Today we’ll see how to make objects fade in and out. I’ll be using the 2.81 version of Blender. We’re going to see a whole object disappear and reappear and part of an object. We’ll be using the following elements and techniques:
- mix shader
- transparent shader
- diffuse shader
- assign material
- select random
- add material slot
- insert keyframe
- duplicate keyframe
- lock camera to view
If you want to watch the video first, here it is:
And here are the steps:
Table of Contents
Step 1 – Preparation
Delete the default cube and save the file as Fade In – Fade Out Effects.blend.
Go to front view.
Add a UV sphere and duplicate it twice, each time moving the duplicate 3 units to the right along the X axis (GX 3).
The first sphere will fade out and in completely. As far as the second sphere is concerned, only the upper half will fade out and in. In the third sphere only some random faces will fade out and in.
Step 2 – Materials – the first sphere
In the World tab change the World color to white (A).
Select the first sphere and add a material to it. Rename it ‘fade’ (B). Change the material to a Mix Shader (C) and set the first shader to Transparent (D) and the second one to Diffuse (E). Set the color of the Diffuse material to hex E72225 (F).
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Step 3 – Materials – the second sphere
Select the second sphere. Add a material to it and rename it ‘red’ (A). This should be a diffuse material (B) and its color should be the same shade of red as the one of the fade material of the first sphere.
Step 4 – Materials – the third sphere
Select the third sphere and add the red material from the dropdown list to it.
Step 5 – Play with the Factor to Create the Fade In – Fade Out Effect
Select the first sphere again. Under Settings set Blend Mode to Alpha Blend (A). Now you can play with the factor (B) to balance the amounts of the two shaders (transparent and diffuse). The closer the value of the factor is to 0, the more the transparent shader dominates. The closer it’s to 1, the more the diffuse shader does.
Step 6 – Select Half of the Middle Sphere
Select the middle sphere. Go to edit mode, wireframe shading (A), face select mode (B). Select the upper half of the sphere.
Step 7 – Assign Material to Create the Fade In – Fade Out Effect
Click the + sign button to add a new material slot (A). Select the fade material from the dropdown menu as the second material (B) and click the Assign button to assign the fade material to the selected half of the sphere. Go to object mode. Now you can play with the factor again.
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Step 8 – Select Random Faces for the Fade In – Fade Out Effect
Select the third sphere, go to edit mode, wireframe shading, face select mode and select random faces (Select -> Select Random). By default this will select 50% of the faces, but we only need 30% of the faces to be selected. You can easily change it in the operator panel in the lower left corner.
Step 9 – Assign Material to Selected Faces for Partial Fade In – Fade Out Effect
Click the + sign button to add a new material slot (A). Select the fade material from the dropdown menu as the second material (B) and click the Assign button to assign the material to the selected faces.
Go to object mode. Now you can play with the factor again.
Step 10 – Keyframe the Factor
Now we want to animate the fade effect. The parts with the fade material will be fully visible at the beginning, then they will fade out and soon after that fade in again.
First of all, let’s change the view a bit so that it isn’t that boring front view any more. Then go to frame 1 in Timeline if necessary (A). Drag the factor value all the way up to 1 and insert a keyframe by hovering over the factor field and hitting I (B).
Step 11 – Insert Another Keyframe
Go to frame 125, which is in the middle (A), set the factor to 0 and insert another keyframe (B).
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Step 12 – Duplicate the First Keyframe
Select the first keyframe in Timeline. Make sure only this keyframe is selected, which you can tell by its color. Selected keyframes are yellow and deselected ones are white. Duplicate the first keyframe (Shift+D) and drag it all the way up to frame 250.
Step 13 – Play the Animation and Watch the Fade In – Fade Out Effect
Go to frame 1 and play the animation.
Step 14 – Output Settings
You are now ready to render the animation. First some settings :
In the Output Properties select an output folder where your animation will be saved (A). Change File Format to FFmpeg video (B) and under Encoding change Container to MPEG-4 (C).
Step 15 – Lock Camera to View
Press 0 on your numpad to go to camera view. Press N to open the Properties panel and select the View tab (A). Check Lock Camera to View.
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Step 16 – Adjust the Camera
Adjust the camera view and when done, uncheck Lock Camera to View.
Step 17 – Render the Animation of the Fade In – Fade Out Effect
Make a test render at one of the frames near the middle of Timeline (Render -> Render Image).
Save the file and then render the animation (Render -> Render Animation). This will take a while. You can see the progress in the upper left corner.
