Animation Example

This example demonstrates how to create and display animations for time-series simulation data using the PyVista backend.

import numpy as np
import pyvista as pv

from ansys.tools.visualization_interface import Plotter

Create sample animation data

Generate a series of meshes representing a wave propagation over time.

def create_wave_mesh(time_step, n_points=50):
    """Create a mesh with a wave pattern for a given time step."""
    # Create grid
    x = np.linspace(-5, 5, n_points)
    y = np.linspace(-5, 5, n_points)
    x, y = np.meshgrid(x, y)

    # Create wave pattern that evolves over time
    t = time_step * 0.2
    z = np.sin(np.sqrt(x**2 + y**2) - t) * np.exp(-0.1 * np.sqrt(x**2 + y**2))

    # Create structured grid
    mesh = pv.StructuredGrid(x, y, z)
    mesh["displacement"] = np.abs(z).ravel()

    return mesh


# Create 30 frames
frames = [create_wave_mesh(i) for i in range(30)]

Display animation with interactive controls

Create and show an animation with play/pause, stop, and frame navigation.

plotter = Plotter()
animation = plotter.animate(
    frames,
    fps=20,
    loop=True,
    scalar_bar_args={"title": "Displacement"}
)

# Display with interactive controls
animation.show()

Interactive Controls

The animation window includes the following controls:

• Play/Pause button (green): Start/stop animation playback

• Stop button (red): Reset to first frame

• Previous/Next buttons (blue): Step through frames manually

• Save GIF button (orange): Export animation (requires imageio)

• Frame slider (top): Jump to any frame

You can rotate, zoom, and pan the view while the animation plays.