate a camera on a cable as it flies through a
scene, or pace motion however you choose. Select the keyframes and
leave the hard work to MicroStation. You call the shots, literally!
Now bring the actors to life. Adding motion to formerly static objects
within your model will reveal its interconnected and fluid detail.
Whether animating the mechanics of infrastructure or demonstrating
the flow of its surrounding world, this is where magic can happen. Peo-
ple walking, cars moving, cranes lifting. Deliver materials, build a struc-
ture, or operate a machine. Anything is possible.
Many users will start their foray into animation with the ever-popular
walk-throughs and fly-overs, which immerse a viewer in the middle of a
virtual world. These animations excel when demonstrating sightlines
and design options. As your confidence grows, this book will guide you
- step-by-step - toward the kind of experimentation and results that you
previously only admired on someone else's screen. Put your models into
gear and redefine what you think is possible.
Animation may dazzle, but more importantly, animation will inform de-
sign decisions. Will a crane bearing a load clear the structure it reaches
over? Is there enough available space to accommodate building materi-
als on site? As your skills grow, you'll find yourself reaching for answers
to questions like these and answering them with your own animations.
Animation adds the element of time to a model, and as such, is now a
core competency among engineering firms for schedule simulation and
constructability testing. Additionally, some firms are now enjoying bet-
ter project planning and improved cost control by prototyping on-time
and just-in-time project scheduling by first simulating projects in ani-
mation. On paper, a site may accommodate the materials, equipment,
and staging that are required, but you'll have much greater confidence in
your aggressive schedule when you first put your construction sequence
to the test.
For many years now, project and design teams have been realizing ideas
and designs using 3D models rendered in MicroStation. Now these
teams can bring those models to life with a little help from Jerry Flynn
and Animating in MicroStation.
What are you waiting for? Get moving now!
Contents
Chapter 1: Animation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Animation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Video or Movie Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Video Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
NTSC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
PAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
HDTV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Animation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Uses of the Animation Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Actor Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Camera Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
General Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Animation Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 2: Simple Keyframe Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Simple Keyframe Animation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Creating Additional Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Freezing Geometry into Original Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Creating Additional Keyframes in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Freezing Geometry into Original Positions in V8 XM Edition . 22
Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
v
vi Contents
Animating with Actors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Creating the Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Creating the Animation Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Animation Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Animating with Actors in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Creating the Keyframes in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . 45
Animation Preview V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3D Content in PDF Files for V8 and V8 XM Edition. . . . . . . . . . . 49
Adding 3D Content from Design Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Interacting with 3D Content in Adobe Reader . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Keyframing Deformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Manipulating Actors and Creating Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Creating the Deformation Animation Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Recording the Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Keyframing Deformation in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Manipulating Actors and Creating Keyframes
in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Creating the Deformation Animation Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Recording the Animation V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
MicroStation's Movie Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Chapter 3: Actor Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Attaching Actors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Creating the Penknife Animation Script. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Attaching Actors in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Creating the Penknife Animation Script in V8 XM Edition 96
Creating Actors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Assembling the Desk Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Creating Desk Lamp Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Creating the Desk Lamp Animation Script. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Creating Actors in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Assembling the Desk Lamp in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Attaching Actors using Animation Producer
in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Creating Desk Lamp Keyframes in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Creating the Desk Lamp Animation Script in V8 XM Edition . 137
Targeting Actors in V8 XM Edition Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Contents vii
Chapter 4: Parametric Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Scripting an Actor With a Parametric Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Creating a Custom Parameter to Describe a Revolution . . 154
Creating an Animation Script Using Custom Parameters . . . . 157
Changing the Winch Motion by Editing a Parameter . . . . . 159
Creating a Custom Parameter for Revolution in
V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Creating an Animation Script Using Custom Parameters . 163
Changing the Winch Motion by Editing a Parameter
in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Animating a Clock with Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Creating the Clock Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Editing the Script and Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Animating a Clock with Parameters in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . 171
Creating the Clock Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Editing the Script and Parameters V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . 175
Advanced Parametric Motion Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Chapter 5: Cameras, Paths, and Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Defining the Camera Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Previewing the Animation Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Frame the Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
The Storyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Keyframing a Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Checking Camera Path Timing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Creating the Storyboard Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Recording Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Defining the Camera Path in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
The Storyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Activating and Deactivating Targets in V8 XM Edition. . . . 222
Keyframing a Target in V8 XM Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Checking Camera Path Timing in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Creating the Storyboard Script in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Previewing the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . 235
Recording Scripts in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Playing Back the Results in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
viii Contents
Actors on Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Modifying the path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Velocity Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Animation Velocity Graph Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Placing the Animation Camera in Car1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Attaching a Camera to an Actor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Scripting a Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Adding a Few Bumps in the Road. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Actors on Paths in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Modifying the path in V8 XM Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Velocity Graph in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Place Animation Camera in Car1 in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . 272
Attaching Camera to Actor V8 XM Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Scripting a Target in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Script the Previously Created Keyframes
in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Adding a Few Bumps in the Road in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . 285
Actors Following Targets in V8 XM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Attach the Actors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . 291
Chapter 6: Animating Materials and Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Animating Running Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Animating Source Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Animating a Camera Using Saved Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Animating Running Water in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Animating Source Lights in V8 XM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Recording a Preview in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Animating a Camera Using Saved Views in V8 XM Edition . . . 318
Playing Back The Previously Recorded Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Animating Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Creating the Curtain Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Creating the Movie House Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Using the Timeline Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Animating Textures in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Creating the Curtain Keyframes in V8 XM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Creating the Movie House Script in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . 335
Animating the Lights and Movie Screen in V8 XM . . . . . . . 337
Animation of Solar Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Solar Time Stamp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Contents ix
Solar Study Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Solar Study in V8 XM Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Chapter 7: Included Scripts and Network Rendering . . . . . . 353

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Included Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Using the Packager Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Network Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Distributed Rendering Overview for V8 XM Edition . . . . . . 366
Setting Up a Shared Network Resource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Disable Simple File Sharing on Windows XP Pro . . . . . . . . . 374
Adding Processors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Important Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Hardware Graphics Acceleration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Postage Stamp Animations for Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Multi-level Texture Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Antialiasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Multi-core CPUs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Non-linear Editing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Visualization Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

x Contents
Introduction
This book assumes you know nothing about animation however it is

assumed that you have a working knowledge of 3D. It starts out slowly
with simple animation techniques using keyframing and progresses to
more advanced animation methods where you will learn to animate
actors using parameters and also to animate materials and lighting.
This book covers animating with MicroStation V8 and also
MicroStation V8 XM Edition. While many of the tools may look the
same in both versions the underlying code has been completely
rewritten for XM. Most notably the Animation Producer where the
animation scripts are created has a completely new look and is much
more user friendly.
In every exercise you will get a chance to see how the V8 XM Edition
compares to previous Animation Producer. If you are new to Animation
and are starting out using MicroStation V8 XM Edition, I would
recommend you skip over the exercises geared toward the older version
and concentrate on those exercises specifically for XM. If you are
familiar with the old Animation Producer and moving to XM, I would
recommend you do both sets of exercises so you can apply what you
already know more quickly by seeing exactly how the versions differ.
xi
xii Introduction
EXTRACTING THE DATA SETS

Before doing any exercises, you will need to extract the data sets from
the accompanying CD. The CD contains the Workspace that you will be
using for all the exercises, including design files, palettes, materials, and
image library.
Extract all the files from the AWM.zip file into the folder where Micro-
Station in installed on your computer. By default, MicroStation V8 is
installed in \Program Files\Bentley folder, and for V8 XM Edition
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Bentley but this
could be different on your computer if you do not use the default install.
Extract to
Bentley folder
Check Use
folder names
Extract the files using folder names and elect to overwrite the existing
files since the Workspace folder already exists.
NOTE: It may be necessary to set the Windows folder options in order
to see the default folder location where the V8 XM Workspace is
installed.
From Windows File Explorer choose Tools > Folder Options to open the
Folder Options dialog turn on the option to Show hidden files and
folders.
About the Author xiii
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jerry Flynn is a visualization specialist at Bentley Systems. He has more
than 18 years of visualization experience, and over 25 years of
experience working with 3D computer models.
As a design engineer with Planning Research Corporation (PRC), at the
Kennedy Space Center, Jerry designed launch support equipment and
access platforms for the Space Shuttle. Using a highly accurate 3D
computer model of the Space Shuttles outer mold lines, Jerry was able to
design critical access equipment and verify the designs on the computer
prior to fabrication. In his own words I was hooked on 3D from that
point, in 1981, on.
When the design and construction phase for the Shuttle facilities ended
in 1987, Jerry left PRC and went to work for McDonnell Douglas Space
Systems. At that time McDonnell Douglas provided all support and
processing of flight hardware in preparation for launch of the Space
Shuttle. As a senior design engineer at McDonnell Douglas, Jerry
brought his experience in 3D computer graphics to an even higher level.
Using MicroStation, version 2.01.3, and an 8 MHz 286 PC, he created
the first accurate 3D models of a processing facility and the Magellan
spacecraft. These models then were used to perform access studies and
xiv Introduction
fit checks, far in advance of the spacecrafts actual arrival at the Kennedy
Space Center. This effort proved to NASA that computer modeling
would be a tremendous time saver over existing methods.
From Jerrys pioneering efforts, a new Visualization Group was born.
This group performed complex tasks and expanded their
responsibilities to include conceptual design and advanced studies for
future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond. This group now has
more than 11 full-time employees dedicated to various visualization
tasks.
During his time at McDonnell Douglas, Jerry won 14 Golden Mouse
awards in InterGraphs computer art competition and a Best in
Application, from Kodak, during the 1991 SIGGRAPH convention. The
Design Visualization Group that Jerry was instrumental in forming won
the Silver Eagle award in 1993, the highest award achievable at the Space
Systems division.
Jerry Flynn departed McDonnell Douglas in November of 1994 to join
Bentley Systems. He was responsible for much of the animation and
graphics used on the Discovery CD-ROMs to launch MicroStation 95,
GeoGraphics, Modeler, and TriForma. He continues to work closely
with development on improving and adding new visualization features
to MicroStation. He also played a major role in the development of
Model City Philadelphia a virtual reality model of Philadelphia, which
was shown at AEC Systems and SIGGRAPH in 1997.
Jerry is the author of the Bentley Institutes Animating with
MicroStation and Rendering for Building Design courses and
provides 3D and visualization training for users in the U.S. and sites
around the world. Jerry Flynn also supports Bentleys Professional
Services Group. In this capacity, he provides professional consulting and
services, including onsite training, 3D modeling, animation, rendering,
multimedia, and video editing services.
Jerry Flynns graphics have been on the covers of 16 MicroStation books.
He has been the creator of seven MicroStation Manager covers, and his
photorealistic images have made the covers of Road & Bridges,
Computer Aided Engineering and Computer Graphics World magazines.
He is responsible for the Orbiter, Oldhotel, Livroom and Lobby
example DGN files that were shipped with MicroStation. He was
instrumental in the development of the texture library that is delivered
with MicroStation.
1 Animation Overview
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
The topics covered in this chapter include:
b Animation overview
b Video standards
b Animation tools
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will be provided a brief overview of what
animation is, as well as a brief explanation of the various types of
video formats and output.
ANIMATION OVERVIEW
When you think of animation one of the first things that comes to
mind is the Saturday morning cartoons that most of us enjoyed as
kids. By drawing pictures with successive movement of objects,
these animations or cartoons appear to come to life. Cartoons
today are typically created on computers and some of the in-
between pictures (frames) can be computed rather than drawn by
hand.
1
2 Chapter 1: Animation Overview
What all forms of cartoon animation have in common is that they

