59 ms·

Manim: Animation engine for explanatory math videos

124 points by gilad 4y ago

pid-1 4y ago
The examples page, for the curious: https://3b1b.github.io/manim/getting_started/example_scenes.html https://3b1b.github.io/manim/getting_started/example_scenes....
rg111 4y ago
Manim, as maintained by Grant Sanderson has many rough edges and he discoirages its use by other people. There's a more stable downstream known as Manim Community. One can use it, it has somewhat good documentation. But even this leads to poor code, the API design and architecture decisions are very poor. I don't like the hodgepodge produced for even the simplest animation.
- yeellow 4y ago
  Can you recommend any alternative?
  - bradrn 4y ago
    In Haskell, https://reanimate.github.io/ https://reanimate.github.io/ is very good.
  - knolan 4y ago
    You could also learn Blender. It’s pretty accessible these days and you can easily script it with Python.
  - jasonjmcghee 4y ago
    p5.js is quite good. My biggest problem with Manim is the long feedback loop as you (last time i used it) have to render the animation to view it. But it is a really valuable tool. With p5.js you can get an instant feedback loop and have the animation frame number available with a little effort. I coded this up and someone shared it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31311463 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31311463
  - Flockster 4y ago
    The community version is https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim And there is for Julia: https://github.com/JuliaAnimators/Javis.jl https://github.com/JuliaAnimators/Javis.jl
  - rg111 4y ago
    I have transitioned to PowerPoint. I create animations and then export a video file.
    - yeellow 4y ago
      Thanks, it's a bit unexpected. How good is Power Point for math intensive animations? I am not sure I could easily (or at all) recreate most of the demos from mainm repo, but maybe I am missing something. I will have a look, I am intrigued.
      - rg111 4y ago
        I have made animations with it with enough Math and Deep Learning that were presented both in-company and outside where work done with animations made in PP even won awards. The Deep Learning papers one sees in NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, etc. almost all have diagrams made in PP in them. Using PP has made my life easier. I even use Google Docs when I do not need animation. I am a primary Linux user, and I keep at least one machine running Windows because of PP.
      - Jaxan 4y ago
        Mathologer on YouTube uses PowerPoint (or keynote, don’t remember exactly). He has great math animations. I’m sure it takes a ton of time to make. (It would also take a ton of time to make with manim.)
        rg111 4y ago
        I have actually done both, and the time taken to do the same task in PowerPoint is much lower. I would say 1/5th or 2/5th. Also, as I said, the experience of writing code with Manim Community is not good. If you have experience using prewritten libraries (i.e. you are not an academic or traditional Data Scienctist, and have proper programming experience), you will see that Manim is a bad tool. Not mincing words. Yes, it takes time. But you get better and spee increases.
raydiatian 4y ago
Grant Sanderson (the guy behind 3Blue1Brown on YouTube), and by extension Manim, has done so much for increasing the accessibility of math and computer science. Like, it’s hard to over-state how enriching it is to have engaging animated visuals if you’re just the average schmuck trying to make it through an engineering undergrad at university. Seriously: Thanks to Grant, I was able to pick up my Quantum Mechanics textbook again and actually know what the fuck was going on.
- go_elmo 4y ago
  Im thinking about the didactic possibilities of interactive animations / graphs... Having math questions / lessons on a tablet including these could make understanding abstract concepts much easier by providing much more sensory input & intuition
mkl 4y ago
Many previous discussions: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=%22manim%22 https://hn.algolia.com/?q=%22manim%22 3 months ago, 25 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30658390 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30658390 10 months ago, 67 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28245277 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28245277 1 year ago, 75 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26498527 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26498527 2 years ago, 19 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24926947 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24926947 3 years ago, 80 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19716019 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19716019
jimmySixDOF 4y ago
My sincere hope is that Grant &/or 3B1B community port all the many amazing visualizations done with Manim into interactive WebXR with ThreeJS or BabylonJS or raw WebGPU. The best fit for these data stories is AR/VR -- being immersed in 3D just works!

