Click here to see an example of the final effect.

Step 1;

Ok select the EP Curve Tool under the Create menu...

Step 2;

Now using the EP Curve tool create the path that your arrows will travel on.

Step 3;

Now go back to the Create menu and select the EP Curve tool options box, then select the linear option. .

Step 4a;

Now in the Side View draw your arrow head, don't worry about closing the shape. You can just to go the Edit Curves menu and select Open/Close curves.

Then go to Surfaces and select the Planar option to give your arrow head some volume.

Step 4b;

Move your arrow head to the beginning of the curve and make sure your pivot point to the back of the arrow. This way it rotates properly when animated.

Step 5;

Now switch from the Surfaces menu to the Animation menu, then select your arrow head and curve and go to the Attach to Motion Path options in the Animate menu. You can use the settings I have below, depending on your scene you'll want to use more.





Ok now hit "Apply," you can click here to see the effect you should have now.

Step 6;

Now let's create the arrow's tail, click on the good o' EP curve tool and create a line that will the height of the arrow's body. Make sure it's at the beginning of the path you created.

Step 7;

Now select your tail and the curve and go to Surfaces -> Extrude options.

Make sure you have Partial selected, this will allow you to animate the extrusion.

Step 8;

If your newly created line doesn't line up you may need to move it up a bit. Your arrow's tail may look a little rough and pixelated, and we want it to be smooth.



Here are the settings I use to fix the tessellation.

Step 9;

Under subCurve2 set the Max Value of the curve to 0 at frame 1 then right click and add a keyframe. The go to the end of your scene (my scene is 60 frames long, so the end frame for me is 60) and set the Max Value of the curve at 1 and add a keyframe.

Click on the image to view the movie.