create some type of perceived motion by showing successive
frames at a relatively high speed. Computer cartoon animation
usually shows 10 to 20 frames per second. By comparison,
traditional hand-drawn animation uses anywhere from 8 frames
per second (for poor-quality animation), to 12 frames per second
(for standard animation), to 24 frames per second (for short bursts
of smooth, realistic motion).
Human visual accuracy is limited to about 12 images per second.
If you show more than 12 images per second the brain thinks it is
seeing continuous motion (some people are better than others at
this). If you show fewer than 12 images per second, the brain
knows it is looking at single images presented rapidly. The
magician relies on this fact. If they can move an object in less
than 1/12 of a second while distracting you, you will probably
never see what really happened. The hand is faster than the eye.
When animating with MicroStation you will find that
MicroStation does most of the work for you. You only need to
think about key events or points in time and then script these
events to occur. MicroStation determines the in-between frames
and interpolates positions based on the parameters you describe.
VIDEO OR MOVIE OUTPUT

Just a few years ago a typical MicroStation animation consisting
of a series of sequential images (frames) saved at 320 x 240
resolution could play back smoothly at only 15 frames per second
on a 350 Mhz X86 system. Todays modern system can handle a
smooth 30 frames per second and at a DVD quality 720 x 480
resolution. Because most of your animation work will be played
back on a PC, the final output can be converted to MPEG-1 or
MPEG-2 format suitable for playback on a desktop or laptop
system. MPEG (pronounced M-peg), which stands for Moving
Picture Experts Group, is the name of the family of standards
used for coding audio-visual information (e.g., movies, video,
music) in a digital compressed format.
Video Standards 3
We will be recording at 30 frames (images) per second. When we

playback our animations using Windows Media Player they will
play at 30 frames per second.
The major advantage of MPEG compared to other formats is that
MPEG files are much smaller for the same quality. This is due to
the very sophisticated compression techniques the MPEG format
uses.
You can choose from several digital formats when creating
animation to be played back on a computer. There is the
Microsoft AVI format which can be configured to use a variety of
compression/decompression routines (CODECs). You also can
choose Apples QuickTime movie format (MOV) format.
If you intend to create video for playback on a television,
MicroStations Animator can output to NTSC or PAL standard-
size-frames. Animator also supports interlaced field-rendered
frames.
VIDEO STANDARDS
NTSC
NTSC stands for National Television System Committee, which
devised the NTSC television broadcast system in 1953. NTSC is
also commonly used to refer to one type of television signal that
can be recorded on various tape formats such as VHS, 3/4 inch U-
matic, and Betacam.
The NTSC standard has a fixed vertical resolution of 525
horizontal lines stacked on top of each other, with varying
amounts of lines making up the horizontal resolution,
depending on the electronics and formats involved. There are
59.94 fields displayed per second. A field is a set of even lines or
odd lines. The odd and even fields display sequentially,
interlacing the full frame. One full frame consist of two interlaced
fields and displays about every 1/30 of a second.NTSC format is
used in North and South America with the exception of Brazil
(which uses a modified version of PAL).
PAL
PAL stands for Phase Alternation by Line, and was adopted in
1967. The term PAL is often used informally to refer to a 625-
line/50 Hz (576i, principally European) television system, and to
differentiate from a 525-line/60 Hz (480i, principally North
American/Central American/Japanese) NTSC system. An
advantage of this system is a more stable and consistent hue (tint).
PAL-M is used only in Brazil. It has 525 lines, at 30 frames per
second.
The PAL format is used in most of Europe, Africa, and Asia
(including Australia).
HDTV
High-definition television (HDTV) is a television broadcasting
system with a significantly higher resolution than traditional
formats (NTSC, SECAM, PAL) allow. HDTV is broadcast
digitally.
Although a number of HDTV standards have been proposed or
implemented on a limited basis, the current HDTV standards are
defined in ITU-R BT.709 as 1,080 active interlaced or
progressive lines, or 720 progressive lines, using a 16:9 aspect
ratio. The term high-definition can refer to the resolution
specifications themselves or more loosely to the media capable of
similar sharpness, such as photographic film.
THE ANIMATION TOOLS

In this first exercise you will be given a brief overview of the
Animation tools. Because this book covers both V8 and V8 XM
Edition, you will be looking at the differences in versions in both
the tools and new functionality provided in the XM Edition. A
more detailed look at the difference between versions is provided
by exercises later in the book.
The Animation Tools 5
All exercises will be noted by the following graphic headers to

indicate to you if they are for V8 and prior versions, V8 XM
Edition or all versions.
D This indicates V8.5 and earlier version exercises.

D This indicates V8 XM Edition specific exercises.
D This indicates exercises applicable for all versions.
The next exercise is for V8.5 and earlier versions as indicated.
D Reviewing the MicroStation Animation Tools

1 Open the design file simple keyframes.dgn.
The design file opens and displays one view.
2 From the MicroStation Main menu, select Tools > Visualization >
Animation.
The Animation tool frame opens with four tools for V8 2004
Edition and prior versions and the tool frame for V8 XM Edition
appears with three tools.
Animation Cameras
Animation Actors
Animation Settings Animation Preview
V8 2004 Edition
Animation tools for XM Edition from left to right

Actors, Cameras, and Settings.
The XM tools are missing the preview and record tools. These tools
have been redesigned and moved under the Animation Settings tool
frame.
3 Click and drag on each icon in the Animation tool frame to tear off
the individual toolboxes. In V8 XM, click and hold the tool frame
icon to see a drop down list, then select the option to Open as
Toolbox.
V8 animation tool frames V8 XM Edition animation toolboxes
Record tool
Preview tool
Uses of the Animation Tools

The tables that follow list the animation tools and their uses. Both
V8 and V8 XM Edition icons are present in the table with the XM
Edition icons to the right of the V8 icons. As you can plainly see,
there are subtle differences between the two types of icons and
you should have no problems in recognizing these tools from
version to version.
A big change in V8 XM Edition is in the way animation actors are
handled. In V8 2004 and prior versions animation, actors when
created are cells. In V8 XM Edition animation actors are Named
Groups when created.
Actor Tools
Tool Animation Actor Tools Used to

Create Actor Create actors.
Attach Actor Create hierarchies (parent child

relationships) by attaching one
actor to another.
Manipulate Actor Manipulate the created actor
into different positions.
Modify Actor Modify the actors name or axis
of motion for movement,
rotation or scale.
Modify Origin Change the origin of the actor.
Define Actor Path Attach an actor, camera or target

to a path.
Script Actor Script an actor to parametrically
move, rotate or scale.
Drop Actor Convert (drop) the actor back to
components.
Detach Actor Detach an actor from the
hierarchy. This is the reverse of
the Attach Actor tool.
The Modify Origin tool is not needed or available as a separate

tool in V8 XM Edition. In V8 XM Edition, the actors coordinate
system can be selected and manipulated independently of the
actor (provided Graphic Group Lock is not enabled).
Camera Tools
Tool Animation Camera Used to

Tools
Create Animation Camera Place an animation camera. Note
the Animation Camera is
considered an Actor.
Modify Camera Modify a cameras target, lens
angle and display clipping.
Script Camera Turn on a camera.
Create Target Place a target. Note the Target is

considered an Actor.
Script Target Turn on a target.
In MicroStation XM Edition, general settings are as outlined in

the following table.
General Settings
Tool Animation Settings Used to

Tools
Animation Producer Open the Animation Producer
Dialog dialog box, where the animation
scripts are created, edited, and
recorded.
Animation Preview Open the Animation Preview
(XM Edition only) tool, a dockable tool bar that
allows you to interactively scrub
through animation frames.
Record Open the Record Script dialog
(XM Edition only) box.
General Settings Open the Animate General

Settings and create script for
animating camera angle,
background, fog, and brightness
adaptation, and so on.
KeyFrames Dialog Open the Animation KeyFrames
dialog box, used for creating
keyframes.
Global Lighting Open the Animate Global
Lighting Settings dialog box and
create animation script of solar
lighting, including time of day,
color, and intensity or to script
animation of ambient, and flash
settings.
Source Lighting Open the Animate Source
Lighting Settings dialog box to
script animation of source lights,
including intensity, color, and
cone angle.
Materials Open the Animate Material
Settings dialog box and create
animation script of any materials
properties.
The following preview tools are V8 only and are no longer used
in V8 XM Edition. The Record Script and Record Selected
Frames tools for XM Edition are accessed through the Record
Script tool.
Animation Preview
Tool Animation Preview Used to

Tools
Start Moves preview to starting frame
zero.
Preview Previous Moves back one frame in time.
Rewind Plays preview in reverse.

