Ball Weights

[FIRST YEAR] Animation 101

Class Summary:

In today's class, we covered the right of passage affectionately known as 'The ball bounce animation'.
The ball bounce is often used as an animation test for recruitment of into animation studios. This classic exercise is deceptively complex and a real challenge for burgeoning and expert animators alike.

The purpose of the ball bounce is to convey belief in the weight and material properties of the various balls and is a great way to demonstrate the application of scientific theory and principles.


Covered today:

• The parabola (arcs).

• Physics and gravity fields via Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton and Professor Brian Cox.

• Freefall calculations (in a vacuum)

• Maya simulation

Animation principles applied today:

• Timing and spacing

• Arcs

• Squash and stretch

Class Exercises:

• An A to B looping bounce animation in Maya

• An A to B decaying bounce animation in Maya

• A decaying bounce animation with the ball bouncing across the screen in the x-axis 
(note that in Maya the x animation can be completed in a second pass).

For More Information from the Lesson:

Click the Image to View Page:

Module exercise: 
Ball Weights:

Choose four of materials from the list below and create an animation of (at least 3 bounces) across the frame.

• Balloon

• Ping pong ball

• Beach ball

• Bowling ball

• Ball of clay

• Basketball

For each of the four animations allow a 24-frame hold at the start of the animation and the end.

Next week is the FINAL BIG REVIEW!! of the block interaction (short story) and ball bounce work in progress. I needed to make sure to have the animations uploaded to Vimeo ahead of the session. (For the Formative Feedback follow this LINK)