Writing the Vert Runner add-on

In this section, we will write an add-on that animates the selected objects along the geometry of the active object. The animation will trace a path that connects the vertices of a mesh, hence the name Vert Runner:

Figure 7.16: Animating a toy along the vertices of a path

This can be a basis for procedural walks or patrols, motion effects, or any other case where we have a geometrical path.

In this operator, the selected objects and the active ones are treated differently: the active object is the reference geometry on which the selected objects are moved.

Setting the environment

Let’s start by adding a new script to our add-ons directory:

1. Select PythonScriptingBlender/ch7/addons in VS Code.
2. Create a new file by clicking on the New File icon.
3. Name the new file vert_runner.py.
4. Open the file by double-clicking it.

As usual, we will start with the add-on information.

Writing the...