ADVANCED ANIMATION / EXERCISES
22/04/2024 - 22/07/2024 / Week 1- Week 14
Chew Zhi Ern / 0358995
Chew Zhi Ern / 0358995
Advanced Animation / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Exercises
INSTRUCTIONS
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LECTURES
Week 1: Module Information Briefing
During the first week of this module, we delved into the basics to lay the groundwork for our learning journey. Our exploration began by familiarizing ourselves with the module's outline while also clarifying expectations for the upcoming assignments. This section ensures that we effectively capture the structure and objectives of the module. At the same time, Mr. Kamal also showed some works of previous students to let us know more about this module. He guided us through a recap of the software Blender, which we learnt and used last semester, as well as a brief demonstration of how to utilise it for animation.
Week 2: Animation Fluidity (Timing & Spacing, Arcs, Slow in & Slow out.)
In the second week of the Advanced Animation module, we looked over key concepts of the animation principles that have learned from the previous semester, with a focus on timing and spacing, arcs, and slow in and slow out. The Bouncing Ball Animation exercise for this week was built upon this review. By using these concepts to create dynamic and fluid animations, we would improve our ability to create realistic movements. This task was a significant step towards mastering the fluidity of animation, laying the groundwork for the more complicated challenges later in the module.
Timing
- Duration
- Pause, "Hold"
- Variation
- 3 Speed
- Slow
- Moderate
- Fast
Spacing
- Slow In
- Decelerate
- Slow Out
- Accelerate
Arcs
- Slow In
- Decelerate
- Slow Out
- Accelerate
Flow In
X-Locator Handle -> Interpolation Mode -> Select the point that wanted to add effects -> Bezier -> Adjust the handle
Week 3: Animation Flexibility (Squash & Stretch, Drag, Follow Through & Overlapping.)
As we explore the concept of animation flexibility in this week, we fully focus on improving our animation skills further. We kicked things off with a review of the animation principles that have learned last semester, with an emphasis on Squash and Stretch, Drag, Follow Through and Overlapping. Mr. Kamal has also demonstrated the process of making this animation in class. Building on this basis, we will carry out last week's exercise. With Exercise 1, in addition to just making a smooth bouncing ball animation, this task delve deeper into the nuances of squash and stretch ball animation.
Flexibility
- Shape
- Stretch
- Movement (Speed)
- Squash
- Impact upon hit (Contact)
- Jointed Part
- Appendage
- Drag (start to move) -> Follow Through & Overlapping (about to stop)
- Tail
- Hair
- Cloth
* Ball with Tail
Week 4: Continue
This week, we were building on the principles that have reviewed last week, which is Drag, Follow Through, and Overlapping. We applied these principles by animating a ball with a tail with the pendulum given. In class, Mr. Kamal has shown the steps involved in creating this animation. Mr. Kamal demonstrated the process, showing us how to effectively integrate these animation techniques to achieve smooth, realistic motion. Exercise 2 – Ball with Tail will be our hands-on task, allowing us to practice and perfect these concepts, enhancing the fluidity of our animations.
Week 5: Animation Clarity (Exaggeration, Secondary Action, Staging, Solid Drawing.)
In the fifth week of the module, we move our attention to obtaining animation clarity, building on the principles of Exaggeration, Secondary Action, Staging, and Solid Drawing. Here we start our exercise 3. We worked on creating strong and expressive poses for a character. The task involved studying and applying the principles mentioned above to develop dynamic and appealing character poses. Each pose needed to effectively communicate the character's emotions and actions, using clear staging and solid drawing techniques. This exercise aimed to improve our ability to create visually compelling and communicative character animations.
Week 6: Cycle Animation (Pose to Pose vs Straight Ahead.)
For this week, we delved into the concepts of Pose to Pose and Straight Ahead animation techniques. These foundational principles were applied to our ongoing project which is creating a Walk Cycle. We explored the differences between these two methods and how they impact the fluidity and consistency of animation. The focus was on understanding the key poses in a walk cycle and how to transition smoothly between them to create a natural, lifelike movement. This week's practical exercise was crucial in enhancing our ability to animate believable character locomotion, setting a solid foundation for more complex animations in the future.
Week 7: Public Holiday
No Class.
Week 8: Independent Learning Week
No Class.
