Animation menu > Walkthrough Assistant
Walkthrough Assistant lets you easily create a predefined walkthrough animation of your scene by placing a camera on a path and setting the height, turning the camera and viewing a preview. This feature is available from the Animation Menu.
To create a Walkthrough camera:
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In the Main Controls rollout, click the Create New Camera button.
A free camera named Walkthrough_Cam01 is created and displayed in the viewports. The camera is also listed by name in the Cameras list. If the camera is not visible in any viewport, zoom out to see it.
Additional rollouts are also displayed in the floater.
Note: You can rename the camera with a more descriptive name from the Modify panel.
To set the camera path:
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After the camera is created, create a path in the scene using the desired spline shape or NURBS curve.
Note: Text and Section are generally not useful shapes for creating a camera path.
Tip: You will have smoother camera movements if you set the Creation Method for the spline shape to Smooth or Bezier instead of Corner.
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Click Pick Path from the Path Control group, and select the path you created.
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Click the Play button or scrub the time slider to see the camera move along the path.
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Activate the Perspective viewport, then click the Set Viewport to Camera button in the Cameras group.
Now you can see what the camera sees.
You will probably need to adjust the camera height and tilt at this point.
To adjust the camera height and tilt:
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In the Path Control group, turn on Move Path to Eye Level. The path is set to the height specified for Eye Level.
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Set the desired height using the numerical height spinner. The path moves in the viewports in real time.
You can use Select and Move to place the path to the desired height if you find it faster than entering a value.
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Activate the Top viewport. In the View Controls rollout, move the slider in the Turn Head group to position the camera head towards the desired object in the scene.
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Use the numerical spinner for Head Tilt Angle to change the angle of the camera head.
Tip: You can also use Select and Rotate to position the camera head.
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Play the animation or scrub the time slider to see how the camera presents the scene.
To adjust the camera controls:
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In the Advanced Controls rollout, use the numerical spinner to change the Field of View.
If you want less of the scene to be seen, decrease the setting. Conversely, increase the setting if you want more of the scene to display.
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Set the Target Distance to the range you want objects to be seen clearly in focus.
To animate the camera tilting and turning:
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Slide the Turn Head control to turn the camera head left, center, or right. If desired, adjust the Head Tilt Angle control up or down.
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Use the time slider to advance the camera to the next place where you want to turn or tilt the camera differently.
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When you've completed setting rotation keys for the camera, play the animation.
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If you are not pleased with the results, click the Remove All Head Animation button in the Views Control rollout to quickly delete all the keys. To quickly reset the camera head position, click the Reset Eyes Level button.
Note: Walkthrough Assistant uses a Bezier controller for the camera rotation. If you set too many keys or put keys too close together you may experience unexpected results such as “spinning” where the camera completely rotates about its Z axis. Go to Track View and adjust the rotation keys for the camera to correct this.
To create a targeted camera:
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Click the Create New Camera button. A camera and its target are placed in the scene. The camera is named incrementally and added to the Camera list.
The Targeted toggled is also turned on in the Cameras group.
Note: You can also change an existing free camera into a target camera by turning on Targeted.
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Click the Pick Target Object button, and select an object on which you want the camera to focus.
The target is moved to the object. If you had selected a path, the target would move to the path.
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Click the Set Viewport to Camera button. The viewport label changes to reflect the current camera name and displays what the Targeted camera sees.
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Click the Play Animation button or scrub the time slider to view the animation.
Create New Camera—Automatically creates a free or targeted camera in the scene. Cameras are named Walkthrough_Cam.
Cameras List—Lists cameras in the scene by name.
Targeted—Controls whether a selected camera in the Camera list is targeted or free. Turning on Targeted for a free camera will change it to targeted; turning it off for a targeted camera will change it to a free camera.
Set Viewport to Camera—Changes the active viewport to a camera viewport.
Pick Path—Press this button to select a path in the scene. After a path is selected, the button label changes to the object's name. Click the Clear Path button to disassociate the camera from the selected path.
Move Path to Eye Level—When turned on, moves the path to the height set for Eye Level. When turned off, it moves the path to its original height when created.
Eye Level—Allows you to specify a precise height of the path that either raises or lowers the camera view.
Click to Render Preview—Renders a preview. The preview appears in the small window in the Walkthrough Assistant floater.
This rollout only displays if a free camera is created or selected.
Turn Head Slider—Rotates the camera head as it moves along the path. This allows you to create the illusion that you are turning your head as you walk through the scene. Choices are Left, Center, Right. To animate the head turning, use the Auto Key button. This creates Z Rotation keys that can be adjusted in Track View.
Head Tilt Angle—Rotates the camera as it moves along the path. This creates the illusion that you are tilting your head up or down as you walk through the scene. To animate, use the Auto Key button. This creates X Rotation keys that can be adjusted in Track View.
Note: The Turn Head and Head Tilt Angle controls use a Bezier controller for rotation of the walkthrough camera. If you create too many keys, or place them too closely together you can experience unexpected results. For best results, start at the beginning and add keys as you move to the end, creating as few keys as possible.
Reset Eyes Level—Constrains the head tilt to be level with the path.
Remove All Head Animation—Deletes all key frames created when the Auto Key was enabled.
This rollout only displays if a targeted camera is created or selected.
Path—When selected, allows you to select a path the camera's target will use.
Object—When selected, allows you to select an object the camera's target will use.
Pick Target Path—Press this button to select a path or object in the scene. Click the Clear Path button to disassociate the camera's target from the selected path or object.
Field of View—Adjusts the amount of the scene visible in the viewport and the perspective flare. Extreme values will create distortion in the viewport.
Target Distance—Sets the distance the target is from the camera. This controls the size of the camera icon in the viewport. In a free camera, the point the camera orbits around is controlled by the target distance.
Constant Speed—Turn this on to maintain a constant speed along a path. When off, the velocity of the object along the path varies depending on the distance between the vertices on the path.
Follow Path—When this is turned on, the camera stays perpendicular to the path. When this is turned off, the camera does not turn as it follows along the path.