Blender 3D Absolute Beginner Follow Path Animation using Parents for Secondary Motion

>> Today's lesson is Follow Path Animation.

We're going to be using the
spaceship that we used previously

from the -- from a previous lesson.

If you want to kind of check that out,
super simple, about a 10-minute video.

We'll be using this to follow a path and
then incorporate some of the other lessons

in parenting also so it can
have its own animation.

All right?

So, first things first is let's create
the line that it will follow along.

So, I'm going to go to the top viewport, but,
before I do that, let me turn on my screencast.

All right.

I'm going to press number 7 on the
numpad to be viewing this from the top.

I'm going to add a curve and a circle.

We'll start with a circle,
then I'll expand this one here

so the spaceship can kind
of roam around a little bit.

Okay? And I'm going to hit Tab right here.

We'll probably pinch this
two points right here just

so that it doesn't follow a --
kind of like a circular motion.

So, it's kind of like it's
patrolling an area kind of like so.

All right?

And let's rotate the camera.

All right?

So, it's kind of in the same
level at the spaceship.

All right?

And what we'll do is we want
to position the spaceship

to where you want to kind of get it to start.

So, with a circle, I think the -- this --

the vertex right here or
point is the starting point.

And we can position it right here.

So, I'm going to select the spaceship.

Okay? And, as you can see, it's not joined yet.

So, I'll just simply join this.

I don't need to animate this
independent of this one.

We'll just kind of make it go around.

So, Control-J to kind of join the two together.

Okay? And let me see here on
normals, click on Auto Smooth.

Okay? And it should be good to go.

So, I'm going to go number 7 again.

I'm going to go to my Move
tool and move this right there.

Okay? So, we want the path to be the parent so
we're going to Shift-click the path last, right,

kind of from the previous lesson, Control-P,
and we're going to do Follow Path right here.

And, when I tap the Space bar,
it just simply goes around.

All right.

So, let's take a look at that one.

I'm going to go to the Animation tab right here

so we could actually see here
what it might look like rendered.

And this is our working environment.

When you select a follow path, you
have to go to the curve right here.

The Path Animation is right here.

By default, it's 100 frames.

Okay? So, if I change that to 250, which
is the same as our timeline length,

then it will just go slower of course, okay,
and it will -- you know, it will adjust.

Okay? Evaluation time is simply the position
in time where it's at so you can kind

of change this to offset where it starts.

Okay? But I'm not going to do that.

We're going to leave it as is.

We also have this Follow checkmark
that you notice right here.

Let me go to the top right here.

You notice right here that, on the curvature
right there, it's actually following.

Right? It's actually rotating.

It's pivoting on those moments right there.

So, if I uncheck that, it just
kind of hover and slides around.

Okay? So, depending on what you want to
do, especially when you create a path

where let's say you put a
vehicle and it needs to bank,

let's say like on a NASCAR oval
racetrack you want it to bank,

then that Follow would definitely
be something you want to put.

Okay? But, for now, we're just
kind of demoing this as is

and we're not going to change anything.

So, that's it for Follow Path Animation.

But you're kind of limited at this point.

You are not going to be able to give
this spaceship some other things

to do other than follow this one.

Okay? That's when we need a parent so that
we have to parent the spaceship to an empty,

make the empty become the child of the path
and the spaceship will be independent, okay,

so we can do other things with it.

So, let's take a look at that one.

So, I'm just going to go to frame
one, which is the beginning.

Okay? And what I'll do is Alt-P or
Option P. I'm going to clear the parent.

Okay? So, what I'll do is
I'm going to add an empty.

So, an empty is simply a
non-renderable object in Blender.

Other programs, they call it a null.

So, we're going to go Empty.

And you can pick -- you know, you can
change the shape, it doesn't matter.

I'll go with a cube right here so we
could see it and it's -- you know, it's --

basically, we're going to position
this around the object here.

Okay? Let me turn on my screencast
for the Animation tab.

All right?

Then I'm going to just kind of eyeball
this and then just kind of make sure

that it's kind of centered to our object.

I could snap it to that using your Snap.

But, you know, it's fine.

I'm going to go number 1 right
here, maybe move it up a little bit.

Ah, that's probably fine right there so that
it's on the same kind of level as the path.

All right?

So, what we'll do is that we'll
select the spaceship first,

then Shift-click the empty,
okay, last, Control-P.

And we want Object.

All right?

So, nothing spectacular here, we're just
going to select the empty right here.

Wherever I move the empty,
the spaceship follows.

And then when I select the spaceship,
it's got its own independence.

All right?

So, now, so instead of directly
parenting the spaceship

to the path, we will do that with the empty.

So, I am going to select the empty, Shift-click
the path, Control-P, to parent object.

So, now, same ole boring one,
okay, the follow is in check.

So, if I put on follow right here, we'll
actually do the orientation right there

so it's not just kind of hovering.

But let's uncheck that for now.

All right?

So, now, what is the advantage of this?

Well, now we have options for this.

We can now animate the spaceship
independent of the path.

All right?

So, let's start with something
simple, maybe rotate this spaceship,

okay, just kind of rotating non-stop.

All right?

So, we'll do that.

Let's say it does a 360 in let's say 50 frames.

Right? So, let's -- since we have 250
here, so it's something divisible.

So, I'm going to go back to frame one.

All right?

I'm going to go here.

So, that will be the z-axis rotation.

Right? So, it'll be z-axis.

So, we're going to give it rotation like that.

