disclaimer: this tutorial used to be on my patreon! i didn’t want to delete it completely but it is pretty old so some of the details might be a bit different. hopefully it still helps! :)
why should i do this max? who cares?
If you’re a 3D artist, showing off your art as a series of flat images or 5FPS gif is doing your own work a disservice!!!! Imagine the Mona Lisa but in the most godawful, garish picture frame you can imagine. like, hot pink and puke green stripes. The art is still amazing, but if you’re presenting it badly, people ain’t gonna want to look at it.
With that in mind, here’s some things I picked up from posting a buncha dumb gifs on twitter. hell yea.
the tutorial bit
For this tut I’ll be using Blender 2.78 for the actual 3D bits but it should be all applicable to other 3D software. For the gif bits, I’ll be using Photoshop ($$$) or VirtualDub (free). Either will work but they both do smooth gif conversions!!!
PART 1: THE TURNTABLE
I’m gonna go through my two fav turntable options: the SIDE TO SIDE™ and the 360 FULL SPIN™. (left + right respectively in the header image)
If you know this already you can skip to PART 1.5: THE RENDER!
Start by creating an empty object in the middle of the scene. This empty object is now your pivot- what the camera will turn around. Make that empty object the parent of your camera.
SIDE TO SIDE™
Now. The SIDE TO SIDE™. With your pivot (the empty object) selected, add a keyframe of the Z (up) rotation on frames 1 and frames 101 (or however long you would like your animation to be).
Then, keyframe a third and final time in the middle of those two frames (in this case: frame 51).
From there, drag the Z rotation however far you want the camera to turn (using your goose or whatever non-goose content you may be modelling as a reference) — and you’re ready!
HERE IT IS ISN’T IT NEATO
360 FULL SPIN™
Here’s the 360 FULL SPIN™. This is a quick one! Similarly, keyframe the first and last frame (1 and 101), but this time, on your last frame, change the Z rotation to 360 (or -360 if you want to rotate the other way). aaaaaand you’re done!
PART 1.5: THE RENDER
This isn’t a full part because there are so many different ways to render your work in different software. BUT in this case, just make sure you’re rendering as a raw AVI with a resolution of at least ~800x600 for best quality! (it might take a hot sec)
PART 2: THE GIF (PHOTOSHOP)
If you don’t have Photoshop, skip to PART 2.5 where I do the same thing in a free program called VirtualDub.
Start by importing the AVI (the one you just rendered) as layers in Photoshop using File > Import > Video Frames to Layers.
From there, you can do any post-processing you may want to do (I love adding a ton of adjustment layers) but if not just go to File > Save for Web (or maybe File > Export > Save for Web if its an older version) and you’re done! A fresh, piping hot gif for you and all your buds.
PART 2.5: THE GIF (VIRTUALDUB)
If you don’t have Photoshop, you can download and use a free video editing program called VirtualDub! I found it while looking for a free alternative and its super quick and easy to use so HERE WE GO
I can do it all in one gif! Simply go to File > Add New Video File, select your video, and Export > Animated Gif and you are donezo. Honestly this may be easier than the Photoshop way! And much less bourgeoisie. Who knows.
PART 3: POST THE GIF
come up with some kind of clever pun or a biting political satire as the caption, add the gif and POST THAT SUCKA
and we’re done! I hope this manages to help someone- since I posted the twitter thread I’ve had a bunch of people respond with some GORGEOUS turntable gifs and hopefully this creates even more!
