Hello, I am working on a model for a game, a rocket to be exact. I would like to animate the tail fins so that they extract outwards from within the tail. The point of rotation will be the point of the fins towards to the front. In the attached image you see what I want the result on frame 20 to look like - the fins are out fully. Now to do this, do I have to separate the fins into 4 different objects and do a rotation key frame animation for each, or is there anyway to rotate them outwards together as one object? Thanks.
Edit: I would also like to know if it is possible to use the same texture on all of the fins if in the UV map I only make seams for one fin. I have seen this done with game textures where you will have different parts of the body but duplicates wont be there, i.e. only a texture for one of the feet/arms and the other feet arm uses it in reverse somehow.
Someone might have a better tip than I, but what I might try is subdividing small slots where you want the fins to go and continue to have the fins attached to the mesh. Then, attach armatures to the fins only (vertex selection groups - you may need to research that) thus allowing you to the control the fins via armature without the need to separate into individual meshes.
The last bit, that I dont know how to do but I know is possible, might be to create a custom bone that controls all the armatures at once. For example, you pull this one bone and all armatures extend themselves.
Lastly, yes it is possible to stack the UVs, requiring only one fin to be textured, while it is applied to all of them.
Hope this helps, somebody else might have some more experienced tips
If you alt-duplicate them so they are the same mesh and all, i think you could just scale them in the z(?) direction using an IPO curve. Or just rotate them out of the interior of the missile shell.
