<p><a href="https://www.paraview.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Paraview</a>: ticks off most of your boxes. Is designed for 3D scientific data visualization, so it's physically accurate and optimized for handling large amount of data. It's reasonably user friendly and customizable. The focus is more on the accuracy than on the aesthetics, but you can make nice animations with some tweaking. Have a look at their main page for a feeling on how the results might look like. As for many scientific softwares (never many enough), the main way to learn to use it is by <a href="https://docs.paraview.org/en/latest/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">reading the docs</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.blender.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Blender</a>: Used for animated movies, CGI effects... it's by far the best free software you can find for artistic 3D rendering and animation. It is not designed for scientific purposes, so you might struggle a bit to make it read your data, depending on which format it is in. But it is also entirely scriptable in python, so if you know the language, you will find a way. On the user-friendliness side: blender is a <em>massive</em> software. The sheer amount of buttons and menus can be daunting at the beginning. However, you can find plenty of good YouTube tutorials to orient yourself in it (a popular example: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/@blenderguru" rel="nofollow noreferrer">blenderguru</a>). And if you learn how to use it, you will surprise your audience with animations at the level of a sci-fi movie.</p>
<p><a href="https://matplotlib.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Matplotlib</a>: Both Paraview and Blender can do 2D animations, but for 2D you should also consider the standard combo python+matplotlib. This is probably the most common way to <a href="https://matplotlib.org/stable/users/explain/animations/animations.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">produce 2D animations</a> in the physics community. If you know some programming, you have likely been already exposed to python and matplotlib. If not, I highly recommend you to learn how to use them, because of their versatility and spread within the community.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-12T19:23:16.803Z
2023-11-12T19:23:16.803Z
Prallax
<p>I'm in search of software or libraries that can help me create detailed and aesthetically pleasing 2D and 3D physics animations. My goal is to visualize complex physical phenomena in a way that's both accurate and visually engaging.</p>
<p><strong>Specific Needs:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Capability for 2D and 3D Animations:</strong> I'm interested in tools that can handle both two-dimensional and three-dimensional animations.</li>
<li><strong>Physical Accuracy:</strong> The software should be capable of accurately representing physical concepts and principles.</li>
<li><strong>User-Friendly:</strong> While I have a reasonable background in physics and some programming experience, I'm looking for tools that are relatively easy to learn and use.</li>
<li><strong>Compatibility:</strong> I prefer tools that are compatible with major operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux) or web-based platforms.</li>
<li><strong>Customizability:</strong> The ability to customize animations (colors, textures, lighting) would be a significant plus.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Context:</strong>
I've worked with basic programming languages and have some experience with simple simulation tools, but I'm now looking to create more advanced and visually appealing content, possibly for educational purposes or presentations.</p>
<p><strong>Questions:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>What software or libraries would you recommend for creating high-quality physics animations?</li>
<li>Are there any specific tools that are favored in the academic or educational community for this purpose?</li>
<li>If you have personal experience with such tools, could you share how steep the learning curve might be and any resources that helped you?</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-12T13:13:44.850Z
blender works for that. It has been used successfully to carry-out multi-particle simulations. However the question as-is is not well-suited for SE as it is a ressource request, even an overview of available ressources, and thus there is not one correct answer; it might be part of an FAQ / community wiki, though.
planetmaker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-12T16:24:35.903Z
When you realize this is Astronomy Stackexchange 
Arcturus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-12T16:58:13.110Z
For 3D Web work, take a look at https://threejs.org/
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-12T18:16:58.687Z
"Hello Physics Overflow community" This is Astronomy Stack Exchange. [Physics Overflow](https://physicsoverflow.org/) is a different site.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-12T18:19:40.353Z
@planetmaker I think we've done this before. The guidance for the [tag:resource-request] tag is "Questions asking 'What is a good book about X?' or more generally, 'What should I read to learn about X?', typically where there is not a single authoritative reference. Also requests for multimedia, like video lectures." In other words, *your comment is not correct as written - you're propagating false information. Resource requests are not only OK here, they have their own tag!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-13T02:58:22.090Z
Bro really thinks this site is Physics Overflow
Arcturus
<physics-simulations><2d-animation>
Seeking Recommendations for Libraries or Software for Creating 2D/3D Physics Animations
Shounak Das
# Seeking Recommendations for Libraries or Software for Creating 2D/3D Physics Animations

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-11-12)

I'm in search of software or libraries that can help me create detailed and aesthetically pleasing 2D and 3D physics animations. My goal is to visualize complex physical phenomena in a way that's both accurate and visually engaging.