Week 9: Public Holiday
No Class.
Week 10: Cartoony Animation
abc
Week 12: Public Holiday
No Class.
Week 13: Final project Consultation
abc
Week 14: Final project Consultation
abc
EXERCISES
EXERCISE 1: BOUNCING BALL
In this exercise, we will dive into the fundamentals of animation by bringing bouncing balls to life. Begin by downloading the provided ball rigs and familiarizing with the structure. Then, we were required to gather image or video references for different types of bouncing balls. Sketch out the movement for each ball, considering crucial factors like timing, spacing, and arcs. Next, set up the animation environment with appropriate settings, such as image size and frame rate. Last but not least, proceed to animate each ball, paying close attention to timing, spacing, and the arcs they follow, ensuring a bounce that feels both realistic and dynamic. The final animation will be evaluated based on its appeal, the clarity of staging, timing, spacing, and arc, with separate assessments for each ball type. This exercise offers a comprehensive exploration of animation principles and techniques, laying a solid foundation for tackling more intricate projects in the future.
I started by downloading the provided ball rig from the link, exploring its controls, and familiarising myself with its features. In order to understand the way each different ball bounces, I referenced some relevant videos online and planned the movement of each ball by making sketches, analysing how the physical properties (like weight and elasticity) influenced their motion. This step was crucial in ensuring that my animations would be as realistic as possible. Here are my planning sketches:
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| Figure 1.1 Ball Movement Sketch (Soccer Ball) Reference Video Link |
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| Figure 1.2 Ball Movement Sketch (Ping Pong Ball) Reference Video Link |
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| Figure 1.3 Ball Movement Sketch (Bowling Ball) Reference Video Link |
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| Figure 1.4 Ball Movement Sketch (Beach Ball) Reference Video Link |
After finishing the planning, I started animating it in blender using the ball rig provided. Setting up my scene involved configuring the image size to 1280 x 720 (HD) and the frame rate to 24fps. With the scene ready, I proceeded to animate each ball. It is important to consider principles such as time, spacing, and weight changes. So I carefully incorporate these details in my animation process, ensuring smooth slow-ins and slow-outs during motion, and following natural arcs for realistic animation. Below are my first attempts process and outcomes for the exercise without adding the rotation of the balls yet.
For the soccer ball, I noticed that it bounces consistently with a moderate weight loss. To capture the natural motion of each bounce, I focus on timing it with moderate decay and smooth slow-ins and slow-outs. The arcs of the soccer ball were natural, reflecting its moderate weight and air pressure.
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| Figure 1.5 The Soccer Ball's Animation Process |
Figure 1.6 Soccer Ball (Without Rotation)
The ping pong ball, being very light and bouncy, had quick, high bounces with fast decay. I animated its quick bounces with less time on the ground, ensuring rapid acceleration and deceleration. The arcs were tight and high, reflecting its light weight and elasticity.
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| Figure 1.7 The Animation Process for Ping Pong Ball |
Figure 1.8 Ping Pong Ball (Without Rotation)
When it comes to the bowling ball, its heavy weight meant minimal bounce with a significant loss of height after the first thud. I animated it with long contact times on the ground and slow bounces, capturing its gradual acceleration and deceleration. The arcs were low and wide, demonstrating the ball's heavy mass.
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| Figure 1.9 Process of Animate the Bowling Ball |
Figure 1.10 Bowling Ball (Without Rotation)
As opposed to the ping pong ball, the beach ball being light but less bouncy than the ping pong ball, had a slow, floating bounce. To represent the air resistance, I animated the bounces to be slow and progressive with significant hang times. Its air resistance and lightness were demonstrated by the wide, rounded arcs.
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| Figure 1.11 Animating Process for the Beach Ball |
Figure 1.12 Beach Ball (Without Rotation)
Once I had all the balls positioned, I added appropriate rotation to them so that they look more realistic. In this stage, crucially, the bowling ball doesn't roll out like other balls, but instead rotates slowly in place.
