The 2024 Paris Olympics will surely inspire millions worldwide, and what better symbol of this inspiration than the Olympic torch itself? To get into the Olympic spirit, we have created our own TriMech Design Olympic torch, a key symbol of the games, representing the real passion and fire of the event. This tutorial will walk you through the process of adding the finishing touch to our torch using SOLIDWORKS Visualize—an animated flame that will light and guide our way into the Olympic season.
The geometry of our torch has already been imported into Visualize, complete with realistic materials and textures. The lighting, positioning, and background environment have also been set up beforehand. Now, let’s add the animated fire decal to give it that final, captivating touch.
Adding the Finishing Touches: Animated Fire
Step 1: Preparing the Invisible Geometry
Whenever you work with adding fire to an existing design in Visualize, it’s based on a video decal with an alpha channel. This ensures the decal will be visible only where needed. We need to create a piece of geometry to serve as the flame’s location—one that will be invisible in the final render.
- Create Geometry: Right-click in the geometry root blank space and select `Add Geometry`. Choose `Sphere` for this example, as it works well for holding the fire.
- Adjusting the Sphere: Scale down the sphere and position it at the top of the torch using the Triad tool. Adjust the size and shape until it fits snugly into the torch’s top, forming an oval shape. Use the scale boxes that are part of the Triad to resize the sphere interactively and use the Triad arrows to position it accurately.
Properties adjusting Sphere scale.
Adjust Sphere Size with “Scale Box’s” and position with “Triad Arrows”.
Top View: Positioning.
Front View: Final position.
Step 2: Applying the ‘Nothing’ Appearance
To make the sphere invisible while holding the fire decal, we apply an appearance that makes it effectively transparent. We have created an appearance called ‘Nothing,’ which is based on clean glass but with all additional properties like refraction and textures removed. This ensures the sphere will be completely transparent.
Apply ‘Nothing’ Appearance: Use the ‘Nothing’ appearance by dragging and dropping it onto the sphere.
Step 3: Importing and Applying the Animated Fire Decal
Now we will add the animated fire decal to the invisible sphere.
Import the Fire Decal: Right-click and select `New Decal > Video...`. Choose the animated fire decal file with the alpha channel.
Select the Decal from the library.
- Applying the Decal: Drag and drop the fire decal onto the sphere. It will default to a planar application in the center of the sphere. This is ideal as it ensures the fire decal will only appear where the sphere is located.
- Adjusting the Decal: Set the decal mask to `Brightness and Opacity` to use the alpha channel, ensuring the fire decal appears transparent where it needs to be. Adjust the decal’s position and size using the Triad arrows and scale boxes until the flame fits well at the torch’s top as if it is naturally burning from within.
Selecting “Brightness and Opacity” setting in the decal mask options
Adjustment of the fire decal’s Position.
Adjustment of the fire decal’s Size.
Step 4: Previewing the Animation
The timeline will automatically appear when you add an animated decal. This allows you to preview the animation and ensure it looks perfect throughout its duration.
- Preview the Animation: Use the preview function to scrub through the timeline. Move the play marker to different points to verify that the flame is visible and consistent throughout the animation. If your hardware supports it, play the animation in real-time to ensure smoothness.
Options for Preview Mode & Render mode.
Step 5: Configuring Render Settings and Rendering
Now that the animated fire decal is in place and previewed, it’s time to finalize the rendering settings and create the animation.
- Render Settings: Configure the render settings. In the lower-left corner, specify the number of passes for ray tracing. Start with the default of 500 passes, and then increase to 1,000 passes for better quality. For this project, we found that 1,500 passes provided the optimal balance of quality and efficiency.
- Using the Rendering Wizard: Use the rendering wizard to select animation output settings. Set the resolution to 1080p HD and the frame rate to 30 frames per second. The timeline will use the animation created earlier.
The Rendering Wizard setup.
Selecting Video resolution.
The Quality of the rendering output.
Send to “Rendering Queue“.
- Rendering Queue: For the best flexibility, use the rendering queue to manage the rendering process. This allows you to start the render when you do not need your machine, such as overnight. High-resolution animations can take several hours to render, depending on your hardware. In this case, our render took about 3-4 hours.
The Rendering Queue setup.
Conclusion: Ignite Your Creativity with Visualize
By following these steps, you have transformed a static torch into a dynamic symbol of Olympic spirit and creativity. Adding an animated fire decal to the TriMech Design Olympic torch using Visualize not only enhances its visual appeal but also showcases the power of dynamic elements in the design.
Ready to take your projects to the next level? Experiment with Visualize Professional and discover the endless possibilities it offers. From animated decals to complex renderings, let your creativity shine and make every project a visual spectacle. Watch the related video to see the result and get during the 2024 Summer Olympics!