Play Plays animation preview in a

view.
Preview Next Moves ahead one frame in time.
Preview Last Moves to last frame of animation.
Preview Advance Moves to frame entered.
Record Open the Record Script dialog

(Moved to General Settings box.
toolbox for XM Edition)
Record Selected Frames Open the Record Selected
(Functionality moved to Frames dialog.
Record Script dialog box for
XM Edition)
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1 For NTSC, what is the standard frame rate for recording and
playback?
2 For PAL, what is the standard frame rate for recording and
playback?
3 For NTSC, how many frames are there in one minute of animation?
4 True or false: You should always record to a movie format, such as
AVI or MOV.
2 Simple Keyframe
Animation
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
The topics covered in this chapter include:
b Animation with keyframes
b Creating simple keyframes
b Simple animation scripts
b Creating animation actors
b Keyframing actors
b Previewing scripts
b 3D content in Adobe PDF
b Graphics acceleration
b Recording animation script
b Using the movie player
11
12 Chapter 2: Simple Keyframe Animation
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will be creating a simple animation based on a
technique called keyframing. The basic principle of keyframe
animation is simple: you specify the location of geometry at
certain key positions (keyframes) and the animation software
automatically calculates the in-between frames. You can think of
a keyframe as a key moment in time that includes where an
objects position, scale or rotation is at that moment.
The Animation Producer automatically computes in-between
frames that involve translation, rotation, and scale. It can also
interpolate the changes between two versions of an element that
has been modified to create simple morphing, such as a flag
waving.
SIMPLE KEYFRAME ANIMATION

In this next exercise you will be putting some simple objects in
motion by creating keyframes of the simple objects at their initial
positions. Then by moving, rotating, scaling, and modifying the
geometry you will create some additional keyframes. After
creating the keyframes, all that is required to animate the objects
is to create the animation script, preview it and record the script to
sequential frames on disk.
If you are new to animation and are using MicroStation V8 XM
Edition you can skip this exercise and move to the exercises
specifically for MicroStation V8 XM Edition. The section on 3D
content in Adobe PDF is applicable to both V8 and V8 XM
Edition. All exercises are noted by the following graphic headers
to indicate to you if they are for V8 and prior versions, V8 XM
Edition or all versions.
Simple Keyframe Animation 13
D This indicates V8.5 and earlier versions.

D This is indicates V8 XM Edition.
D This indicates exercises applicable to all versions.
The next exercise is for V8.5 and earlier versions, as indicated.
D Creating Initial Keyframes

The design file opens and consists of a few 2D shapes.
2 Fit view 1.
3 From Tools > Visualization > Animation, open the Animation
Settings toolbox.
4 Click the Create KeyFrame tool.

The Animation KeyFrames dialog box opens.
5 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the star object.
6 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create.
7 Enter star1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial star. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
8 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the rocket
object.
10 Enter rocket1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial rocket. Click OK to create a keyframe of the rocket object in
this position.
11 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the car object.
13 Enter car1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial car. Click OK to create a keyframe of the car object in this
position.
Creating Additional Keyframes

Now that you have the initial keyframes created you can simply
modify, scale, rotate or move the geometry and create more
keyframes. These keyframes once created can easily be added to
an animation script to animate the objects between the keyframes.
D Creating Additional Keyframes

1 Continue with simple keyframes.dgn.
2 Modify the star object geometry by using the Modify Element tool
(Tools > Main > Modify). Snap to the vertex of the right point and
use AccuDraw to move the point up 2 units.
Simple Keyframe Animation 15
3 Snap to the vertex of the left point and using AccuDraw move the
point down 2 units.
Star object initial position left, modified center, and rotated right.
4 Using the Selector tool, select all geometry forming the star object.
6 Enter star2 in the Name field and in the Description field enter new
star position. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
7 From the MicroStation Main tools, open the Manipulate toolbox.
NOTE: You will be using MicroStations element manipulate tools to

position the geometry into several different poses. Later you will learn
to create actors and manipulate them using the Animation Producers
manipulate actor tool.
8 Using the Selector tool, select the star object and rotate it (using the
MicroStation Rotate tool) 45 degrees about the weighted point in
the center.
9 While the star is still selected, in the Animation KeyFrames dialog
box click Create.
10 Enter star3 in the Name field and in the Description field enter star
rotated. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
11 Using the Selector tool, select the rocket object, and using
AccuDraw move the rocket geometry up 6 units from the base.
12 While still selected, scale the rocket in X,Y and Z to 0.25 its original
scale.
13 While still selected, click Create in the Animation KeyFrames dialog

box.
The Create KeyFrame dialog opens.
rocket scaled and moved.
15 Using the Selector tool, select the car geometry, and using
AccuDraw move the car geometry to the right 6 units.
16 While the car geometry is still selected, click Create in the
Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
17 In the Create KeyFrame dialog box, enter car2 in the Name field and
enter car moved in the Description field.
FREEZING GEOMETRY INTO ORIGINAL POSITIONS

Now that you have created several keyframes to set these objects
in motion, you need to create the animation script. But first you
will freeze the geometry into the original positions. Even though
you may not need the initial position as part of an animation, it is
a good idea to create some initial keyframes when you intend to
put objects into motion. If you ever want to return geometry to its
original location, scale or rotation you can easily freeze it back
using the initial position keyframes.
Freezing Geometry into Original Positions 17
D Freezing Keyframes
1 Continuing with simple keyframes.dgn, select car1 in the
Animation KeyFrames dialog box and then click Freeze to return
the geometry to the original position.
2 Select rocket1 in the list and then click Freeze to return the
geometry to the original position.
3 Select star1 in the list and then click Freeze to return the geometry
to the original position.
D Creating the Animation Script

1 Open the Animation Producer dialog box by clicking the tool in the
Animation Settings toolbox.
2 Double-click star1 in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
The Script KeyFrame dialog opens.
3 Set Frame Number to 0 and Interpolation to Linear. Click OK to add

this keyframe to the script.
4 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click star2. In the
Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame Number to 29 and Velocity to
Constant. Click OK to add this entry to the animation script.
5 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click star3. In the

Constant. Click OK to add this entry to the animation script.
6 Double-click star1. In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame
Number to 89 and Velocity to Constant. Click OK to add this entry
to the animation script.
7 Preview the script by clicking Play in the Animation Producer
dialog box.
You will notice the geometry flash as the screen redraws between
frames.To provide for smoother previews, you can turn on graphics
acceleration.
8 From the view border, click the Change
View Display Mode tool. The Set View
Display Mode box opens. Turn on
Graphics Acceleration.
9 Preview the script again with Graphics
Acceleration. This produces a much smoother preview because the
graphics card buffers the information off screen for the next frame
and the display updates without delay.
10 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click rocket1. In
the Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame Number to 59 and
Velocity to Constant. Click OK.
11 Double-click rocket2. In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame
Number to 119 and Velocity to Accelerate. Click OK to add this
entry to the animation script.
12 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click car1. In the
Constant. Click OK.
Freezing Geometry into Original Positions 19
13 Double-click car2 in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box. In the

Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame Number to 129 and Velocity
to Accelerate - Decelerate. Click OK to add this entry to animation
script.
14 Preview the finished script by clicking Play in the Animation

Preview toolbox.
D Creating Initial Keyframes V8 XM Edition

The design file opens and consist of 2D shapes.
2 Fit view 1.
3 From Tools > Visualization > Animation, open the Animation
Settings toolbox.
4 Click the Create KeyFrame tool. The Animation KeyFrames dialog

box opens.
5 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the star object.
7 Enter star1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial star. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
NOTE: In previous versions the only opportunity you had for adding
a description for a keyframe was at the time of its creation. With V8
XM Edition, you can add or edit a description at any time.
8 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the rocket
object.
initial rocket. Click OK to create a keyframe of the rocket object in
this position.
11 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the car object.
13 Enter car1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial car. Click OK to create a keyframe of the car object in this
position.
CREATING ADDITIONAL KEYFRAMES IN V8 XM

EDITION
Now that you have the initial keyframes created you can simply
modify, scale, rotate or move the geometry and create more
keyframes. These keyframes once created can easily be added to
an animation script to animate the objects between the keyframes.
Creating Additional Keyframes in V8 XM Edition 21
D Creating Additional Keyframes in V8 XM Edition

