Animating a 3D Model

FBX and GLB Animations

With FBX and GLB files, these are capable of containing one or more animations within the file. If you have a file that contains animations, these will be detected automatically by our 3D model preview tool and added to the list of selectable animations in the Animation panel.

If you are using a 3D file that does not contain any pre-defined animations, we have a selection of Standard animations that can be used to animate your 3D model. These will be covered later in this tutorial.

Step 1 - Select your 3D Model

In our example we will be animating a GLB file, so we will be using the GLB to GIF conversion tool. We have other tools for FBX to GIF and other formats if needed.

First we click the "Upload" button and browse to our GLB file. Once selected, you will see a 3D preview of your file. If you are uploading other file formats or files that are quite large, these may take some time to generate a preview, so please wait until the preview is generated.

Step 2 - Select the Animation to Use

Click the Animation button from the toolbar at the top of the 3D preview. This will open the Animation panel on the left side. This panel contains a dropdown list of the available animations your file may contain along with six Standard animations that are available to all 3D models. Once an animation has been selected, the 3D preview will start to play the animation. While the animation is playing, you may adjust the position and zoom of the camera by clicking and dragging the 3D preview area. Zooming is achieved using either your mouse scroll wheel or the Zoom + and - buttons on the toolbar.

Soldier GLB 3D model

Animation panel within the 3D viewer

GLB custom animations along with our Standard animations

Step 3 - Saving to an Animated GIF

With the animation selected and the camera positioned to where we want it, we can now go ahead and create an animated GIF of our creation. With the Animation panel still open, we click the Create GIF button, which will open up the GIF options panel, where we can select the resolution of the GIF from a list of three pre-defined settings. For this, we will create a GIF measuring 250x250 pixels. With this set, we click the Convert button and await the creation of our GIF.

Once the GIF has been created, you will be presented with a preview of the GIF file and a Download button to receive your file.

Save animation to animated GIF options

Final animated GIF download options

Our final animated GIF

Other Animations

If you are previewing a 3D model that does not contain (or support) animations, such as an STL file, then the tool offers 6 simple animations you can apply to your model. Each of the built-in animations provides additional properties that you can use to tweak the animation to suit your needs.

Rotate
Bounce
Figure-Eight
Hover
Orbit
Wobble

Rotate

This animation option allows you to rotate your model along the X, Y, and Z axes in either direction and at a controllable speed. If you wish to create a seamless, repeatable GIF and you are using rotations on more than one axis, you will need to ensure you set the speed of both axes to be identical; otherwise, the animation will complete on one axis before the other completes a full rotation.

Bounce

The bounce animation allows your 3D model to bounce on the spot. There are two options: Height which allows you to specify the maximum height the model can reach during the "bounce". Another option, Length enables you to adjust the total length of the animation in seconds. Essentially, increasing the animation length slows the bounce down, as your 3D model will always end where it started.

Figure-Eight

The Figure-Eight animation moves your 3D model in a figure 8 path. This path can be adjusted using the two Amplitude settings. There is also a Length setting that allows you to adjust the total length (in seconds) of a single animation loop.

Hover

With this animation you can create a gentle hovering animation for your 3D model. It comes with three Amplitude settings to alter the hover animation to suit your needs. The Length setting allows you to adjust the total length (in seconds) of a single animation loop.

Orbit

This animation will move your 3D model around in an orbital motion. The Radius setting allows you to control the size of the orbit, and the Length setting allows you to adjust the total length (in seconds) that it takes the 3D model to complete a single orbit.