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| Figure 1.13 Apply Rotation to the Soccer Ball |
Figure 1.14 Soccer Ball (With Rotation)
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| Figure 1.15 Adding Rotation to the Ping Pong Ball's Bounce |
Figure 1.16 Ping Pong Ball (With Rotation)
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| Figure 1.17 Incorporating Ball Rotation for the Bowling Ball |
Figure 1.18 Bowling Ball (With Rotation)
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| Figure 1.19 Simulating the Rotation of the Beach Ball |
Figure 1.20 Beach Ball (With Rotation)
Upon finishing the animations for the four bouncing balls, I went over it to address any areas that needed improvement and achieve a smooth overall result. Hence, here are the outcomes for each balls with location and rotation.
Figure 1.21 Soccer Ball
Figure 1.22 Ping Pong Ball
Figure 1.23 Bowling Ball
Figure 1.24 Beach Ball
As for the Stretch and Squash Ball, I completed it according to Mr. Kamal's tutorial demonstration. To emphasise the impact and timing, the last exercise ball utilises the stretch and squash principle, exaggerating its form as it stretches before landing, squash down on impact when it hits the ground, and then rebounds with another stretch. Below are some processes for the exercise.
The ball stretches slightly before contact with the ground, building anticipation for the impact.
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| Figure 1.25 Anticipation Stretch |
At the moment of contact, the ball maintains its stretched form for a brief moment, emphasizing the compression.
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| Figure 1.26 Hold |
Following the impact, the ball squashes down as it absorbs the force.
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| Figure 1.27 Squash |
As the ball rebounds, it stretches again, often exceeding its original form for impactful effect.
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| Figure 1.28 Rebound Stretch |
At the peak of the bounce, the ball returns to its normal shape.
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| Figure 1.29 Return |
And here is the outcome for Stretch and Squash Ball.
Figure 1.30 Stretch and Squash Ball
Once the animations were complete, I focused on lighting my scene appropriately. I rendered the animations as an image sequence in PNG format, which allowed for clean compositing later on.
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| Figure 1.31 Added Lighting and Positioned the Camera for the Soccer Ball Scene |
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| Figure 1.32 Added Lighting and Positioned the Camera for the Ping Pong Ball Scene |
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| Figure 1.33 Added Lighting and Positioned the Camera for the Bowling Ball Scene |
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| Figure 1.34 Added Lighting and Positioned the Camera for the Beach Ball Scene |
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| Figure 1.35 Added Lighting and Positioned the Camera for the Stretch and Squash Ball Scene |
Using Adobe Premiere Pro, I composited and edited my animations, also adding the necessary labels to each video segment. For the final export, I ensured the format was correct with a frame rate of 24fps.
EXERCISE 2: BALL WITH TAIL
For Exercise 2, we will be working on animating a pendulum to demonstrate our understanding of drag, overlapping, and follow-through principles. By downloading the pendulum rig from the provided link and explore its features, we are required to animate the pendulum's main object moving from left to right while ensuring the tail reacts naturally to the motion, showcasing believable drag and flexibility. After completing the animation, light and render it into an image sequence, then composite and edit it. Finally, output the final animation in .mov format. The assessment will focus on the animation's appeal, clarity, fluidity, and flexibility. This exercise aimed to animate a pendulum, focusing on demonstrating drag, overlapping action, and follow-through. This also helped us to understand how these principles contribute to the believability of motion in animation.
The main task was to animate the pendulum's primary object moving from left to right across the screen. The movement needed to be smooth and continuous, serving as a base for the secondary actions.
* When it starts to move, the end of the tail tries to stay in place. Even if the source part of the fundamental movement has already stopped, it is still moving.
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| Figure 2.1 "Follow Through" |
Follow-through means that the part that follows the original movement will continue to move even after the original movement is still.
* The movement of the tail moves later than the root movement.
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| Figure 2.2 "Drag" |
When the tail swings
- left to right: the first section above will lead back (->) and subsequent sections will follow (<-)
- right to left: the first section above will lead to front (<-) and subsequent sections will follow (->)
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| Figure 2.2a Left to Right |
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| Figure 2.2b Right to Left |
Drag means that the part that follows it is delayed for the original movement.
* When the direction changes, it is good to make a part where the direction of the movement changes at the root and the tip. However, this depends on the speed of movement and the weight of the tip, so the direction does not change depending on the situation.
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| Figure 2.3 "Overlap" |
Overlap is when there is a deviation in the movement and timing in the part that follows the original movement.
Following my research and observations, I began to animate the pendulum. I start by finding the pendulum using the appropriate frame rate and moving it from left to right.
