Motivation
Modern UIs tend to use small animations to guide and engage their users. Designers should be able to create and tweak this kind of animations without having to rely on software developers. Lottie is an established format for this kind of animations. Qt itself has native built-in support since 5.13. In addition there is also the lottie-qml project.
So why did we bother creating the RiveQtQuickPlugin?
Lottie has a few downsides.
- Lottie files tend to be quite large both on storage as well as in memory when run. This is an issue especially on embedded devices.
- Lottie is non-interactive. It is not possible to create interactive animations without involving a software developer.
RiveQtQuickPlugin: A Quick Overview
While the RiveQtQuickPlugin is currently still work in progress, it already provides the following features that enhance the functionality of your QtQuick/QML applications.
- Rive and Qt Quick Integration:
Import and manipulate Rive animations in your QtQuick/QML application, using simple QML types. - Dynamic Interaction:
Create a lively user interface by responding to user interactions with the help of Rive animations. Rive animations can react on mouse hover or touch events directly, no need to for the developer to implement anything. - Multi-Platform-Multi-Qt:
Qt5.15.2+ with Software and Hardware Rendering
Qt6.5 with Software and Hardware Rendering
Getting Started
You can access RiveQtQuickPlugin on our GitHub repository here.
We have put together a detailed README to guide you through the setup, use and customization of the plugin.
Don’t forget to check out the examples demonstrating Rive animations within a QtQuick/QML context. These examples cover a wide range of use cases, from simple animations to complex interactions, which can serve as an excellent starting point for your projects.
The State of Development
- Anti-Aliasing for Hardware Rendering
- Support GCC with the external Rive-Library
- Improving the interface to QML
- Plugin Documentation (once the Interface to QML is in a good shape)
Final Thoughts
We believe the RiveQtQuickPlugin will make building animations for QtQuick/QML applications a more creative, enjoyable, and streamlined process for developers and designers alike.
As always, we welcome feedback, suggestions, and queries from the community. Let’s continue our journey of technological innovation together!
Visit our GitHub to get started with RiveQtQuickPlugin today.
Happy coding!
Stay tuned to our blog for more updates, tutorials, and discussions about all things Qt and Rive.