Another Animation Test

Now lets try dropping the 3D cube on the table. First go back to the camera view. Then press 'p'. The 3D cube should drop down, land on the table and stop. Still not very interesting but we are getting there.

Rotate the 3D cube

To make the landing a little more interesting we want to rotate the cube just a little. Select the original 3D cube (remember, put the cursor on the cube and RIGHT click), then use the Ctrl+Space keys to bring up the Munipulator popup, select "Rotate"and then right click. You should now see some circles around the selected object. Left click on one of the circles and move the mouse to rotate the object. Rotate the 3D cube a little with at least two of the axes. No particular rotation is required, just what looks ok to you.

Giving the 3D Cube Some Boundaries

Depending on the orientation your cube has after the rotation in the step above if you try the 'p' button again the cube will drop and may act like it penetrates part of the table and then sticks. To get a more realistic collision we need to tell the system what the boundaries of the object are. Go to the logic panel (Pacman) and find the "Bounds" button (left side). Click on the "Bounds" button and "Box" should appear to the right of the button.

Testing the Boundaries

Now if you try the 'p' button again the cube should drop on the table, perhaps move a little, and then come to rest on the table level.

Adding Some Color

Up to now our mesh (the 3D cube) and table surface have been an uninteresting gray. Lets give them some more interesting colors.

Select the 3D cube again, select the Shading panel (two buttons to the left of Pacman), it has a sphere on the button. Then go to the right to the next set of buttons and select the materials button (the red sphere). Go to the "Materials" panel and left click on the button to the immediate left of the button labeled "Col". This brings up the color chooser. Pick any color you find interesting and then move the cursor off of the color chooser. When the color chooser dissappears the cube should be the color you selected.

Now go back up to the 3D screen and select the table. Below on the buttons panel on the Links and Pipeline panel select "Add New" just below the text "Link To Object". Now click again on the button to the right of the "Col" button and select another color for the table.