1 Continue with simple keyframes.dgn.
2 Modify the star object geometry using the Modify tool (Tools >
Main > Modify). Snap to the vertex of the right point and use
AccuDraw to move the point up 2 units.
3 Snap to the vertex of the left point and using AccuDraw move the
point down 2 units.
Star object initial position left, modified center, and rotated right.
4 Using the Selector tool, select all geometry forming the star object.
6 Enter star2 in the Name field and in the Description field enter new
star position. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
7 From the MicroStation Main tools, open the Manipulate toolbox.
NOTE: You will be using MicroStations element manipulate tools to

position the geometry into several different poses. Later you will learn
to create actors and manipulate them using the Animation Producers
Manipulate Actor tool.
8 Using the Selector tool, select the star object and rotate it (using the
MicroStation Rotate tool) 45 degrees about the weighted point in
the center.
9 While the star is still selected, in the Animation KeyFrames dialog
box click Create.
10 Enter star3 in the Name field and in the Description field enter star
rotated. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
11 Using the Selector tool, select the rocket object. Using AccuDraw,
move the rocket geometry up 6 units from the base.
12 While still selected, scale the rocket in X,Y and Z to 0.25 its original
scale.
13 While still selected, click Create in the Animation KeyFrames dialog
box.
rocket scaled and moved.
15 Using the Selector tool, select the car geometry. Using AccuDraw,
move the car geometry to the right 6 units.
16 While the car geometry is still selected, click Create in the
Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
17 In the Create KeyFrame dialog box, enter car2 in the Name field and
enter car moved in the Description field.
FREEZING GEOMETRY INTO ORIGINAL POSITIONS IN V8

XM EDITION
Now that you have created several keyframes, to set these objects
in motion you need to create the animation script. But first you
will freeze the geometry into the original positions. Even though
you may not need the initial position as part of an animation, it is
a good idea to create some initial keyframes when you intend to
put objects into motion. If you ever want to return geometry to its
original location, scale or rotation you can easily freeze it back
using the initial position keyframes.
Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition 23
D Freezing KeyFrames in V8 XM Edition

1 Continuing with simple keyframes.dgn, select car1 in the
Animation KeyFrames dialog box and then click Freeze to return
the geometry to the original position.
2 Select rocket1 in the list and then click Freeze to return the
geometry to the original position.
3 Select star1 in the list and then click Freeze to return the geometry
to the original position.
CREATING THE ANIMATION SCRIPT IN V8 XM EDITION
D Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition

1 Open the Animation Producer dialog box by clicking the tool in the
Animation Settings toolbox.
If you have created animation in previous versions of
MicroStation this is where you will begin to appreciate the
changes made in V8 XM Edition. The Animation Producer has a
completely new look and you will find it much easier to create
animation scripts here.
NOTE: You will need to set the number of frames you will be using
because the default is 120. Anything over that requires you set the
number of frames you intend to script in advance. Keeping with the
same number as in the previous V8 exercise, you can set this to 129.
2 In the Animation Producer dialog box, select Settings > General.
The Animation Settings dialog box opens.
3 In the Animation Settings dialog box, set the End Frame number to
129.
4 In the Animation Producer dialog, on the left side you will see a tree
view list box. Click the plus sign next to KeyFrames to expand the
list of keyframes.
Expanded Keyframes
in tree view.
5 Right-click star1 in the list and select Script.

The Script KeyFrame dialog opens.
6 The Frame number will be zero because the timeline marker is at

zero. Click OK to script this keyframe.
A marker appears in the timeline to indicate a keyframe at this
location.
7 Click the blue vertical bar in the timeline and drag it to the right
until the time marker indicates that you are at frame 29.
As an alternative to dragging the time marker you can enter 29 in

the frame number field, which in turn moves the time bar.
Click and drag this

time bar until frame
number is 29.
8 In the Animation Producer dialog box, right-click star2 in the

KeyFrames list and select Script.
The Script KeyFrame dialog box opens.
9 Click OK to add this keyframe entry to the animation script
occurring at frame 29.
10 In the Animation Producer dialog, key in 59 in the frame number
field and then press the Enter key.
The time marker moves to align with frame 59 in the graph view.
11 Right-click star3 keyframe in the tree view and then select Script.
12 In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, click OK to add this keyframe
occurring at frame 59 to your script.
13 In the Animation Producer dialog, key in 89 in the frame number
field and then press the Enter key.
The time bar moves to frame 89.
14 Right-click the star1 keyframe in the Animation Producers tree
view and then select Script to add this keyframe occurring at
frame 89.
The Script KeyFrame dialog opens. Click OK to add the keyframe to

your script.
15 Click the Animation Preview tool.
The Animator Preview dialog opens.
Preview view number
Current frame number
Create keyframe of selected objects on the
fly at current frame marker (scrub bar)
position
Interactive scrub bar Begin Frame

(click and drag to Play
dynamically move
through time). Pause
End Frame
General Settings
Here is where you can see yet another huge improvement over
previous versions. The V8 XM Edition Animation Preview tool
when clicked opens a dockable Preview tool with a scrub bar from
which you can interactively preview your animation. This tool has
all of the same features as the old interface and much more. The new
Animator Preview lets you have complete control over your
animation previews. You can select views in which to preview your
animation and you can open the Animation Settings dialog. You can
even choose to automatically create keyframes of selected graphics.
16 Try using the Animator Preview tool on your current script. Click
the Play button, click the Pause button, and then try clicking and
dragging the scrub bar.
.NOTE: Notice the geometry does not flash from frame to frame
because in the V8 XM Edition all of MicroStations views are
accelerated at all times, providing smooth previews. You no longer
need to turn on and off graphics acceleration, as you did in the
previous V8 exercise
17 In the Animator Preview tool, move the scrub bar to frame 59 (or
just key in 59 in the current time field to move the scrub bar).
The Movement of the Animator Previews scrub bar also moves the
Animation Producers time bar.
18 In the Animation Producer dialog box right-click rocket1 from the
expanded list of keyframes in the tree view list to open the Script
KeyFrame dialog box.
19 Click the OK button to add this keyframe at Start Time 59
Interpolation Linear and Velocity Constant.
20 Move the Animator Preview scrub bar to frame 119, right-click

rocket2 from the tree view list of keyframes in the Animation
Producer dialog box and select Script from list of options.
Scrub bar

22 Move the Animation Producer time bar to frame 29 and right-click
car1 from the expanded list of keyframes in the tree view list to
open the Script KeyFrame dialog box.
24 Move the Animator Preview scrub bar to frame 129, right-click car2
from the tree view list of keyframes in the Animation Producer
dialog box and select Script from list of options.
25 In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, check that Frame Number is 129
and set Velocity to Accelerate - Decelerate. Click OK to add this
entry to your animation script.
Animation Producer with completed script.

26 Preview the finished script by clicking Play in the Animation
Preview dialog.
As you can see from having done this exercise in the V8 XM
Edition, the graphical user interface (GUI) is much more intuitive
and user friendly than in previous versions of MicroStation. This
is just the beginning and as you move through this book you will
be introduced to many more new tools and techniques for
accomplishing your animation task.
ANIMATING WITH ACTORS

For this exercise you are going to animate the opening and
closing of a door. To do this you will create an actor out of the
door geometry that needs to move. You could create the
animation without using actors by manually rotating the door into
the opened and closed positions using MicroStation tools and
creating the necessary keyframes. By creating an actor you will
be able to more easily rotate the door about its hinge line.
D Creating An Actor
1 Open the design file KEY1.dgn.
You will start by creating an actor for the door. The geometry for the
door has been isolated to the Door level for easy selection.
2 Click the Power Selector tool with Mode set to Add, click the Level
tab and then click the Door level to select all the geometry on this
level.
Level tab
Level Door
The door geometry is highlighted, indicating that it is selected.

Animating with Actors 31
3 From Tools > Visualization, open the Animation Actors toolbox.
4 Select the Create Actor tool.

Because the geometry is already selected, the Create Actor tool
settings window opens.
5 In the Name field key in Door. Set Orientation to Design and only
enable Rotate About Z.
6 Snap to the weighted point in the Top view on the left side of the
door. The pointer changes to a graphic representing the X,Y,Z axis.
Snap point
This will be the hinge point for the door actor to rotate about.
7 Enter a data point to create the Door actor.
NOTE: Did you notice the triad? This gives you a visual reference
point and is the origin point about which any movement or rotation
takes place. When you accept with a data point, all geometry in the
selection set becomes an actor (with the name and translations as set
in the Create Actor dialog box).
In the next exercise you will check to make sure the origin you
intended to rotate about is correct. It is a good idea to test each
actors motion after it is created. This can be done with the

Manipulate Actor tool. Do not accept with a data point, as this
moves the geometry to the position shown on the screen. If you
inadvertently enter a data point, you can simply undo the step to
return the actor to its previous position.
WARNING: Remember to reset. Do not enter a data point when
testing an actor.
D Testing an Actor's Origin

1 To test the actors motion, select the Manipulate Actor tool.
2 Identify the actor to manipulate by entering a data point on the door
or by double-clicking in the actor list box.
3 Move the pointer and the door should swing from the hinge line.
Reset now.
As you moved the pointer you should have seen the door swinging
open and then closing rotating around the hinge line or weighted
point you snapped to.
If the door is not rotating around this point you can use the Modify
Origin tool to reposition the origin to the correct hinge line.
Creating the Keyframes 33
CREATING THE KEYFRAMES

