Brycetech: Advanced Animation in Bryce pt 2

Create a box to represent the inside of the safe by creating 5 cubes and positioning them to represent the walls. In the final image I put a radial light inside the safe to give the bright interior effect.
Next create some cubes to represent the front of the safe box.
Since we later plan to open the safe door, it is necessary to cut holes in it. Cube #2 above is the one that will be cut. So make it positive. Create a cone in the same place as the cone in your safe door and make this cone negative. Place 2 cylinders that align with the cylinders in the safe door in this cube and make them negative.
Now the safe door has a place to rest.
Add a cube for a hinge base 2 pyramids for the hinge bodies Some cylinders for the hinges Some spheres to make bolt heads
Tada...we have a safe! You can add all the additional detail you want to add to your safe, such as the combination knob, or additional dials.

Now it's time to begin animation of this safe. In the first part of the animated GIF, the handle begins to twist open. So select the handle and then move the animation timeline scrubber to a desired time. I want the handle to turn throughout the first second of the animation, so I will go to the first second of the animation by dragging the scrubber.

I have the animation set to render at 100 fps, this was my choice. The human eye can not see an animation progress at this rate, and it is not recommended to do your animations at such high fps. This was done for this tutorial only.

Now that you are at the correct time of the animation, select the rotation tool and rotate the handle. I rotated it from 0,0,0 to 0,82.5,0. Keeping the first rotation less than 90 degrees allows me to ensure that the handle will turn the way that I want it to turn.

You can tell how the angle of rotation by looking in the lower left hand corner of the screen

Preview the animation to make sure the keyframe was added at the correct time and to see that the handle turns as you expect it to.

Now that the handle rotates, select the cylinders that represent the inner locking mechanisms.

Be sure you have returned to the beginning of the animation. This will prevent you from making accidental changes that will haunt you later.

Now move the scrubber to the desired location. I wanted it to move as long as the handle was turning (1 second), so move the slider to 1 sec and the using the reposition tool, slide the locking mechanisms to the left.

Once again preview the animation to make sure the effect is as you want it to be. The handle and locking mechanism should move until 1.00 sec and then stop.

Now for the tricky part. We want the door to open while all of this other movement is happening. In Bryce4 this is a relatively simple task. Group all of the objects that represent the door.

Notice the group includes the cylinders that make the hinges, the spheres that make the screws and all other door related items.

Now go to solo mode and select the attribute of the object. Make the origin handle visible for the object.

You may not be able to do this in Bryce3D. Origin handles for groups are not available in Bryce3d. A workaround for what you have to do in Bryce3D follows.
Create a cylinder in the exact location of the hinges. Make this cylinder hidden. Name it something meaningful like: Axis
Next select the door and select its attributes. Click the linking tab and link it to the object you just created: the axis. This cylinder will be what is animated in Bryce3D, not the door. More to follow.

Move the origin handle of the door to the center between the hinges. You will find this easier to do with front, side and top camera views.
Be sure it is centered between the hinges from all angles.
Now move the scrubber to the desired time. For instance you can start with 1.00 sec like for the rest of the animation. Rotate the door open by using the rotation tool. Notice the door rotates around the hinges because that is where the origin point is. For Bryce3D users, rotate the axis cylinder instead of the door. Notice that the door opens as if it were on the hinges.
Preview your animation. If the door opens to suit your taste, then all is well. I found that I wanted the door to stay closed until the handle had rotated slightly. I moved the scrubber back to the desired time and typed in the original rotational values for the door so that it would not begin moving until that time.

Site Note:

To make an animated GIF from the rendered animation you need a GIF maker. I personally use Microsoft's Image composer since it came with FrontPage 98. Many of these allow you to import avi movies into the maker and it converts them to an animated GIF. If you don't have a GIF making program , here is one that is shareware.

Just remember that animated GIFs can become large files quickly! Be sure to cut out any unnecessary frames.

This is not meant to be an all inclusive instruction on every possible way to have made the final image or produce the desired results. Bryce offers zillions of wonderful ways to replicate, multireplicate, reposition, etc. in its powerful interface. Experiment!

Brycetech: Animation GIFs with Bryce pt 2

Create the safe body

Site Note:

Hosted by DAZ3D

Next I moved to a view that allowed me to see the dolly camera. I changed the scrubber to the desired times and moved the camera from a position of watching the door open to a position of entering the open door.
A light was added to the interior of the safe and brightened at different times in the timeline so as to wash out the final rendered image.