My Take on Manim Slides

Introduction

Manim, short for Math Animation, might not be immediately recognizable to everyone. However, if I mention 3Blue1Brown (3b1b), it may ring a bell. If not, I highly recommend exploring the incredible collection of videos produced by 3Blue1Brown, where advanced mathematics is beautifully presented through dynamic, intuitive visualizations. These videos demonstrate a compelling way to teach, illustrate, animate, and explain mathematics in various engaging forms.

Even if mathematics isn’t your passion, the framework and concepts that Grant Sanderson (the creator of 3b1b) has developed are awe-inspiring. From transformations to visual storytelling, Manim makes abstract concepts accessible in a visually engaging way.

Three Video Examples

Above are three examples of Manim animations showcasing different aspects of visual mathematics, all generated using Manim and rendered directly on the web.

Discovering Manim for Myself

It may come as a surprise that it is only recently that I learned the entire Manim environment is available to the public as an open-source project. This discovery was an invitation for me to dive deeper into its capabilities.

There are currently two notable versions of Manim available:

Manim Community Edition - Actively developed and maintained by the Manim community on GitHub, featuring continuous enhancements and new contributions.
Manim GL - Maintained by 3Blue1Brown, focusing on the original vision for the animations featured in his popular YouTube channel.

Both versions serve different purposes, yet share a common objective—bringing mathematical concepts to life in a beautifully visual way.

Integrating Manim with Presentations and Websites

Naturally, after exploring Manim, I wanted to push the boundaries and see how it could be used in interactive presentations and website embedding. That’s when I discovered Manim Slides. This tool extends Manim with the ability to create the iconic 3b1b-style animations, now embedded into slides with pauses between key scenes—exportable in formats like HTML or PDF.

This functionality bridges the gap between animation and interactive learning, making it possible to create dynamic visual experiences for live presentations, educational content, or blog embedding.

Interactive Slide Example

These interactive slides demonstrate animations rendered in Python + Manim from 3Blue1Brown. Use your keyboard arrows to navigate through the presentation and explore the animations step by step.

Conclusion

Manim and its extensions offer a powerful way to bring mathematics and abstract concepts to life. The combination of beautiful animations with interactive slide formats opens up new possibilities for teaching, communicating complex ideas, and engaging an audience visually.

I look forward to exploring Manim Beamer next—a tool even more promising in terms of flexibility and suiting my usual flow based on Beamer. For now, I’m enjoying learning how to use Manim Slides to create immersive and interactive experiences.

If you’re curious, be sure to check out the links above and try creating your own animations with Manim. The possibilities are endless.