Animation engine for explanatory math videos
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Antoine Musso 0db160b792 Make pip to install aggdraw from github
pip is able to install a python module straight from a git repository
and supports pinning a specific commit.

Add scottopell/aggdraw-64bits to requirements.txt

Adjust README.md to drop the manual install step now covered by pip
install.

Test plan

I have created an empty virtual env on Debian GNU/Linux and ran the demo
command:
    python extract_scene.py -p example_scenes.py SquareToCircle

Signed-off-by: Antoine Musso <hashar@free.fr>
2017-05-04 15:07:30 +02:00
animation Remove meta_animations from animation.__init__.py 2017-04-29 18:23:45 -07:00
eoc Some simple eoc cleanup 2017-04-29 18:23:00 -07:00
mobject Some eoc cleanup 2017-04-21 17:40:49 -07:00
old_projects Halfway through SlopeOfCircleExample in eoc5 2017-03-09 10:52:59 -08:00
scene Some eoc cleanup 2017-04-21 17:40:49 -07:00
topics Preliminary end to eoc10 2017-04-27 22:22:42 -07:00
.gitignore Beginning EoC Chapter 2 2016-12-26 07:10:38 -08:00
__init__.py Beginning Hilbert project 2015-11-23 10:34:42 -08:00
camera.py A few 3d updates 2017-02-13 18:43:55 -08:00
constants.py Power rule in eoc3 2017-01-28 15:49:22 -08:00
example_scenes.py modification to requirements/example_scenes to make it slightly less unusable 2016-09-03 12:29:17 -07:00
extract_scene.py Actual end to eoc5 2017-03-15 15:41:08 -07:00
helpers.py Nested configs are now merged, instead of overridden 2017-04-17 18:19:09 +01:00
README.md Make pip to install aggdraw from github 2017-05-04 15:07:30 +02:00
requirements.txt Make pip to install aggdraw from github 2017-05-04 15:07:30 +02:00
stage_animations.py Finished triangle of power project 2016-05-03 23:14:40 -07:00
template.tex TexMobjects are looking pretty good 2016-04-17 12:59:53 -07:00
text_template.tex Vectorize all the things 2016-04-17 00:31:38 -07:00

animations

Animation engine for explanatory math videos

For those who want to play around with this tool, I should be upfront that I've mostly had my own use cases (i.e. 3b1b videos) in mind while building it, and it might not be the most friendly thing to get up and running. In particular, I have not done a great job tracking requirements, and documentation, to put it euphamistically, almost exclusively takes the form of naming conventions.

For 9/10 math animation needs, you'd probably be better off using a more well-maintained tool, like mathplotlib or mathematica. I happen to think the program "Grapher" built into osx is really great, and surprisingly versatile for many needs. My own reasons for building this tool and using it for videos are twofold, and I'm not sure how well they apply to other people's use cases.

  1. If I wish to work with some new type of mathematical thing (e.g. a fractal), or to experiment with a different type of animation, it's easier to work it into the underlying system and manipulate it the same way as more standard objects/animation. Admittedly, though, part of the reason I find this easier is because I'm more familiar with the underlying system here than I am with others. This keeps me from shying away from certain video topics that I would otherwise have no idea how to animate.

  2. Having my own tool has been a forcing function for having a style which is more original than what I may have otherwise produced. The cost of this was slower video production when the tool was in its early days, and during points when I do some kind of rehaul, but I think the artistic benefit is a real one. If you wish to use this tool and adopt the same style, by all means feel free. In fact, I encourage it. But the tricky part about anything which confers the benefit of originality is that this benefit cannot be easily shared.

Install requirements

Manim dependencies rely on system libraries you will need to install on your operating system:

  • ffmpeg
  • latex

Then you can install the python dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Note: pip will install the python module aggdraw from https://github.com/scottopell/aggdraw-64bits/ and it might requires additional dependencies.

This doesn't install freetype, but I don't think it's required for this project

How to Use

Try running the following:

python extract_scene.py -p example_scenes.py SquareToCircle

-p gives a preview of an animation, -w will write it to a file, and -s will show/save the final image in the animation.