124 points by gilad 4y ago

The examples page, for the curious: https://3b1b.github.io/manim/getting_started/example_scenes.html https://3b1b.github.io/manim/getting_started/example_scenes....

rg111 4y ago

Manim, as maintained by Grant Sanderson has many rough edges and he discoirages its use by other people. There's a more stable downstream known as Manim Community. One can use it, it has somewhat good documentation. But even this leads to poor code, the API design and architecture decisions are very poor. I don't like the hodgepodge produced for even the simplest animation.

yeellow 4y ago
Can you recommend any alternative?
- bradrn 4y ago
  In Haskell, https://reanimate.github.io/ https://reanimate.github.io/ is very good.
- knolan 4y ago
  You could also learn Blender. It’s pretty accessible these days and you can easily script it with Python.
- jasonjmcghee 4y ago
  p5.js is quite good. My biggest problem with Manim is the long feedback loop as you (last time i used it) have to render the animation to view it. But it is a really valuable tool. With p5.js you can get an instant feedback loop and have the animation frame number available with a little effort. I coded this up and someone shared it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31311463 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31311463
- Flockster 4y ago
  The community version is https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim And there is for Julia: https://github.com/JuliaAnimators/Javis.jl https://github.com/JuliaAnimators/Javis.jl
- rg111 4y ago
  I have transitioned to PowerPoint. I create animations and then export a video file.
  - yeellow 4y ago
    Thanks, it's a bit unexpected. How good is Power Point for math intensive animations? I am not sure I could easily (or at all) recreate most of the demos from mainm repo, but maybe I am missing something. I will have a look, I am intrigued.
    - rg111 4y ago
      I have made animations with it with enough Math and Deep Learning that were presented both in-company and outside where work done with animations made in PP even won awards. The Deep Learning papers one sees in NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, etc. almost all have diagrams made in PP in them. Using PP has made my life easier. I even use Google Docs when I do not need animation. I am a primary Linux user, and I keep at least one machine running Windows because of PP.
    - Jaxan 4y ago
      Mathologer on YouTube uses PowerPoint (or keynote, don’t remember exactly). He has great math animations. I’m sure it takes a ton of time to make. (It would also take a ton of time to make with manim.)
      - rg111 4y ago
        I have actually done both, and the time taken to do the same task in PowerPoint is much lower. I would say 1/5th or 2/5th. Also, as I said, the experience of writing code with Manim Community is not good. If you have experience using prewritten libraries (i.e. you are not an academic or traditional Data Scienctist, and have proper programming experience), you will see that Manim is a bad tool. Not mincing words. Yes, it takes time. But you get better and spee increases.

raydiatian 4y ago

Grant Sanderson (the guy behind 3Blue1Brown on YouTube), and by extension Manim, has done so much for increasing the accessibility of math and computer science. Like, it’s hard to over-state how enriching it is to have engaging animated visuals if you’re just the average schmuck trying to make it through an engineering undergrad at university. Seriously: Thanks to Grant, I was able to pick up my Quantum Mechanics textbook again and actually know what the fuck was going on.

go_elmo 4y ago
Im thinking about the didactic possibilities of interactive animations / graphs... Having math questions / lessons on a tablet including these could make understanding abstract concepts much easier by providing much more sensory input & intuition

mkl 4y ago

Many previous discussions: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=%22manim%22 https://hn.algolia.com/?q=%22manim%22 3 months ago, 25 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30658390 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30658390 10 months ago, 67 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28245277 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28245277 1 year ago, 75 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26498527 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26498527 2 years ago, 19 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24926947 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24926947 3 years ago, 80 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19716019 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19716019

jimmySixDOF 4y ago

My sincere hope is that Grant &/or 3B1B community port all the many amazing visualizations done with Manim into interactive WebXR with ThreeJS or BabylonJS or raw WebGPU. The best fit for these data stories is AR/VR -- being immersed in 3D just works!