# Moving/Modifying 3D shapes in a Graphics3D

I'm creating 3D animations using Mathematica. Suppose my scene has two spheres moving towards each other. Right now, for every frame, I redraw the whole scene. The approach is extraordinarily time-consuming. Is it possible to, instead, modify an existing Graphics3D object by changing the centers of the spheres.

Similar questions have been asked before, but not from the point of view of time-efficiency. I'm looking to avoid the time it takes to re-render complex 3D objects. In short, can a Graphics3D be transformed after it's been drawn.

• Like Manipulate[ Print["create scene"]; Graphics3D[{Sphere@Dynamic@{x, 0, 0}}, PlotRange -> 5] , {x, -5, 5} ]? – Kuba Apr 3 '17 at 7:09
• I have the same question, but for a large triangle mesh (> 5k vertices) where vertex positions are dynamically changing. I use a GraphicsComplex for this, but I don't know if the positions can be updated without having to rebuild the GraphicsComplex from scratch – Beginner Apr 3 '17 at 18:24