Advanced Animation: Exercises
22/04/2024 – 12/05/2024
Name: Joan Chiam Zi Woei
Student ID: 0350211
Advanced Animation
Exercises
Instructions:
Module Information Booklet
EXERCISE 1 : Bouncing Ball Animation
Process
The first task is to create a bouncing ball animation. This time, we'll
add different properties to the balls, such as a soccer ball, ping pong
ball, bowling ball, beach ball, and a squash-and-stretch ball.
When the ball hits the ground, the kinetic energy needs to be transferred
somewhere. A significant portion of it returns to the ball, giving it the
force to bounce back up. The more potential energy the ball has, the more
kinetic energy it gains, and the higher the ball will bounce.
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| Fig 1.0 Ball rig and practice in class |
Soccer ball
I watched the video provided by the lecturer and used it as a reference to
better understand the bounce characteristics of different balls based on
their materials. The video helped me visualize how each type of ball
behaves upon impact with the ground, considering factors like elasticity,
weight, and material density.
Fig 2.0 Soccer ball reference
With the video as reference, I was able to get a better idea on how it
should bounce. I tried to make it more smooth with graph editor.
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| Fig 2.1 Soccer ball bouncing path |
Fig 2.2 Soccer ball animation
Ping pong
Ping pong is made from lightweight celluloid or similar which made the ball
very light and hollow. Resulting in it making high and rapid bounce,
reflecting its need for swift gameplay on tables.
Fig 3.0 Ping pong ball reference
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Fig 3.1 Ping pong ball bouncing path |
Fig 3.2 Ping pong ball animation
Bowling Ball
Bowling ball is dense, heavy and rigid. Due to its mass and minimal
elasticity, it exhibits almost no bounce upon hitting the ground.
Fig 4.0 Bowling ball reference
Compared to ping pong, bowling ball is much heavier and made from dense
materials meaning that it doesn't store or return much energy upon impact. It
makes dull thud rather than a bounce. Therefore, in the animation, I made the
bowling ball with minimal bounce, showing it as a ball that hits the ground
and almost immediately comes to a stop, accurately representing its real-world
behavior.
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| Fig 3.2 Bowling ball bouncing path |
Fig 3.3 Bowling ball animation
Beach Ball
Beach ball is made from thin, lightweight vinyl, the beach ball is large but
light. Its bounce is minimal because the air inside absorbs most of the
impact, and its surface doesn't provide the rigidity needed for a significant
rebound.
Fig 4.0 Beach ball reference
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| Fig 4.2 Beach ball bouncing path |
Fig 4.3 Beach ball animation
Squash and stretch ball
We were also task to make a squash and stretch animation. This refers to an
animated ball designed to demonstrate the principles of squash and stretch in
animation. Depending on its material in a real-world context, it can exhibit
exaggerated deformations upon impact, leading to dynamic and elastic bounces.
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| Fig 5.0 motion path of the ball |
Fig 5.1 Rubber ball animation
Compilation
Fig 6.0 Compilation of bouncing ball animation
EXERCISE 2 : Pendulum Animation
In this exercise, our task is to animate a pendulum moving from left to right across the screen, capturing the effects of drag, overlapping action, and follow-through. The realism of the animation depends on the speed of the pendulum's main movement and how the tail reacts, showing its flexible nature.
We start with the provided rigged file. The first step is to move the pendulum from left to right and set keyframes to define the motion. Next, rotate the tail to the left to introduce the drag effect, making the movement more dynamic and realistic.
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| Fig 1.0 Process of keyframing location |
When the pendulum stops, the tail of the pendulum will swing. With that in mind, I use rotate to swing the tail from left to right creating the drag effect. After that is done, I also made the animation more smooth by using graph editor.
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| Fig 1.1 Process of dragging the tail |
Final Pendulum Animation
Fig 1.2 Pendulum animation
EXERCISE 3 : Emotion Pose
For this exercise, our task is to download a character rig called Snow. I took the time to familiarize myself with the rig's features and capabilities. Then, we need to find image or video references that showcase action poses expressing emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. By closely studying these references, we can identify the key or storytelling poses and analyze their dynamics.
Drawing from this study, we should focus on the following aspects:
- Line of action
- Silhouette
- Weight and balance / contrapposto
- Avoiding parallelism and twinning
Finally, we pose the character's body and facial expressions to accurately depict the intended action and emotion.
Reference
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| Fig 1.0 Reference of emotion pose |
Sketch
I sketched out the posture based on each reference that I've found from Pinterest.
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| Fig 1.1 Scared sketch |
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| Fig 1.2 Happy sketch |
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| Fig 1.3 Angry sketch |
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| Fig 1.4 Sad sketch |
Execution
The process is simple and straightforward. I opened up blender and uses the character rig lecturer provided then I adjusted the rotation and position of the rig to create the desired pose. The key to this posing exercise is ensuring that the overall posture appears appealing, realistic, and believable. Even though we haven't covered anatomy in our design modules, it's important to do some independent research to ensure that the movement of joints and muscles makes sense.
I started out with happy pose first. I focused on exaggerating both the expression and the body language based on my reference. I emphasized a wide smile, raised eyebrows, and an open, expansive posture with arms spread out, which naturally conveys a sense of joy and energy.
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| Fig 2.0 Process of making happy pose |
When creating the angry pose, I focus on tightening the eyebrows, furrow the brow, and clench the jaw. The mouth might be slightly open, with the corners pulled down. I wanted to show tension throughout the body. So I adjusted the shoulders to be raised and pulled back, the fists clenched, and the stance firm and grounded. my character may lean backward slightly as if hes yelling at the sky to convey his anger.
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| Fig 2.1 Process of making angry pose |
Moving onto sadness, I gave him drooping eyelids, a frown, and downturned corners of the mouth to show his sorrow. The eyes are slightly closed adding to the sense of fatigue. I also made him curve up to show him being insecure and lack of energy or a desire to withdraw.
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| Fig 2.2 Process of making sad pose |
For scared pose I widen his eyes, raise the eyebrows, and open the mouth slightly to convey fear or shock. The character’s pupils are dilated, adding to the sense of alarm. I also made his shoulder goes upward to give a sense of tenseness.
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| Fig 2.3 Process of making scared |
Final Submission
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| Fig 3.0 Happy Final Pose |
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| Fig 3.1 Angry Final Pose |
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| Fig 3.2 Sad Final Pose |
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| Fig 3.3 Scared Final Pose |
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