Okay? And we're going to
go to our item right here.

So, the z rotation, it's at zero.

So, we want it to be there.

So, we're going to right-click
this, insert a single keyframe.

Then we go to Frame 50.

Okay? And then we'll go 360
on this one, so just 360.

So, if you want it to go the other
way, you do a negative number.

But I'll just do positive on this one, 360.

Okay? And then I'm going to
right-click single keyframe.

So, now it'll just do its
kind of -- it's rotating.

Okay? So, if I want to make sure that that
kind of repeats, I select the key, Shift-E,

make cyclic, all right, so it
just kind of does it non-stop.

There it is.

So, now we have kind of like we're not
clicking Follow, remember, on this one.

Okay? So -- but, if we click Follow here, it'll
-- you know, it'll kind of compensate out of it.

It doesn't look like it's hovering because
you can see that kind of slow down.

So, we're just going to take that off.

So, we just kind of see this one just
kind of -- it will do its thing going on.

All right?

So, what else can we do with this?

We can actually make this spaceship go
kind of up and down while it's hovering.

Okay? So, let's go to the front right here.

Okay? Let's go to frame 1.

All right?

So, if I go to my Move tool, select the
spaceship, so let's say we want it to --

yeah, we can make it start right here.

So, that'll be z-axis.

Right? It'll be z-axis right here.

So, I will go right-click,
Insert Single Keyframe.

Okay? And then we're going to go to 25 so
that we can go -- actually, let's go to --

let's go to like 15 and then
we'll go the other one 35.

Okay? So, we'll go 15.

And we'll go up a little bit, just a little
bit, right-click, Insert Single Keyframe.

We go to frame 35, we move it
down a little bit, right-click.

And then, on frame 50 --

-- we want it to go back to the
line, which it will do since --

oh, we've got no other keyframe right there.

Oh, no. Let's go to our frame 1
and let's just copy this value.

Okay? So, whatever this one is, this is when
it didn't move, so I'm just going to Command-C

or Control-C to copy it, go to frame
50, paste it here, okay, press Enter,

right-click, Insert Single Keyframe.

So, there it is.

So, it's kind of doing its little hover.

Okay? Now I will cycle the
motion of going up and down.

All right?

So, we can just go -- I'm going to go
press A right here to select everything.

Even though we cycled the other one, it doesn't
matter, it'll just kind of overwrite on top

of it, right, recycle the rotation.

So, I'm going to go Shift-E.

So, I press A over here to select all the keys
for the rotation and both up and down movement.

Shift-E, Make Cycle.

Okay? So, now let's watch this one.

So, it's just hovering up and down.

Kind of hard to tell on the camera right
here because it's kind of subtle, but --

so, we have added up and down
movement on the spaceship.

Okay? And we added the rotation as well.

All right.

So, this should kind of explain
to you guys how Follow Path work.

So, you can pretty much parent anything to that
one, it will follow along the line of course.

And if you want to add secondary motion
to the object, you have to use a parent.

Let the parent do the job of following the path
and then give your object or, in this case,

the spaceship independence by
animating it separately from the empty,

which is the cube, as its parent.

The same thing for the bouncing ball.

Now that we have parented
the ball with an empty,

we can also create the follow
path and it should follow along.

All right.

So, for this one, I'm going to go number 7.

Let's go to a solid mode.

And I will create a path curve.

Let's create a path right here.

So, this will be just a straight line.

All right?

If I press Tab, there it is.

So, just kind of curve this along so it's a
straight kind of -- well, not a straight line,

but not -- it's an open curve is what I meant.

Sorry. And it's not a -- it's not a
closed -- a curve like the circle.

So, just kind of -- well, let me add another
one in there, right-click, Subdivide.

I just want it to kind of curve in a little bit.

Maybe add another one in there.

Remember, each point or node is calculated
as distributed as the same distance.

So, if you pile in multiple points
right there, it slows down in that one.

Okay? So -- and it will do it
in 250 once we adjust it to 250.

Well, let me just show you that.

So, I'm going to add a bunch right here.

So, right-click, Subdivide.

And I will actually pile those a little bit
closer there so that you guys visually see

when -- how the program interpolates --
interprets, sorry, each segment as the same kind

of distance regardless of
if you pile them or not.

Okay? So, let's go to the front right here.

And then I will move my path right
here kind of the same area as that one.

I'm going to select the Helper,
number 7, right here and just kind

of position it right there where it starts.

Okay? So, let's turn on all
our kind of gizmos and whatnot.

So, select the Helper, Shift-click
the path, Control-P, Object.

Okay?

Oh, sorry, not Object, Follow Path.

What was I thinking?

All right?

Control-P, Follow Path.

Okay? All right.

Where is the playback?

All right?

So, we just have to change that to
250 so it'll be a slow-moving one.

Path Animation 250.

It will stretch it all the way.

So, let's watch it from the beginning.

All right?

Went through the -- did I went through the wall?

I think so.

So, let me -- and you can make
adjustments to this so it will just --

-- all right, in real time,
it'll not ruin the --

and I forgot to add spinning animation
or rotation animation on this.

But that's fine, it's for the
Path Animation lesson anyway.

So, there it is.

We do have the follow checked, so at least
the ball is following the orientation.

It's still pretty close there,
but you get the point.

All right?

Then, right there, I'll just
kind of -- all right.

So, again, Follow Path Animation using a parent

so you can have your independent
animation on the ball and whatnot.