I'm trying to make a small animation for chemistry, and I'm wondering if you could separate once joined spheres (as a molecule) again. Or is there another way handling this problem?
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$\begingroup$ Please elaborate on your question. Do you mean you want to animate the objects coming apart or that you have joined meshes which you wish to separate into individual objects so that you can animate them? Either way, images your what you have will be helpful. $\endgroup$– Ray MairlotApr 29, 2018 at 15:24
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$\begingroup$ @RayMairlot How to separate joined objects whose meshes are merging $\endgroup$– some_userApr 29, 2018 at 15:27
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$\begingroup$ As I said images will help. You can add images by using the edit link under your question. See: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/75491/… $\endgroup$– Ray MairlotApr 29, 2018 at 15:29
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$\begingroup$ @RayMairlot Sorry, it took a while, because I had problems with uploading it. My question is just whether it is possible to separate to joined meshes like above to their original form. $\endgroup$– some_userApr 29, 2018 at 15:46
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1$\begingroup$ You can select a vertex of one of them. Ctrl+L to select linked vertices, then P to separate selection. But what is unclear is the context $\endgroup$– lemonApr 29, 2018 at 15:47
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3 Answers
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Meta balls may be useful for you, as they automatically combine two separate objects into one. The individual objects location is all that needs to be animated.
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$\begingroup$ Is there a way to change the transition of the 2 balls? So that they have clear defined boundaries? $\endgroup$ May 3, 2018 at 12:30
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$\begingroup$ Yes, if you go to the data settings, you can change the defined boundaries threshold $\endgroup$ May 14, 2018 at 8:28
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To separate the joined objects, go to edit mode and select all the vertices of object you want to separate. Then, hit p and click, "selection."
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$\begingroup$ Not very helpful, as selecting every single vertice would be very time consuming. $\endgroup$ Apr 29, 2018 at 18:35
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3$\begingroup$ @SomeWindowsUser You only have to select one vertex and then press Ctrl+L. $\endgroup$ Apr 30, 2018 at 15:27
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$\begingroup$ @SomeWindowsUser This is a very common way of doing it. It's actually helpful. $\endgroup$– SidarMay 1, 2018 at 12:22
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I'm guessing that you want to make an animaton of the spheres moving away from each other, and there's two ways to do this that I know of.
The first way is to separate them into two different objects by using 'p' and clicking 'Seperate by lose parts'. Then, animate then individually moving away from each other.
The second way would be to use shape keys. This method keeps them as a single object, but lets you animate them to move away from each other. To do this, go to the 'Shape key' tab.
Click the plus to add a shape key. It should automatically be named 'Basis'.
Move both spheres away from each other and thier starting locations in the 3d viewport.
Click the plus again to add another shape key for the object. This time, it should be called 'Key One'. If done correcly, dragging the slider will cause the spheres to move between thier starting point, 'Basis' and thier end point, 'Key 1'. Now, you can animate the position of the spheres using keyframes and the slider.
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$\begingroup$ please use the tools provided by the site to add images, so that they are visible as part of the post and not as an external link. If the link goes down then the answer will not be as useful. Please read: How to upload an image to a post? $\endgroup$– user1853Apr 29, 2018 at 16:42
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$\begingroup$ I'll keep that in mind for next time, thanks. $\endgroup$– LinguiniApr 29, 2018 at 17:54