**Specific Needs:**

* **Capability for 2D and 3D Animations:** I'm interested in tools that can handle both two-dimensional and three-dimensional animations.
* **Physical Accuracy:** The software should be capable of accurately representing physical concepts and principles.
* **User-Friendly:** While I have a reasonable background in physics and some programming experience, I'm looking for tools that are relatively easy to learn and use.
* **Compatibility:** I prefer tools that are compatible with major operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux) or web-based platforms.
* **Customizability:** The ability to customize animations (colors, textures, lighting) would be a significant plus.

**Context:**
I've worked with basic programming languages and have some experience with simple simulation tools, but I'm now looking to create more advanced and visually appealing content, possibly for educational purposes or presentations.

**Questions:**

1. What software or libraries would you recommend for creating high-quality physics animations?
2. Are there any specific tools that are favored in the academic or educational community for this purpose?
3. If you have personal experience with such tools, could you share how steep the learning curve might be and any resources that helped you?

**Tags:** physics-simulations, 2d-animation
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: blender works for that. It has been used successfully to carry-out multi-particle simulations. However the question as-is is not well-suited for SE as it is a ressource request, even an overview of available ressources, and thus there is not one correct answer; it might be part of an FAQ / community wiki, though.  
> **username_2**: When you realize this is Astronomy Stackexchange   
> **username_3**: For 3D Web work, take a look at https://threejs.org/  
> **username_4**: "Hello Physics Overflow community" This is Astronomy Stack Exchange. [Physics Overflow](https://physicsoverflow.org/) is a different site.  
> **username_4**: @planetmaker I think we've done this before. The guidance for the [tag:resource-request] tag is "Questions asking 'What is a good book about X?' or more generally, 'What should I read to learn about X?', typically where there is not a single authoritative reference. Also requests for multimedia, like video lectures." In other words, *your comment is not correct as written - you're propagating false information. Resource requests are not only OK here, they have their own tag!  
> **username_2**: Bro really thinks this site is Physics Overflow  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2023-11-12. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

[Paraview](https://www.paraview.org/): ticks off most of your boxes. Is designed for 3D scientific data visualization, so it's physically accurate and optimized for handling large amount of data. It's reasonably user friendly and customizable. The focus is more on the accuracy than on the aesthetics, but you can make nice animations with some tweaking. Have a look at their main page for a feeling on how the results might look like. As for many scientific softwares (never many enough), the main way to learn to use it is by [reading the docs](https://docs.paraview.org/en/latest/).

[Blender](https://www.blender.org/): Used for animated movies, CGI effects... it's by far the best free software you can find for artistic 3D rendering and animation. It is not designed for scientific purposes, so you might struggle a bit to make it read your data, depending on which format it is in. But it is also entirely scriptable in python, so if you know the language, you will find a way. On the user-friendliness side: blender is a *massive* software. The sheer amount of buttons and menus can be daunting at the beginning. However, you can find plenty of good YouTube tutorials to orient yourself in it (a popular example: [blenderguru](https://m.youtube.com/@blenderguru)). And if you learn how to use it, you will surprise your audience with animations at the level of a sci-fi movie.

[Matplotlib](https://matplotlib.org/): Both Paraview and Blender can do 2D animations, but for 2D you should also consider the standard combo python+matplotlib. This is probably the most common way to [produce 2D animations](https://matplotlib.org/stable/users/explain/animations/animations.html) in the physics community. If you know some programming, you have likely been already exposed to python and matplotlib. If not, I highly recommend you to learn how to use them, because of their versatility and spread within the community.


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