Manage Poses

Back to Home

Save and restore different protein conformations using the Pose Library.

Watch the full tutorial:

What is a Pose?

A pose is a saved snapshot of puppet positions. Poses capture:

• Location, rotation, and scale of objects in selected puppets
• Multiple puppets can be included in a single pose
• Poses can be applied to restore saved positions

Think of poses as “bookmarks” for different protein conformations or arrangements.

Creating a Pose

Prerequisites

Before creating poses, you need:

1. At least one puppet created (see Protein Puppets)
2. Puppets positioned as desired in the 3D viewport

Step-by-Step

1. Position your puppets in the 3D viewport
   • Use transform tools (G for move, R for rotate, S for scale)
   • Arrange proteins to show the conformation you want to save

2. Open Pose Library panel

3. Click Create Pose

4. In the dialog:
   • Name the pose (e.g., “Open State”, “Bound”, “Closed”)
   • Select which puppets to include
   • Check the boxes next to puppets you want to save
5. Click OK

The new pose appears as a card in the Pose Library panel.

Understanding Pose Cards

Each pose is displayed as a card showing:

• Pose name
• Included puppets (listed below name)
• Screenshot placeholder (for visual reference)
• Action buttons: Apply, Capture, Delete

Applying a Pose

To restore a saved pose:

1. Find the pose card in the Pose Library panel
2. Click the Apply button
3. All puppets in the pose snap to their saved positions

This is useful for:

• Switching between conformational states
• Returning to a reference position
• Creating keyframes at specific poses

Updating a Pose (Capture)

If you’ve adjusted puppet positions and want to update an existing pose:

1. Position puppets as desired
2. Find the pose card you want to update
3. Click the Capture button
4. Current positions overwrite the saved positions

Deleting a Pose

To remove a pose from the library:

1. Find the pose card
2. Click the Delete (trash) button
3. The pose is removed permanently

Multiple Poses Workflow

Create multiple poses to represent different states:

Example: Enzyme Catalytic Cycle

1. Pose 1: “Substrate Free” - Open active site
2. Pose 2: “Substrate Bound” - Closed around substrate
3. Pose 3: “Transition State” - Intermediate conformation
4. Pose 4: “Product Release” - Reopening

Example: Protein-Protein Interaction

1. Pose 1: “Dissociated” - Proteins far apart
2. Pose 2: “Approaching” - Proteins near each other
3. Pose 3: “Bound” - Proteins in complex

Poses and Animation

Poses are designed to work with keyframe animation:

1. Create poses for key conformations
2. Apply a pose
3. Add a keyframe (see Keyframe Animation)
4. Move to next frame
5. Apply different pose
6. Add another keyframe

Blender interpolates between poses automatically!

Tips and Best Practices

Naming

Use descriptive pose names that indicate the biological state:

• “ATP_Bound”
• “Open_Conformation”
• “Active_State”
• “Inhibitor_Complex”

Organization

• Create poses for distinct conformational states
• Save intermediate poses for smoother animations
• Group related poses by naming (e.g., “Complex_1”, “Complex_2”)

Testing

Before creating final poses:

• Test that puppets return to correct positions when applied
• Verify all needed puppets are included
• Check that transformations look correct

Pose Storage

Poses are stored:

• Per-scene: Poses are saved with the Blender file
• Not per-file: Poses don’t transfer between different .blend files
• In blend file: Saving the .blend file preserves all poses

To share poses between files, you would need to manually recreate them.

Troubleshooting

Pose Doesn’t Apply Correctly

• Puppets deleted: If puppets in the pose no longer exist, application fails
• Puppets renamed: Pose references puppets by ID, not name
• Objects moved: Make sure you’re applying to the correct scene

Can’t Create Pose

• No puppets exist: Create at least one puppet first
• No puppets selected: Check at least one puppet in the creation dialog
• Duplicate name: Pose names should be unique (though not enforced)

Puppets Don’t Move When Applying Pose

• Check that the pose includes those puppets
• Verify puppets still exist in the scene
• Check Blender console for errors

Advanced Usage

Partial Pose Application

Currently, poses apply all included puppets at once. To apply only some puppets:

1. Create separate poses for different puppet groups
2. Apply poses selectively

Pose Interpolation

For smooth transitions between poses:

1. Create keyframes at two different poses
2. Blender interpolates positions automatically
3. Adjust interpolation curve in Graph Editor

Next Steps

Now that you understand poses, learn how to:

• Keyframe Animation - Animate transitions between poses
• Update Visuals - Combine pose changes with color animations

---

Back to Home

Previous: Create Puppets

Next: Keyframe Animation