Tips and Tricks #34: Animate objects along a path in Show to illustrate your work flows

Tips and Tricks #34: Animate objects along a path in Show to illustrate your work flows


Hi Everyone!



Today's tip will show you how you can create your own path and animate objects along it to illustrate any timeline or a step-by-step process in your presentation.  

Customize motion paths in your slide



Using Motion paths or Path animations in Show, you can move an object in a sequence within the slide. The gradual movement of the shape along the path will give you time to explain the work flow properly to your audience. This helps viewers visualize the concept clearly.
 
Show offers multiple different path animation effects, including Line, Curve, and Squiggles. Additionally, the tool also allows you to Create your own path.
 
Here's a sample video showing how you can create and edit a path in Show. In this example, we have used motion paths to illustrate the evolution of the automobile over the years.




We have used an image of a car in the slide and added a Curve animation effect to it.
 
Here's how you can convert the Curve path to a pattern that resembles a road using Show:

  1. Drag the red point of the Curve path to the desired location in the slide. As you stretch, you can see Edit Points in the path.
  2. Drag the Edit Points to any location in the slide to create a different flow. For instance, you can convert the Curve into a path with many bends. 
  3. Preview the animation to see how you object moves along the path.

Tip: One of the ideal ways you can create your own path in the slide is to draw the path using the Scribble tool and then add the animation effect above it. Adjust the line (effect) so that it aligns perfectly with the path you drew on the slide. This way, the effect will look more professional on a TV screen.

In addition, Show provides the Scale Path option to help you reduce or increase the size of the path. You can use this when you want to create multiple copies of the same path in different lengths.
  
 

Bring every minute detail to light   

You can make the motion path seem more realistic by enabling the 'Stay angled along the path' switch in the right pane. This option will allow you to animate your object at different angles along the path, making the effect look more appealing. 
 
Here's a video showing how you can precisely animate objects along the path using Show:     




We hope you found these tips helpful! Gaining expertise in motion paths will take some time, so keep working on the animation effect and tell us how you made your slide look distinct in the comment section below.
 
In case you have missed our previous post in the Tips and Tricks series, you can find them here.
 
Happy presenting!
- Show team