To animate this door opening and closing, you need to create two
keyframes: one with the door open and one with the door closed.
D Creating Keyframes
1 Continue with KEY1.dgn.
2 From Tools > Visualization, open the Animation Settings toolbox.
3 Click the Create Keyframe tool. Select the door actor by entering a
data point over the door actor geometry in any view.
4 In the Name field enter closed and in the Description field enter
door closed.
The description is optional but could be very helpful, especially in
complex animations or when other users are working on the same
animation project.
5 Now you need to open the door using the Manipulate Actor tool.
Enter a data point over any of the door geometry to select the Door
actor.
The Manipulate Actor dialog box opens.
NOTE: You can as an option select the actor you wish to manipulate
by double-clicking on the named actor from the list of actors in the
Manipulate Actor dialog box. You can also enter a precise angle in
degrees for rotational movements, distance in master units for
translational movements or a floating point number if the actor is
being scaled.
Note that as you move your cursor the door actor swings about its
origin (in this case, the hinge line). Swing the door wide open
(about minus 130 degrees) and this time accept the new position
with a data point. Click OK.
6 Click the Create button in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box
then select the door actor by entering a data point on any of the
door actor geometry.
The the Create KeyFrame dialog box opens.
7 In the Name field of the Create KeyFrame dialog box, key in open.
In the Description field, key in door open. Click OK.
You now have all keyframes necessary to animate the door. All
you need to do now is to script the movie. By double-clicking on
the keyframes in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, you can
script the keyframes to happen at any point in time of your
choosing.
CREATING THE ANIMATION SCRIPT

Next you will be creating the animation script to open and close
the door.
Creating the Animation Script 35
D Creating the Animation Script

2 Double-click the closed keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames

dialog box. The Script KeyFrame dialog box opens. Set the Frame
Number to 0 and Velocity to Constant.
3 Double-click the open keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames

dialog box. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame Number to 59.
Click OK.
Because the animation begins at zero, the door opens over 60
frames.
dialog box. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame Number to 119
and Velocity to Accelerate. Click OK.
NOTE: By setting Velocity to Accelerate, you are slamming the door
shut. The motion with start out slow and increase over time. Reducing
the number of frames to close the door would have a similar effect.
The Animation Producer dialog shows the current script.
ANIMATION PREVIEW
Tools in the Animation Preview toolbox let you preview an
animation prior to recording it. The animation can also be
previewed using the Animation Producer dialog box.
To Select
Display the first frame of the
animation.
Preview First Frame
Display the previous frame of the
sequence.
Preview Previous Frame
Play animation from the current frame
to the beginning.
Rewind Animation
Play animation from the current frame
to the end.
Play Animation
Display the next frame of the
sequence.
Preview Next Frame
Animation Preview 37
To Select
Display the last frame of the
animation.
Preview Last Frame
Advance the animation to a specified
frame.
Advance to Frame
Record the script.
Record Script
Record selected frames from the
script.
Record Selected Frames
Freeze animated elements at a
specified frame.
Freeze Elements At This Frame
Key in DIALOG TOOLBOX ANIMATION PREVIEW to open

the Animation Preview toolbox.
All tools from the Animation Preview tool (except Advance to
Frame) automatically perform the action in the current view.
Additional data points continue the function in the selected view.
Advance to Frame updates when you press the Tab key or enter a
data point.
D Previewing the Animation Script

2 In the Animation Producer dialog box, set View to 2.
3 Verify the Preview Settings by selecting Settings > Preview in the

Animation Producer dialog box.
4 In the preview settings dialog box, turn on Clear View Between

Frames, Limit Curve Stroking, Animated Elements, and Static
Elements.
5 From the view border click, the Change View Display Mode tool.
The Set View Display Mode dialog box opens. Turn on Graphics
Acceleration for View 2 with Display Mode set to Smooth.
6 In the Animation Preview toolbox, click Play and preview the

animation in wireframe.
Later on you will learn how to render out (record) your animation
scripts to individual frames and how to compile them into a movie
format. To get a quick rendered preview of your scripted animations
you can quickly and easily print your design file to an Adobe PDF
file containing 3D content and the animation. The only limitation
with this method is that animated materials are not yet supported in
a PDF file.
7 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select File > Save Script.
Your Script is saved as Key1.msa.
Animating with Actors in V8 XM Edition 39
ANIMATING WITH ACTORS IN V8 XM EDITION

For this exercise you are going to animate the opening and
closing of a door. To do this you will create an actor out of the
door geometry that needs to move. You could create the
animation without using actors by manually rotating the door into
the opened and closed positions using MicroStation tools and
creating the necessary key frames. By creating an actor you will
be able to more easily rotate the door about its hinge line.
If you are familiar with creating actors using previous versions of
MicroStation you will have no problem switching to V8 XM
Edition as the tools look same (although the underlying code is
completely new). In previous versions, actors when created were
cells; in V8 XM Edition, actors when created are named groups.
D Creating an Actor in V8 XM Edition

You will start by creating an actor for the door. The geometry for the
door has been isolated to the Door level for easy selection.
2 Click the Element Selector tool. With Mode set to Add, click the
Level tab and then click the Door level to select all geometry on this
level.
Mode set
Level tab
Level Door
The Door geometry is highlighted, indicating that it is selected.

3 From Tools > Visualization, open the Animation Actor toolbox.
4 Select the Create Actor tool.

Because the geometry is already selected, the Create Actor tool

settings window opens. You will need to expand the list of options in
order to restrict motion for your actor.
Click here to expand

or show additional
options.
5 In the Name field change the default name from Actor 1 to Door
and make sure Orientation is set to Design and only enable Rotate
About Z.
6 Snap to the weighted point in the Top view on the left side of the
door. The pointer changes to a graphic to represent the X,Y,Z axis.
Snap point
This will be the hinge point for the Door actor to rotate about.
7 Enter a data point to create the Door actor.
NOTE: Did you notice the triad? This gives you a visual reference
point and is the origin point about which any movement or rotation
takes place. When you accept with a data point, all geometry in the
selection set becomes an actor (with the name and translations as set
in the Create Actor dialog box).
When you create an actor in V8 XM Edition you will see a color-
coded triad placed at the origin of each actor you create provided
construction is enabled in views in which you wish to see the
actors origin. The actor origin graphic is color coded, with red
indicating the X axis, green indicating the Y axis, and blue

indicating the Z axis. You can select and move or rotate this triad,
which moves or rotates the actors origin and its coordinate
system. The Modify Actor Origin tool that was used in previous
versions is no longer used because you can simply move or rotate
each actors coordinate system by manipulating this triad.
In the next exercise, you will check to make sure the origin you
intended to rotate about is correct. It is a good idea to test each
actors motion after it is created. This can be done with the
Manipulate Actor tool. Do not accept with a data point, because
this moves the geometry to the position shown on the screen. If
you inadvertently enter a data point, you can simply undo the step
to return the actor to its previous position.
WARNING: Remember to reset (do not enter a data point) when
testing an actor.
D Testing an Actor's Origin in V8 XM Edition

1 Select the Manipulate Actor tool. In the Manipulate Actor dialog
box, set Method to By Points and click Door in Actor List.
Motion limited to
rotate about Z
for this actor
NOTE: Because you limited your actors motion to only rotate about
Z, this will be the only motion available in the Manipulate Actor
dialog box.
The AccuDraw compass is relocated to the origin of the Door actor

and you are prompted to Enter point to define start of rotation.
2 Enter an additional data point to indicate rotation from origin and

then move your cursor and the door should swing from the hinge
line. Reset now.
As you moved the pointer you should have seen the door swinging
open and closed rotating about the hinge line or weighted point you
snapped to. If the door is not rotating about this point, you can
select the graphic triad and reposition the origin to the correct
hinge line. To reposition the actors origin, turn off the graphic
group lock so that you can move the origin without moving the
entire actor.
Creating the Keyframes in V8 XM Edition

To animate this door opening and closing, you need to create two
keyframes: one with the door open and one with the door closed.
D Creating Keyframes in V8 XM Edition

2 From Tools > Visualization, open the Animation Settings toolbox.
3 Click the Create KeyFrame tool.

The Animation KeyFrames dialog box opens.

4 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click the Create button
and then select the Door actor by entering a data point over the
Door actor geometry in any view.
5 In the Name field enter closed and in the Description field enter
door closed.
The description is optional but could be very helpful, especially in
complex animations or when other users are working on the same
animation project.
6 Now you need to open the door using the Manipulate Actor tool.
Enter a data point over any of the Door geometry to select the Door
actor.
The Manipulate Actor dialog box opens.
7 In the Manipulate Actor dialog, select Door from Actor List, set the
method to Active Angle and key in minus 130 in the angle field.
Enter a data point to accept the rotation.
8 Click the Create button in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box and
then select the Door actor by entering a data point on any of the
Door actor geometry.
The Create KeyFrame dialog box opens.
9 In the Name field of the Create Keyframes dialog box, key in open.
In the Description field key in door open. Click OK.
Click here to edit Description.
Click here to edit Name.
In V8 XM Edition you can edit keyframe names and descriptions

by clicking on the item you want to edit in the Animation
KeyFrames dialog box.You now have all keyframes necessary to
animate the door. All you need to do now is to script the movie.
By double-clicking on the keyframes in the Animation
KeyFrames dialog box, you can script the keyframes to happen at
any point in time of your choosing.
Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition

Next you will be creating the animation script to open and close
the door. As with the first example, if you are familiar with
previous versions it is here in the creation of the script (and in the
preview tools) you will notice significant differences in V8 XM
Edition over previous versions of MicroStations Animator tools.
D Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition

1 Continue with KEY1.dgn. Open the Animation Producer by
clicking the Animation Producer tool in the Animation Settings
toolbar.
In the simple keyframe exercise you saw how you could use the new
Animation Producer dialog to add keyframes to your script by
moving the time bar and right-clicking to add keyframes. You can
still add keyframes to the script the old way by double- clicking on
the keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
dialog box. The Script KeyFrame dialog box opens. Set Start Time to
0 and Velocity to Constant.
3 Double-click the open keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames

dialog box. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame Number to 59.
Click OK.
Because the animation begins at zero, the door opens over 60
frames.
dialog box. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame Number to 119
and Velocity to Accelerate. Click OK.
NOTE: By setting Velocity to Accelerate, you are slamming shut the

door.
5 In the Animation Producer dialog, click KeyFrames in the tree view
to expand the list and show all keyframes.
The Animation Producer shows the current script.
Animation Preview V8 XM Edition

Having created the animation script you can use the Animation
Preview tool to preview the door opening and closing in the view
of your choice. With V8 XM Edition you can use the View
Rotation: Rotate View tool to dynamically rotate a view as the
preview is playing.
D Previewing the Animation Script V8 XM Edition

1 Continue with KEY1.dgn. Click the Animation Preview tool.
The Animator Preview scrub bar dialog opens.
Set preview view number
Play movie preview
Open General Settings
2 In the Animator Preview dialog box, set View to 2.

