Starting point on motion path

# 1 08-03-2016 , 02:24 PM

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Probably an easy one for you...I have a polygon that I have attached to an ellipse as a motion path. Frame 1 shows the polygon in a position on the ellipse, for example, as north. How do I make the first frame start in a different position on the ellipse, like south, 180 degrees away? Thanks.

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# 2 09-03-2016 , 07:19 PM

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If you want to actually change the marker's position on the curve, just select it and middle click and drag it into position.

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# 3 10-03-2016 , 03:36 PM

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Thanks but how does the polygon snap to a particular starting position on the motion path (the ellipse)? What if I want to choose a different starting position on the ellipse for frame 1?

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# 4 10-03-2016 , 09:32 PM

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Is the object not snapping to starting marker when you restart the animation playback?

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# 5 11-03-2016 , 01:56 AM

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Yes, it snaps to the starting marker. Picture an ellipse, almost circular. When I attach the object to the motion path, it gets placed at the 12 o'clock position, frame 1 of 96. When I start the animation, the object follows the ellipse counterclockwise for 96 frames and back to 12 o'clock. I want frame 1 to start at the 3 o'clock position and travel counterclockwise for 96 frames back to 3 o'clock.

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# 6 11-03-2016 , 05:08 PM

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Could you upload the scene and post or pm me a link? The issue as I understand it seems rather simple and there might be a breakdown in communication.

1. left click on the starter marker to select it.
2. once selected, mouse over it and click and hold the left mouse button and drag along the curve to the desired position.
3. go back to start of animation playback and the object will snap to the new position of the marker.

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# 7 17-03-2016 , 08:43 PM

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Thanks for your patience. When I attached the cube to the ellipse, the start (1) and end (96) positions came up as shown. I did as you suggested and moved the starting point (1) as shown and that seemed to work! The cube moves from the new start to the original end point at 96. I now want the new end point to be at or near the new start point so that the cube traverses the entire ellipse counterclockwise when moving from 1 to 96. Instead it just covers the short distance clockwise between 1 and 96.

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# 8 18-03-2016 , 10:25 PM

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When Maya attached the object to the curve, it used the curve's start and end for their respective motion path markers. In the case of a circle, you get a nice loop animation but we've changed the position of the markers without taking the curve's end/start points into consideration. Go into control vertex component mode on your curve and and look for the little 'u', sandwich it between your markers. This means the markers are on different ends of the curve and the object should move along the full path.

Edit: I should add. You can always change the start point of the curve by right clicking the curve and choosing "curve point". Left click the desired point on the curve and go to "Curves>Move Seam". You may need to re-position the motion path markers but it beats having to redraw the curve in case it was a complex one!

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Last edited by Gen; 18-03-2016 at 10:29 PM.

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