More Animator for SketchUp

Fat Pencil Studio has been Beta testing the new Fredo6 Animator plug-in, which (as of the most recent update!) includes a tracking camera feature. Of course I wanted to check that out right away, so I set up a model of a multi-modal intersection. The concern here is that visibility issues associated with the transit island could cause a collision between cyclists in the bike lane and vehicular cross traffic.

Using Animator, I was able to simulate the view of a person driving the purple car. You can see how the many people using this street—drivers, cyclists and pedestrians—all compete for the driver's attention. Watch for the bicycle when it appears at the end of the clip.

Next let's check out what happens from the point of the view of the bicycle rider. You can see that the rider also has limited visibility because of the traffic island. As the bus comes to a stop, it creates a visual barrier in the intersection.

And finally, a composite animation that shows an aerial view of the collision, with the driver and bike rider perspectives inset:

It took me a while to get up to speed on this plug-in, but once I got the hang of it (and as more bugs get worked out of the beta version), it's become clear what a powerful tool it will be. According to SketchUp, Animator will be released soon. Thanks Fredo6!

And finally, a composite animation that shows an aerial view of the collision, with the driver and bike rider perspectives inset:

It took me a while to get up to speed on this plug-in, but once I got the hang of it (and as more bugs get worked out of the beta version), it's become clear what a powerful tool it will be. According to SketchUp, Animator will be released soon. Thanks Fredo6!

Yelena Prusakova was an illustrator at Fat Pencil Studio from 2013-2017.