3 In the Animator Preview dialog box, click the General Settings tool.
The Animation Settings dialog box opens.
4 In the Animation Settings dialog box, turn on Animated Elements,

Static Elements, Clear View Between Frames and Maintain Frame
Rate.
3D Content in PDF Files for V8 and V8 XM Edition 49
NOTE: Checking Maintain Frame will slow or speed up the playback

to try and maintain the frame rate you have selected. For instance, in
this case the frame rate is 30 frames per second. In a complex scene it
is very likely that some geometry would be dropped (not displayed)
when trying to maintain a high frame rate.
5 From the View 2 border, click the View Display Mode tool and set
View Display Mode to Smooth.
6 In the Animator Preview dialog, click Play and preview the

animation in its smooth-rendered mode.
Later you will learn how to render out (record) your animation
scripts to individual frames and how to compile them as a movie
format. To get a quick-rendered preview of your scripted
animations, you can quickly and easily print your design file to an
Adobe PDF file containing 3D content and the animation. One
limitation with this method is that animated materials are not yet
supported in a PDF file.
In V8 XM Edition there is no longer an external MSA file. The
scripts are stored with the design file so that you do not need to
worry about saving your script as (it is saved automatically).
More about how this differs from previous versions is covered in
later exercises.
3D CONTENT IN PDF FILES FOR V8 AND V8 XM

EDITION
With the release of Adobe Reader 7.0, Adobes PDF format
supports the embedding of 3D content within documents. In
MicroStation, the creation of PDF documents with 3D content is
similar to printing a standard 2D document.
Where 3D content is included, it contains any visualization data

and settings that already exist within the design file, such as
lights, materials, texture maps, and animation or camera
movement (fly-throughs) created using the Animation Producer.
Saved views are also included in the 3D content.
Any 3D content within a PDF document is stored in Universal
3D (U3D) format. This format was introduced by the 3D
Industry Forum (http://www.3dif.org/) as a means of transferring
3D data from CAD systems to mainstream applications such as
marketing, training, sales, technical support, and customer
service. MicroStation lets you export geometry directly to U3D,
or to seamlessly create PDF documents with embedded U3D
objects.
Adding 3D Content from Design Models

From a 3D design model, you can add 3D content to a PDF file
simply by enabling the Plot to 3D setting in the Print dialog box.
3D Plotting Options
Settings that control the 3D content are found in the 3D Plotting
Options dialog box (Print dialog box, Settings > 3D Plotting).
These settings, which are saved in the user preference file, are
retained between sessions.
NOTE: The Global Lighting Solution export and the Elevation Drape
Size options show in the dialog are available with V8 XM Edition only.
Animation in PDF 3D Content

Animation scripts created with MicroStations Animation
Producer (Utilities > Render > Animation) can be used to
specify geometry or camera motion that can be exported to U3D
and viewed dynamically within the PDF document. When a
model is saved to U3D, either the default script (a file with the
same name as the design file but with an .msa extension) or the
script currently loaded in the animator is used to specify the U3D
animation. In Adobe Reader, the animation can be started or
paused by selecting the 3D object and then selecting the Start
Animation or Pause Animation button from the toolbar.
Creating 3D Content in PDF

To demonstrate this feature, in the next exercise you will create a
PDF file that contains 3D content. The data set you will use is the
door opening and closing. The animation script you will use is the
one you just finished creating. For most of the exercises in this
book the ability to see quickly the animation in a PDF can be used
rather than rendering out individual frames. When you get to the
chapter on animated materials you will need to render frames and
at that point you can learn about the Record Script dialog.
D Creating a PDF with 3D Content from a Design Model

1 Continue in the already open design file KEY1.dgn.
2 From the MicroStation main menu, select File > Print to open the
Print dialog box.
3 Set the Printer to Bentley Driver, and select pdf.plt as the printer
driver.
4 In the Print dialog box, turn on Plot To 3D.

5 In the Print dialog box select Settings > 3D Plotting.
The 3D Plotting Options dialog box opens.
6 In the 3D Plotting Options dialog box set the following options:

b Convert Animation: On
b Automatically Activate Animation: On
b Continuous Loop: On
b Frames per Second: 10
b Place Walk on PDF Toolbar: On
b Use Background Color From View: On
7 Click OK in the 3D Plotting Options dialog box.
8 In the Print dialog box, click the Print icon or select File > Print.
The Save Print As dialog box opens.
9 Set Directory in the Save Print As dialog box to c:\.
10 Click OK to save the KEY1.pdf file to your hard drive.
A progress bar appears at the bottom of the MicroStation window,

indicating the percentage of completion. Once the PDF is finished,
you will see the message Finished Creating Print at the bottom of
the screen.
NOTE: The 3D content in the Adobe PDF file will be displayed using
smooth shading where display mode is shaded. For best results, you
may need to adjust your materials to look good using a smooth
shading routine. For instance, a glass material that looks great ray
traced may appear too transparent when smooth rendered.
Interacting with 3D Content in Adobe Reader

In order to open the PDF file generated in MicroStation, it is
necessary to download and install Adobe Acrobat 7.0 (or later
version, if available). Currently, you can download the software
from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
Once a PDF document containing 3D content is created from
MicroStation, it can be opened with Adobe Reader 7.0 in the
same manner as a standard PDF file. Inside the PDF file, clicking
a 3D object activates a toolbar with a set of tools for navigating
within the scene.
The standard Adobe Reader tools (Rotate, Navigate, Zoom, and

Pan) are documented in the Adobe Reader Help. Saved views are
available from the Views menu entries.
TIP: It is odd that Adobe removed the Walk tool from the main
toolbar in their update of Reader 7.0 to 7.0.7 because this is a terrific
tool for navigating through a 3D PDF. It is still available provided you
select Edit > Preferences from the Adobe application and click 3D
from the dialog. From here you need to check the option to
Consolidate tools on the 3D toolbar. Once you consolidate the tools,
the Walk tool will be available in a drop-down menu. In the V8 XM
Edition, from the 3D Plotting Option dialog box, you can turn on the
option Place Walk on PDF Toolbar.
Adobe drop-down menu with navigation tools.
D Viewing PDFs with 3D Content in Acrobat 7.0

1 Open the newly created KEY1.PDF file with Adobe Acrobat 7.0 or
later version.
Adobe Acrobat 7.0 automatically plays the animation upon opening
the file, because you selected this option in the 3D Plotting Options
dialog box.
2 Click the Pause button to stop the animation.
Note that the Pause button changes to a Play button. Clicking it
again restarts the animation.
MicroStation saved
views can be
accessed here.
KEY1.PDF file opened in Adobe Acrobat 7.0.

NOTE: You can change to a MicroStation saved view by clicking on
the small down arrow, on the right side of the navigation tools, and
selecting a saved view from the list.
3 Click the down arrow to open the Saved View list. Select Camera
Perspective.
4 Click in the image window.
The view changes to a camera view of the door.
5 Right-click anywhere in the open PDF file view window.
An option menu for navigation and viewing displays.
6 Select Scene Illustrated and click in the view area to change the
display mode.
The display changes to illustrated and looks very similar to
MicroStations hidden line display.
NOTE: You can play the animation in any of the display modes, but
the shaded mode usually plays more smoothly than the illustrated
modes.
7 Right-click anywhere in the open PDF file view window.
8 Select Scene Shaded Illustrated and click in the view area to change
the display mode.
The display changes to shaded illustrated mode which looks like a
blend of MicroStations hidden line and smooth rendered display.
Keyframing Deformation 57
Scene Shaded Illustrated
KEYFRAMING DEFORMATION
In the next exercise you will learn how to scale an actor about a
point to provide a deformation effect. You will be defining actors
and creating the keyframes to animate a simple shock absorber. In
this exercise you will create two actors: one for the top assembly
and one for the coil spring.
D Creating Actors
2 Click the Power Selector tool. With Mode set to Add, click the Level
tab and then click the Shock upper assy level to select all geometry
on this level.
Level tab
Level Shock upper assy
3 From the Animation Actors toolbox, select the Create Actor tool.
4 In the Name field of the Create Actor dialog box, enter Top assy and
enable Move Along Z.
NOTE: Only Move Along Z should be checked or enabled. All other

motions should be off.
Manipulating Actors and Creating Keyframes 59
5 Snap to the center of the assembly in the Top view and accept with a
data point.
6 Click the Manipulate Actor tool and then enter a data point on the
newly created actor. The geometry should move up and down in the
Z direction as you move the pointer.
WARNING: Do not accept with a data point. Reset when testing.
7 Click the Create Actor tool and then enter a data point over the
spring geometry in View 3.
The Create Actor dialog box opens.
8 In the Name field of the Create Actor dialog box, key in Spring and
activate only the Scale Along Z motion. Snap to the green weighted
point at the bottom center of the spring geometry in the Isometric
view and accept with a data point.
9 Test the actor by selecting the Manipulate Actor tool. Then select
the spring with a data point on the geometry (or double-click on the
actor Spring from the Manipulate Actor list box). Move the pointer
to test the motion and remember to reset.
WARNING: The coil spring should deform in the Z axis. If your origin
is not in the correct location, you can change it with the Modify Origin
tool. If the motion is wrong, you can use the Modify Actor tool to
make any necessary changes. Do not try to recreate the actor. If you
really want to start over, use UNDO to go back.
MANIPULATING ACTORS AND CREATING KEYFRAMES

