ahschmidt 0 Report post Posted January 6, 2011 When you are using 3d in AE, what is the difference between orientation and rotation? Is there a standard about which to use? --Aaron Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grundly 0 Report post Posted January 6, 2011 Rotation works in full circles, where orientation works to the nearest value. So as a rule of thumb: use Rotation to animate, Orientation to 'Pose'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ahschmidt 0 Report post Posted January 6, 2011 Rotation works in full circles, where orientation works to the nearest value. So as a rule of thumb: use Rotation to animate, Orientation to 'Pose'. Ah, that makes sense. Great reply, thanks Grundly! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Todd Kopriva 0 Report post Posted January 6, 2011 When you are using 3d in AE, what is the difference between orientation and rotation? Is there a standard about which to use? from After Effects Help: "You can turn a 3D layer by changing its Orientation or Rotation values. In both cases, the layer turns around its anchor point. The Orientation and Rotation properties differ in how the layer moves when you animate them. When you animate the Orientation property of a 3D layer, the layer turns as directly as possible to reach the specified orientation. When you animate any of the X, Y, or Z Rotation properties, the layer rotates along each individual axis according to the individual property values. In other words, Orientation values specify an angular destination, whereas Rotation values specify an angular route. Animate Rotation properties to make a layer turn multiple times. Animating the Orientation property is often better for natural, smooth motion, whereas animating the Rotation properties provides more precise control." There's even a movie linked to from that page that shows the difference. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
graymachine 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2011 from After Effects Help: Wait a minute.. there's an After Effects help section? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Todd Kopriva 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2011 Wait a minute.. there's an After Effects help section? [*shakes fist*] I will take out my rage by beating you at pinball in a few months. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the_Monkey 8 Report post Posted January 7, 2011 (edited) I have to say that I hate the fact that AE decided to solves the Euler/Quaternion problem in this manner... simultaneously. If they didn't I would already have an awesome plugin from Rick Barrett that pulls AE data into C4D automatically, with a single click. (Shit, did I just say that out loud? ) I do undertand the math problems involved, but I've been animating for years purely with Euler coordinates (and a few hacks). Do Quaternions really matter for shit with anybody in the AE world? I'm dying to know. Please... even if you're just a lurker, speak out loud about your usage as an artist regarding AE's Rotation vs. Orientation and when you use which. There are many people here who could benefit from this knowledge. Thanks a bunch. -m Edited January 7, 2011 by the_Monkey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the_Monkey 8 Report post Posted January 7, 2011 Also... there's an After Effects help section? -m Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dan_hin 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2011 Please... even if you're just a lurker, speak out loud about your usage as an artist regarding AE's Rotation vs. Orientation and when you use which. There are many people here who could benefit from this knowledge. Thanks a bunch. -m I wasn't even aware that there was a technical difference. I have no idea why there are two ways to rotate objects in AE. I try to make sure I use one or the other exclusively so I don't get any nasty surprises, but that's about it. Oh, and while I'm on the subject, I still don't understand the point in Point of Interest on the AE cam. That is all. Dan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jordan Cain 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2011 All I know is that Orientation is far more annoying to try to manipulate than Rotation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
throb36 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2011 Euler: Pronounced "oiler" Euler is a common method for calculating 3d rotations. Is popular because it uses 3 values X, Y Z angles. Euler requires a "rotation order" and can experience gimbal problems, the worst resulting in Gimbal Lock when 2 axes align. this is why it's sometimes refered to as Gimbal, instead of Euler. Quaternion: Method of rotation that uses four values, xyz and t. XYZ are position values used to calculate a vector direction, and t is a roll value. Gimbal: Gimbal is the effect caused when Euler rotation axes break the usual 90 degree angle difference on a rotation manipulator. The extreme of this is gimbal lock when two axes align completely (from http://www.guerrillacg.org/home/3d-rigging/the-rotation-problem) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KushDesign 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2011 I almost always use rotation. Wasn't sure of the difference. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jayfaker 1 Report post Posted January 7, 2011 I dunno, I always thought the purpose of orientation was to set the initial angle from which to rotate from. That way, you are much less likely to have gimbal problems. If you want a layer to swing on the Y-axis, but you want the Y-axis to be tilted, you tilt it in orientation, so things don't get all screwy gimbal-wise. The biggest problem I have with orientation and rotation is when it comes to parenting. If you rotate a layer in 3D space and then parent another layer to it, the child layer's rotation often goes all screwy. I hate that. Especially because in C4D I often position objects around a globe by parenting the object to a null and rotating the null. If you try to do anything like that in After effects, the objects' rotations often flip out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites