View Motion
Motion refers to movement within a space, whether the movement is position-based or rotation-based. There are several different ways to actually generate motion:
- Keyframe
- Procedural
- Dynamic
- Simulation
Keyframe motion is that which you can set yourself, by moving the object to different positions or rotations and setting keyframes. It is the most approachable method for artists, though it behooves artists to learn and become proficient with the other methods, as they serve a legitimate purpose.
Procedural motion is any motion that is generated by a script, plug-in, code segment, etc. Arguably the motion generated by dynamics and simulations are also procedural, but for the purposes of this article as well as its intended audeinece, we will be discussing them separately.
Dynamic motion is that motion that is caused by the dynamics engine. The motion can occur as you directly interact with the dynamic components, or it can be the result of a dynamics simulation. Interactive dynamic motion is the most free-form, as the result is completely dependent upon the incoming action and forces.
Simulated motion is the motion that occurs as the result of a cloth, physics or hair simulation. Assuming all input factors are the same, the results of the simulation should always be the same, which allows you to “bake” the motion into the object cache once your are satisfied with the results.