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| Figure 2.4 Moving the Object Left to Right (Location) |
Then, comes the most important part of this exercise. Based on previous observations, I focused on making the tail's reaction to the main object's movements more realistic, emphasizing resistance, overlapping actions, and following. When the main object moves, I make sure the tail lags behind, showing resistance to the initial movement. The parts of the tail did not move in unison; each segment follows the motion with a slight delay. When the main object stops, the tail continues to swing, gradually loses energy and coming to stop.
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| Figure 2.5 Follow Through |
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| Figure 2.6 Drag |
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| Figure 2.7 Overlap |
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| Figure 2.8 Drag |
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| Figure 2.9 Overlap |
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| Figure 2.10 Adjusting the Speed |
After completing the animation, I added appropriate lighting to enhance the visual appeal and rendered the animation into a PNG image sequence. Using Adobe Premiere Pro, I composited the image sequence to ensure all elements were seamlessly integrated.
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| Figure 2.11 Lighting Added |
Finally, I exported the animation at 24fps in .mov format. The assessment focused on appeal, clarity, fluidity, and flexibility, evaluating how well the motion principles were demonstrated. This exercise significantly enhanced my understanding of these animation principles, allowing me to create a believable and visually appealing pendulum animation.
Figure 2.11 First Attempt Outcome
I have made some changes to the unsmooth part based on Mr. Kamal's feedback for improvement. And here is my final outcome for the first pendulum animation.
Figure 2.12 Final Outcome for Pendulum 1
Following the same steps as with the previous pendulum, I continued animating the next pendulum. The only difference among the two is the type of tail. They have different properties and weights, resulting in variations in the number of swings and speeds. Below are the outcomes.
Figure 2.13 The First Outcome for Pendulum 2
Here is the final output for the second pendulum animation after some adjustments.
EXERCISE 3: CHARACTER'S GOOD POSES
In Exercise 3, we will use the given Snow character rig to create emotion poses. Start by searching for images or videos of action positions that convey the emotions of happy, sad, angry, and scare. By focusing on the line of action, silhouette, balance, and weight of each action, we can use these references to determine the essential storytelling postures. Following that, position the character's torso and facial expressions so that each emotion appears realistic. Finally, display the research drawings side by side with a slide for each stance.
For this exercise, I started by downloading the character rig provided. After familiarising myself with the rig's controls and capabilities, I gathered reference images that depict the emotions of happiness, sadness, anger and fear.
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| Figure 3.1 Happy Pose |
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| Figure 3.2 Sad Pose |
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| Figure 3.3 Angry Pose |
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| Figure 3.4 Scared Pose |
Using these references, I identified the key storytelling poses, focusing on the line of action, silhouette, and weight distribution to avoid parallel and twinning in the character's posture. I drew sketches of these poses to emphasize their dynamics, capturing the essential elements of each emotion.
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| Figure 3.5a Study of the Pose - Happy |
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| Figure 3.5b Study of the Pose - Sad |
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| Figure 3.5c Study of the Pose - Angry |
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| Figure 3.5d Study of the Pose - Scared |
Next, I posed the Snow character’s body and facial expressions in Blender to accurately convey each emotion. The process is shown below.
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| Figure 3.6 Process |
After posing, I added camera, background, lighting to highlight the form and expression for each scene and also rendered the final images with simple rendering techniques.
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| Figure 3.7 Setting up the Camera, Lighting and Background |
Finally, here are the final results for each posture.
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| Figure 3.8 Happy Pose - without lighting and background |
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| Figure 3.9 Happy Pose - with lighting and background |
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| Figure 3.10 Sad Pose - without lighting and background |
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| Figure 3.11 Sad Pose - with lighting and background |
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| Figure 3.12 Angry Pose - without lighting and background |
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| Figure 3.13 Angry Pose - with lighting and background |
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| Figure 3.14 Scared Pose - without lighting and background |
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| Figure 3.15 Scared Pose - with lighting and background |
FEEDBACKS
Week 5: Exercise 2
- The ending should wiggle more, but not too quickly. There's some error in the middle; correct it and ensure the drag and follow through rule. The tail should slow down and eventually stop moving instead of moving swiftly.
REFLECTIONS
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Observations:
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Findings:
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