manus-skills/.kortix/opencode/skills/media/motion-graphics/rules/community-edition-patterns.md

Community Edition Implementation Patterns

Best practices for implementing animations with the Manim Community Edition renderer.

Import Patterns

# Standard import (recommended)
from manim import *

# Selective imports for clarity
from manim import Scene, Circle, Square, Write, FadeIn, MathTex

Scene Types

Standard Scene

class MyAnimation(Scene):
    def construct(self):
        circle = Circle()
        self.play(Create(circle))
        self.wait()

3D Scene

class My3DAnimation(ThreeDScene):
    def construct(self):
        self.set_camera_orientation(phi=75 * DEGREES, theta=30 * DEGREES)
        sphere = Sphere()
        self.play(Create(sphere))

Moving Camera Scene

class CameraAnimation(MovingCameraScene):
    def construct(self):
        circle = Circle()
        self.play(Create(circle))
        self.play(self.camera.frame.animate.scale(0.5).move_to(circle))

Core Animations

Creation Animations

Animation	Use Case
Create(mobject)	Draw shapes stroke-first
Write(text)	Write text/equations
FadeIn(mobject)	Gentle appearance
GrowFromCenter(mobject)	Expand from center
DrawBorderThenFill(mobject)	Outline then fill

Transformation Animations

Animation	Use Case
Transform(a, b)	Morph a into b
ReplacementTransform(a, b)	Replace a with b
TransformMatchingTex(a, b)	Match LaTeX parts
TransformMatchingShapes(a, b)	Match shape components

Exit Animations

Animation	Use Case
FadeOut(mobject)	Gentle disappearance
Uncreate(mobject)	Reverse of Create
ShrinkToCenter(mobject)	Collapse to center

LaTeX Rendering

Basic Math

# Simple equation
eq = MathTex("E = mc^2")

# With color isolation
eq = MathTex("E", "=", "m", "c^2")
eq[0].set_color(YELLOW)  # E
eq[3].set_color(BLUE)    # c^2

Using substrings_to_isolate

eq = MathTex(
    "x^2 + 2x + 1 = 0",
    substrings_to_isolate=["x", "1", "0"]
)
eq.set_color_by_tex("x", BLUE)
eq.set_color_by_tex("1", GREEN)

Text with Math

text = Tex("The area is ", "$A = \\pi r^2$")

CLI Usage

# Preview with low quality (fast)
manim -pql script.py SceneName

# Preview with medium quality
manim -pqm script.py SceneName

# High quality render
manim -pqh script.py SceneName

# 4K render
manim -pqk script.py SceneName

# Save last frame as image
manim -pql -s script.py SceneName

# Transparent background
manim -pql -t script.py SceneName

Quality Presets

Flag	Resolution	FPS	Use Case
-ql	480p	15	Quick preview
-qm	720p	30	Development
-qh	1080p	60	Production
-qk	4K	60	High-end production

Debugging Techniques

Visual Debugging

# Add without animation (instant)
self.add(circle)

# Show bounding box
circle.add(SurroundingRectangle(circle))

# Add coordinate labels
self.add(NumberPlane())

Print Debugging

def construct(self):
    circle = Circle()
    print(f"Circle center: {circle.get_center()}")
    print(f"Circle radius: {circle.radius}")
    print(f"Circle color: {circle.get_color()}")

Interactive Mode

# Pause and inspect
self.wait()
self.interactive_embed()  # Opens interactive shell

Animation Timing

Run Time Control

self.play(Create(circle), run_time=2)  # 2 seconds
self.play(FadeIn(square), run_time=0.5)  # Fast

Simultaneous Animations

# All at once
self.play(Create(circle), Write(text), FadeIn(square))

# With AnimationGroup
self.play(AnimationGroup(
    Create(circle),
    Write(text),
    lag_ratio=0.5  # Stagger start times
))

Sequential with Succession

self.play(Succession(
    Create(circle),
    circle.animate.shift(RIGHT),
    FadeOut(circle)
))

Common Patterns

Animate Method

# Fluent animation syntax
self.play(circle.animate.shift(RIGHT).scale(2).set_color(RED))

Value Tracking

tracker = ValueTracker(0)
number = always_redraw(lambda: DecimalNumber(tracker.get_value()))
self.play(tracker.animate.set_value(100), run_time=3)

Updaters

dot = Dot()
label = always_redraw(lambda: Text(f"({dot.get_x():.1f}, {dot.get_y():.1f})").next_to(dot, UP))
self.add(dot, label)
self.play(dot.animate.shift(RIGHT * 3))

Anti-Patterns

Avoid

# Don't modify mobjects during play
self.play(Create(circle))
circle.shift(RIGHT)  # Wrong - not animated

# Don't forget to add mobjects
text = Text("Hello")
self.play(text.animate.shift(UP))  # Error - text not added

Prefer

# Animate changes
self.play(Create(circle))
self.play(circle.animate.shift(RIGHT))  # Correct

# Add before animating
text = Text("Hello")
self.add(text)
self.play(text.animate.shift(UP))  # Or use FadeIn