You only need two keyframes for this animation. The shock is
already in position for one of the keyframes so create it first. The
elements on level Shock lower assy do not move and are not be
included in the keyframes.
D Manipulating Actors and Creating Keyframes

1 Select Setting > Level > Display to open the Level Display dialog
box. Turn on the levels Spring lower assy and Spring.
2 Using the Power Selector tool, select the geometry on levels Spring
and Shock upper assy.
3 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the KeyFrames tool to
open the Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
5 In the Name field enter Up and in the Description field enter Spring
up. Click OK to create the keyframe.
Using the Manipulate Actor tool, you will position the shock
absorber in a collapsed (or down) position.
box, turn on Distance, enter minus 1.5, and double-click the Top
assy actor in the list. Accept the new position with a data point.
7 In the Manipulate Actor dialog box, set Method to Scale About Z

and set Value to 0.8, double click on the Spring actor in the list, and
accept with a data point to scale the actor.
8 Using the Power Selector tool, select the geometry on levels Shock
upper assy and Spring.
9 Open the Animation KeyFrames dialog box and click Create.
10 In the Name field enter Down and in the Description field enter
Spring compressed. Click OK to create the keyframe.
11 From the Animation KeyFrames dialog select Up. Then click Freeze.
This freezes the geometry in the original up position, with the
spring not compressed.
NOTE: If the geometry does not freeze, try clicking another item in the
keyframe list and then go back to the previous item and try the freeze
again. In other words, click Down in list, click Up and click the Freeze
button.
Creating the Deformation Animation Script

Now you are ready to create the animation script. As in a movie,
the script tells the actors what to do and when to do it.
D Creating the Deformation Animation Script

1 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click the Up
keyframe. In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, enter 0 in the Frame
Number field. Set Interpolation to Linear and Velocity to Constant.
Click OK.
NOTE: Because this occurs at frame zero, the Interpolation setting has
no effect at this point in time. The interpolation is determined by the
next keyframe.
2 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click the Down

keyframe. In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, enter 29 in the Frame
Number field. Set Interpolation to Linear and Velocity to Decelerate.
3 Double-click the Up keyframe. In the Script KeyFrame dialog box,

enter 59 in the Frame Number field. Set Interpolation to Linear and
Velocity to Accelerate.
4 In the Animation Producer dialog box, set View to 2.
5 From the Animation Producer dialog boxs Settings menu, select

Preview to open the Preview Settings dialog box. Turn on Clear
View Between Frames, Loop, Animated Elements, and Static
Elements.
6 From the View border, click the Change View Display Mode tool.
The Set View Display Mode dialog box opens. Turn on Graphics
Acceleration for View 2, with Display Mode set to Smooth.
7 In the Animation Preview toolbox, click Play and preview the

animation in smooth display mode.
The animation plays in View 2.
8 Reset to stop the preview.
9 Enter a data point in View 3.
The animation previews in View 3.
Recording the Animation

Next you will record the previously scripted animation by
rendering the movie frames to disk. The finished sequential
frames can then be played back with MicroStations built-in
movie player and saved to a movie format such as Microsofts
AVI.
D Recording the Animation

2 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select File > Save Script.
The Save Script As dialog box opens.
3 Save the script as KEY2.msa and then click OK.
Next you will size the view to a video standard size.
4 From the Rendering Tools toolbox, click the View Size tool. Enter a
data point in View 2 to select it for sizing.
5 In the View Size tool settings window, turn on Maintain View
Parameters and turn off Proportional Resize. Set X to 320 and Y to
240. Enter a data point in View 2 to apply the new size to this view.
NOTE: The aspect ratio for a view size of 320 x 240 is the same aspect
as 640 x 480 and 1024 x 768. You can choose from several common
aspect ratios.
6 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select File > Record
Script.
The Record Script dialog box opens.
Animation
Current output file view.
type and location.
Lock or unlock aspect ratio

to view size. If locked, you Browse icon click
can enter X or Y and the here to change
other is changed the output file
automatically to match the format and
current view aspect ratio. location.
Shading method used

to render frames.
NOTE: In the Record Script dialog box, you control the type of file to
be used for each frame, the type of rendering routine to be used, the
view to be used, and the image size.
TIP: When recording a script for your final animation, always
remember to turn on Antialias. If using textures, it is recommend that
you enable Multilevel Texture Interpolation to prevent texture crawl
from frame to frame. Multilevel Texture Interpolation is enabled in
the Settings > Rendering > General dialog box.
7 From the Record Scripts View option menu, select the source view
for the animation, in this case, select View 2.
8 Set Resolution X to 320 and Resolution Y to 240.
9 From the Shading option menu, select Ray Trace.
10 Check that the Frame setting is Create new solution for each
frame.
11 Click OK to render frames to disk as sequential JPEG frames.
TIP: When recording a script (using ray tracing, radiosity solving, or
particle tracing, in which the only motion is that of cameras or their
targets), use the Create single solution from frame setting. When this
option is selected, a field to the right of the menu lets you nominate the
Keyframing Deformation in V8 XM Edition 65
frame from which to create the single solution. You could also save a
solution to disk prior to starting and select option Load solution from
file. This procedure is useful for animations in which there is no
movement of actors, such as walk-throughs. It reduces rendering time
by not regenerating the rendering database for each frame.
Once you have rendered your frames to disk, you can load them
with MicroStations Movie Player. The exercise on how to load
frames and play back a movie can be found at the end of the
chapter and is applicable to all versions.
KEYFRAMING DEFORMATION IN V8 XM EDITION

In the next exercise you will learn how to scale an actor about a
point to provide a deformation effect. You will be defining actors
and creating the keyframes to animate a simple shock absorber. In
this exercise you will create two actors: one for the top assembly
and one for the coil spring.
D Creating Actors in V8 XM Edition

2 Click the Element Selector tool with Mode set to New or Add, click
the Level tab and then click the Shock upper assy level to select all
geometry on this level.
Level tab
Level Shock upper

assy
3 From the Animation Actors toolbox, select the Create Actor tool.
Click here for more

options.
4 Click the arrow on the right of the dialog to show additional

options.
Keyframing Deformation in V8 XM Edition 67
5 In the Name field of the Create Actor dialog box, change the name
from Actor1 to Top assy and enable Move Along Z.
NOTE: Only Move Along Z should be checked or enabled. All other

motions should be off.
6 Snap to the center of the assembly in the Top view and accept with a
data point.
7 Click the Manipulate Actor tool and then enter a data point on the
newly created actor. The geometry should move up and down in the
Z direction as you move the pointer.
WARNING: Do not accept with a data point. Reset when testing.
8 Click the Create Actor tool and then enter a data point over the
spring geometry in View 3.
9 Click the arrow on the right of the dialog to show all options.
10 In the Name field of the Create Actor dialog box, change the name
from Actor1 to Spring and activate the Scale Along Z motion only.
Snap to the green weighted point in the isometric view at the
bottom center of the spring geometry (zoom in if necessary) and
accept with a data point.
11 Test the actor by selecting the Manipulate Actor tool. Select the
spring actor with a data point on the geometry (or click the actor
Spring from the Manipulate Actor list box), enter a second data
point as a reference point to scale from, and move the pointer to test
the motion and then reset.
WARNING: The coil spring should deform in the Z axis. If your origin
is not in the correct location, you can change it by moving the actors
coordinate system (red, green, and blue triad). If the motion of the
actor is wrong, you can use the Modify Actor tool to make any
necessary changes. Do not try to recreate the actor if you really want to
start over use Undo to go back.
MANIPULATING ACTORS AND CREATING KEYFRAMES IN

V8 XM EDITION
You only need two keyframes for this animation. The shock is
already in position for one of the keyframes, so create it first. The
elements on level Shock lower assy do not move and will not be
included in the keyframes.
D Manipulating Actors and Creating Keyframes in V8 XM Edition

1 Select Setting > Level > Display to open the Level Display dialog
box. Turn on the levels Spring lower assy and Spring.
2 Using the Element Selector tool, select the geometry on levels Spring
and Shock upper assy.
3 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the KeyFrames tool to
open the Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
5 In the Name field enter Up, and in the Description field enter Spring
up. Click OK to create the keyframe.
Using the Manipulate Actor tool, you will position the shock
absorber in a collapsed (or down) position.
box select Top assy from the Actor List.
Manipulating Actors and Creating Keyframes in V8 XM Edition 69
7 Using AccuDraw, enter 1.5 while moving the actor down. Accept
the new position with a data point.
8 In the Manipulate Actor dialog box, Set method to Scale About Z

and set Value to 0.8. Double-click the Spring actor in the list and
accept with a data point to scale the actor.
9 Using the Power Selector tool, select the geometry on levels Shock
upper assy and Spring.
10 Open the Animation KeyFrames dialog box and click Create.
11 In the Name field enter Down, and in the Description field enter
Spring compressed. Click OK to create the keyframe.
12 From the Animation KeyFrames dialog, select Up, and then click
Freeze.
This freezes the geometry in the original up position, with the
spring not compressed.
Creating the Deformation Animation Script

Now you are ready to create the animation script. As in a movie,
the script tells the actors what to do and when to do it.
D Creating the Deformation Animation Script in V8 XM Edition

1 Click the Animation Producer tool to open the Animation Producer
dialog box.
2 From the Animation Producer tree view, expand the keyframes.
The KeyFrames list expands to revel the two keyframes you created,
Up and Down.
3 Right-click the Up keyframe and select the option Script.

