The Animator tools are divided into the following categories: Translators, Rotators, Exploders, and Scalers. All animators share the same settings, except for a few that are specific to each category.
This page contains the settings for all animators. When a setting is specific to only one animator type, it is noted in parentheses.
For more information about a specific animator type, see the Translator and Rotator Tools, Exploder Tool, and Scaler Tool pages.
Animator Tools Settings
When you select an animator in the viewport or the Scene graph, the settings for the animator appear in the Properties panel.
Play Modes
Animators can play in Collision mode, Preview mode, and Sequence mode.
Collision mode
Collision mode is designed to be used for animations that are not sequenced or scripted. In Collision mode, animations are event driven and occur only when a trigger enters the trigger collision zone. For example, you can animate a door and have it open only if an animated character enters the specified collision trigger zone around the door.
In Collision mode, animators are not controlled by the Playback mode settings.
Sequences are not controlled by playback settings but are controlled by the timeline. If you select Collision mode for an animator when in a sequence, the animation track of the animator is deleted, as event-driven animations cannot be controlled by the timeline.
The animation plays only if one or more of the collision Triggers are inside the Trigger zone.
Triggers: The triggers can be any of the following items:
Pedestrians: The pedestrians in Character paths.
Vehicles: The vehicles in Vehicle paths.
Custom path actors: The objects in Custom paths.
Camera: The viewport camera.
Trigger zone: Defines the area where a trigger needs to be before an animation starts playing. By default, the trigger zone area can be between 100 cm to 5000 cm, but you can override the maximum value.
Preview mode
Preview mode is available when you work with animators out of Media mode, and inside configurations. It can be used for creating animations that you view in Presenter mode, or inside the configurations you add to Presentations.
In Properties-based configurations, you can save and display the properties of objects inside configuration states. If you add an animator to a configuration, you can animate an object and control the properties of the animation in each configuration state. For example, you could create several states of an exploded view animation and use different exploder presets for each state.
Sequence mode
The Sequence mode is designed for animating objects in sequences and exporting them as videos.
Sequences contain tracks that are controlled by the timeline. When you add an animator to a sequence, the animator is added as a track and is controlled by the timeline, enabling you to precisely control the duration and script of the animation.
Sequence mode is also available for animators in videos. However, unlike sequences, videos do not have tracks and a timeline, or the Start delay setting. This makes videos suboptimal for animators, as you cannot use them to design scripted animations.
In Sequence mode, the Oscillate loop mode for animators is not available.
Editing tools
Tool | Image | Description |
Link |  | Links the selected part in the scene to the animator. When a part is linked it is parented by the animator and included in the animation. |
Unlink |  | Unlinks the selected part in the scene from the animator. When an object is unlinked from an animator, it is no longer parented by the animator. |
Move parent |  | With this tool, you can move the position and orientation of the animator (the parent) without moving the parts (the children) linked to the animator. Changing the location of the parent changes the starting or ending point of the animation, depending on the selected Movement (From start or To start). Clicking the Move parent icon pauses the animator. After moving the parent to a new position, click the Play button in the Playback mode section to restart the animation. |
Playback mode
| Playback mode | Description |
|---|---|
1 | Goes to the first frame of the animation and pauses. |
2 | Plays the animation. |
3 | Pauses the animation. |
4 | Rewinds the animation progressively to the starting point. |
5 | Goes to the last frame of the animation and pauses. |
In sequences, the playback of animators is controlled by the playhead on the timeline.
Main animation
The contents of the Main animation section are different depending on the type of animator you are using.
The following table describes all the settings in the Main animation section. When a setting applies only to a specific animator type it is noted in the first column.
Setting | Description |
Distance (Translators only) | Controls how far the parts of the objects move. Options: -10,000 cm to 10,000 cm |
Angle (Rotators only) | Controls the angle of the rotation. Options: -360° to 360° The maximum value can be overridden. |
Preset (Exploders and Scalers only) | Shows the name and thumbnail of the selected preset.  Clicking the thumbnail opens the Exploders presets or Scalers presets windows, where you can view the default presets and any custom presets you create.  To create a custom preset, change the settings of an Exploder or Scaler in the scene, then open the presets window and click the Add ( + ) button.  |
Shape (Exploders only) | Defines the spatial pattern used to explode the parts of an object.
|
Movement | For Translators, Rotators, and Exploders, this setting defines if the animation plays from the start point to the end point, or from the end point to the start point.
For Scalers, this setting defines the direction of the scale animation.
|
Distance mode (Exploders only) | Defines the method that is used to move each child.
|
Amplification factor (Exploders only) | If Amplified is selected for the Distance mode, this slider defines the amplification offset of each part. Options: 0x to 10x The maximum value can be overridden. |
Distance (Exploders only) | If Constant is selected for the Distance mode, moving this slider decreases or increases the total distance that the parts move. Options: 0 m to 100 m The maximum value can be overridden. |
Children origin (Exploders and Scalers only) | For Exploders, this setting defines whether the origin of the child object is positioned on the child object's bounding box center or pivot point.
For Scalers, defines whether the child object scales from its bounding box center, its pivot point, or the pivot point of the animator.
|
Stagger offset | Determines whether each child moves at the same time, or sequentially in a staggered manner. To create a staggered animation, use a value higher than 0. Options: 0 to 2 The maximum value can be overridden. |
Elasticity (Scalers only) | Defines how much the child objects bounce and oscillate around their target position before coming to rest. Options: -0.18x to 10x |
| Details | |
Overshoot factor (Scalers only) | Defines how far the child objects travel beyond their target position before coming to rest. Options: 0% to 100% |
Oscillation duration (Scalers only) | Determines how long child objects oscillate in proportion to the total animation duration. Options: 0% to 95% |
Loop and timing
Setting | Description |
Loop mode | Controls what happens when the animation reaches the end of its playback.
|
Loop duration | Defines how long it takes for the animation to play from start to end. Options: 0.02 s to 30 s |
| Details | |
Animator easing | Defines the easing-in and easing-out effect at the beginning and end of the animation.
|
Start delay | Sets the delay, in seconds, before the animation starts playing. This setting is especially useful to control the start time of animators inside Properties-based configurations. In the viewport, the delay is visible if you close then reopen the Twinmotion project, or if you go back to the first frame of the animation, then start replaying the animation. Options: 0 s to 60 s |
Inter loop delay | Sets the delay, in seconds, that occurs between each full animation loop. Options: 0 s to 30 s |