How to Create Steering Animations in Creative Experience

Rıdvan Polat

4 February 2025 4 mins to read

As part of our ongoing Creative Experience Microwave series, I decided to expand my exploration of Creative Experience’s capabilities by diving into how to create steering animations in Creative Experience using various 3D models. In this blog post, I’ll showcase how we designed and controlled the left and right steering of our custom GoBuggy car.

Create Actor Animation

To create the right-turn animation, I right-clicked on Top Assembly in the Project Panel and selected Create Actor Animation. As a result, the Animation Editor window appeared.

Wheels Rotation Animation

I added the right and left wheel components by clicking the Add Actor button since I wanted to animate both. To create a movement animation, I clicked the + button next to the components and selected the transformation animation type.

If you have used a rendering or video editing program before, you are likely familiar with the Key concept. When creating an animation, we need to add Keys that define the initial and final positions of the component. This allows us to generate the desired motion.

First, I selected the left wheel from the Project Panel to define their starting positions. In the Properties Panel, I clicked the Add Key button to store the initial rotation angle of the wheel.

Figure 3: Rotation Start Angle Animation Key

Then, in the Animation Editor Panel, I scrolled the timeline from 0 to 3 seconds and adjusted the component to rotate 30 degrees (90-30 = 60°) to the right. Since this is the end position I want for the animation, I added a Rotation Key from the Properties Panel.

Figure 4: Rotation End Angle Animation Key

After completing these steps, a blue timeline bar appears in the Animation Editor Panel, filling the space between the two Keys. I repeated the same process for the right wheels.When I moved the animation bar from 0 to 3 seconds, I observed that both wheels rotated 30 degrees to the right.

Animation of Wheels Returning to Straight Position

I want the wheels to return to their original straight position after completing the right turn. To achieve this, I created a new animation called Right Turn to Straight. This animation needs to start from the angle where the right turn ends.

First, I selected the left wheel, set its rotation angle to 30 degrees (90-30 = 60°) to the right, and added a Key. This ensured that the 0-second position was recorded as the angle reached at the end of the right turn animation.

Figure 6: Right to straight turn-Start Rotation Angle

Next, in the Animation Editor Panel, I scrolled the timeline from 0 to 3 seconds and set the necessary rotation angle for the wheel to return to its straight position. Finally, I added another Key here to complete the animation. I repeated the same steps for the right wheel.

Figure 7: Right to straight turn-End Rotation Angle

Below, you can see the GIFs created for both the left turn and right turn animations.

Figure 9: Right Turn to Straight Animation

Figure 11: Left Turn to Straight Animation

Scenario: Wheel Control

We will control the wheel rotation using buttons. Each time the Turn Right button is clicked, the Turn Right animation will play.

Figure 12: Scenario Editor – Turn Right Animation Play

Once this animation has finished, the Right Turn to Straight animation will be triggered to return the wheels to their initial position.

Figure 13: Scenario Editor – Right turn to straight Animation Play

Conclusion

In this blog post, we’ve walked through the process of creating realistic steering animations in Creative Experience for the GoBuggy car. By utilizing Actor Animations and keyframes, we were able to control wheel rotations and provide smooth, interactive steering movements. This enhances the user experience and adds a level of realism to the 3D model.

If you’re interested in more insights into 3D visualization and interactive animations, be sure to check out our recent blog posts on 3DEXCITE

Author
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Rıdvan Polat

Co-Founder at ChampionXperience

I’m a SOLIDWORKS Elite Application Engineer, Co-Founder of ChampionXperience, and a SOLIDWORKS, ENOVIA, and 3DEXPERIENCE Edu Champion.