4 Click OK to add this keyframe script entry occurring at frame zero.
NOTE: Because this occurs at frame zero, the Interpolation setting has
no effect at this point in time. The interpolation is determined by the
next keyframe.
5 In the Animation Producer dialog box, click and drag the blue time
bar to frame 29.
6 Right-click the Down keyframe and choose select the option Script.
7 Set Interpolation to Linear and Velocity to Decelerate. Click OK to

add this keyframe script entry occurring at frame 29.
8 In the Animation Producer dialog box, click and drag the blue time
bar to frame 59.
9 Right-click the Up keyframe and select the option to Script.
10 Set Interpolation to Linear and Velocity to Accelerate. Click OK to
add this keyframe script entry occurring at frame 59.
11 From the Animation Producer dialog boxs Settings menu, select
General to open the Animation Settings dialog box.
Manipulating Actors and Creating Keyframes in V8 XM Edition 71
End frame
Preview view
Preview settings
12 Set Range End to 59, set Preview Alternate Views to 2, and enable all
preview options with the exception of Cameras.
Finished Animation Script
13 Continue with KEY2.dgn. Click the Animation Preview tool.

The Animator Preview scrub bar dialog opens.
14 From the View 2 border, click the Change View Display Mode tool
and set to Display Mode Smooth.
15 In the Animator Preview dialog, click Play and preview the smooth-
rendered animation.
RECORDING THE ANIMATION V8 XM EDITION

Next you will record the previously scripted animation by
rendering the movie frames to disk. The finished sequential
frames can then be played back with MicroStations built-in
movie player and saved to a movie format such as Microsofts
AVI.
D Recording the Animation in V8 XM Edition

NOTE: With the V8 XM Edition, your scripts are saved to the design
file and are not separate ASCII files as in previous versions of
MicroStation. The script you are working on is saved to disk at all
times, much like placing a line or any other geometry in a file. You can
have multiple scripts saved within your design file. This first one will
be named KEY2 by default.
2 From the Rendering Tools toolbox, click the View Size tool. Enter a
data point in View 2 to select it for sizing.
Recording the Animation V8 XM Edition 73
3 In the View Size tool settings window, turn on Maintain View

Parameters and turn off Proportional Resize. Set X to 320 and Y to
240. Enter a data point in View 2 to apply the new size to this view.
4 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select File > Record
Script (or click the Record tool from the Animation Settings
toolbox).
The Record Script dialog box opens.
Current output file Browse icon. Click
type and location. here to change
the output file
format and
location.
Animation
view.
Lock or unlock aspect ratio
to view size. If locked, you
can enter X or Y and the
Shading method
other is changed
used to render
automatically to match the
frames.
current view aspect ratio.
Antialias toggle on.
NOTE: In the Record Script dialog box, you control the type of file to
be used for each frame, the type of rendering method to be used, the
view to be used, and the image size.
TIP: When recording a script for your final animation, always

remember to turn on Antialias (and if using textures, turn on
Multilevel Texture Interpolation to prevent texture crawl from frame
to frame). Multilevel Texture Interpolation is enabled in the Settings >
Rendering > General dialog box.
5 From the Record Scripts View option menu, select the source view
for the animation, in this case select View 2.
6 Set Resolution X to 320 and Resolution Y to 240.
7 From the Shading menu, select Ray Trace.
8 Check that the Frame setting is Create new solution for each
frame.
9 Click OK to render frames to disk as sequential JPEG frames.
TIP: When recording a script (using ray tracing, radiosity solving, or
particle tracing, in which the only motion is that of cameras or their
targets), use the Create single solution from frame setting. When this
option is selected, a field to the right of the menu lets you nominate the
frame from which to create the single solution. You could also save a
solution to disk prior to starting and choose the option Load solution
from file.This procedure is useful for animations in which there is no
movement of actors, such as walk-throughs. It reduces rendering time
by not regenerating the rendering database for each frame.
Recording the Animation V8 XM Edition 75
MicroStation's Movie Player

You can use MicroStations built-in movie player to play
sequential frames once you record the script and render the
frames to disk.
D Loading and Playing Back Frames in Movie Player

1 From any MicroStation session, select Utilities > Image > Movies.
The Movies dialog box opens.
2 From the Movies dialog, select Setting > Playback to open the
Movie Playback Settings dialog box.
3 Turn on Loop Sequence and True Color.

NOTE: This loads faster and looks better with True Color. If off, the
movie will be converted to 256 colors to conserve memory, which takes
additional time to load. If your system is low on memory or you have
thousands of frames to load, turn off True Color in order to load and
play back all frames.
4 From the Movies dialog box, select File > Load.
The Load Movie dialog box opens.
5 From the Load Movie dialog, navigate to the folder where your
frames are located and select the first frame in your sequence, for
example, KEY000.jpg.
The Movies dialog box now displays your frames.
Play button
6 Click the Play button to play your movie.

7 From the Movies dialog box, select File > Save As.
The Save Movie As dialog box opens.
8 From Format Type, select Windows AVI.
Review Questions 77
Enter file name here
Select output
format here
9 Enter spring.avi for the name and click OK to save the movie as
spring.avi.
NOTE: Even though the Movies dialog displays the name (spring.avi),
you will need to load it with the Windows Media player to view the
movie in AVI format at 30 frames per second.
TIP: Always save your final rendered frames in a non-lossy format
such as TIFF, BMP, or Targa files. JPEG is a lossy format, and because
nearly all movie formats use some form of compression that includes
some artifacts similar to those seen in JPEG images compressing an
image that is already compressed can lead to even more noisy movies.
However, JPEG is fine for test movies and for the exercises you will be
doing in this book.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1 What three ways can actors be manipulated?
2 Name the six velocity settings used when keyframing.
3 True or false: Simple keyframes come in pairs.
4 Can an actor be manipulated in one dimension?
5 Which of the following is the first thing done in the computer

animation design process?
A. Modeling geometry
B. Path determination
C. Camera setup
D. Keyframe creation
E. Actor hierarchy
6 The change in distance over a change in time is referred to as?
A. Acceleration
B. Displacement
C. Velocity
D. Kinematics
E. Momentum
7 The color-coded triad represents the _______________.
8 True or false: You can embed an animation in a 3D PDF.
9 True or false: 3D PDF can include Lighting Solutions setting
(Radiosity or Particle Tracing).

Animating With MicroStation Sample

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Animating with

Copyright 2007 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN Number: 978-0-9714141-9-8

Printed in the U.S.A.

Having powerful animation tools at your disposal is one thing. Becom-

Chapter 1: Animation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 2: Simple Keyframe Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Animating with Actors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Chapter 3: Actor Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

Chapter 4: Parametric Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Chapter 5: Cameras, Paths, and Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Actors on Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Chapter 6: Animating Materials and Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297

Solar Study Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Chapter 7: Included Scripts and Network Rendering . . . . . . 353

Visualization Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

This book assumes you know nothing about animation however it is

EXTRACTING THE DATA SETS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

What all forms of cartoon animation have in common is that they

VIDEO OR MOVIE OUTPUT

We will be recording at 30 frames (images) per second. When we

THE ANIMATION TOOLS

All exercises will be noted by the following graphic headers to

D This indicates V8.5 and earlier version exercises.

D Reviewing the MicroStation Animation Tools

Animation Settings Animation Preview

Animation tools for XM Edition from left to right

Uses of the Animation Tools

Tool Animation Actor Tools Used to

Attach Actor Create hierarchies (parent child

Define Actor Path Attach an actor, camera or target

The Modify Origin tool is not needed or available as a separate

Tool Animation Camera Used to

Create Target Place a target. Note the Target is

In MicroStation XM Edition, general settings are as outlined in

Tool Animation Settings Used to

General Settings Open the Animate General

Tool Animation Preview Used to

Preview Previous Moves back one frame in time.

Rewind Plays preview in reverse.

Play Plays animation preview in a

Preview Next Moves ahead one frame in time.

Preview Last Moves to last frame of animation.

Preview Advance Moves to frame entered.

Record Open the Record Script dialog

SIMPLE KEYFRAME ANIMATION

D This indicates V8.5 and earlier versions.

D Creating Initial Keyframes

4 Click the Create KeyFrame tool.

Creating Additional Keyframes

D Creating Additional Keyframes

NOTE: You will be using MicroStations element manipulate tools to

13 While still selected, click Create in the Animation KeyFrames dialog

FREEZING GEOMETRY INTO ORIGINAL POSITIONS

D Creating the Animation Script

3 Set Frame Number to 0 and Interpolation to Linear. Click OK to add

5 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click star3. In the

13 Double-click car2 in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box. In the

14 Preview the finished script by clicking Play in the Animation

D Creating Initial Keyframes V8 XM Edition

4 Click the Create KeyFrame tool. The Animation KeyFrames dialog

6 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create.

CREATING ADDITIONAL KEYFRAMES IN V8 XM