Rhino 6 and newer - Animation support

Owned by Next Limit
Last updated: 19 Apr, 2022
4 min read

The plugin can handle the basic animations created using these tools:

And also the more complex animations created using Bongo.

The plugin will export the different frames as MXS files and will then offer some options to render them in Maxwell Render, the Maxwell Network system (as a local network render job) or the Maxwell Cloud.

The workflow would be this:

Basic animations

  1. First, you should set Maxwell for Rhino as the Current Renderer; also, it is recommended to set the output options in the Rendering panel > Maxwell for Rhino > Output tab so you configure in advance where all the output files are going to be exported, their names, the channels you want to get, etc.

  2. Then you have to use one of these Rhino tools to define the animation:

  3. While you adjust the different parameters, make sure to set the Capture method to RenderFull or RenderPreview; otherwise, the MXS frames won’t be exported.

  4. After closing that window, you can preview the animation in the viewport using these buttons:

  5. Now you can click on the “Record animation” button to export the frames:

  6. While Rhino goes through all the frames, the MXS frames will be exported to the output folder set in the Output options of the plugin (their name will be driven by these).

  7. After finishing exporting all the frames, the plugin will show this window to help you start rendering the animation right away:

It will first show you the output path where all the frames have been exported and an “Open Folder” button so you can locate them easily.

Below, you will be able to choose between different render modes:

  • Maxwell: it will open Maxwell Render and render all the frames in sequence, one after the other. This method uses the “Frames” box, right under the Sample Level limit, to define the frames that will be rendered.

  • Network: it will create an animation job in the Network Monitor so you can launch the render in your local network (using the Maxwell Manager and the Render Nodes).

  • Cloud: it will create a cloud job and load all the frames into it. One cloud machine will be started per frame. Please, notice you need to buy cloud time in our webshop in order to be able to use this service.

At this moment, you can also customize the frames you want to render and, in the case of launching the renders to Maxwell, you can also change the time and sampling level limits.

When you click on Render Animation, the frames will be loaded in the selected applications and the render will start.

You can also click on the Cancel button to render them later.

 

Animation with Bongo

The procedure is very similar to what’s described above.

1. As before, it is recommended to set the output options in the Rendering panel > Maxwell for Rhino > Output tab so you configure in advance where all the output files are going to be exported, their names, the channels you want to get, etc.

2. When your animation is ready to be exported, you just have to go to the Bongo menu > Render Animation… This are the parameters that Maxwell will take into account:

3. Maxwell for Rhino has to be set in the Target renderer box for the MXS files to be exported. The process will start after clicking on the “Render Animation” button.

4. After the frames have been exported, the same panel as in point #7 above will be shown offering some options to start the render of the exported frames

Please, check the description in the previous section for more details about this panel.