2021/10/14
A simple exercise and some further research.
This video includes both Bouncing Ball with Travel and Bouncing Ball Obstacle Course.
I chose the first rig to make the first part of bouncing ball animation. (The first rig couldn’t replace the material, so I just replaced the model.) I tried to link the two animations together, so I added another ball and used it to bounce the volleyball away. So that the volleyball can fly into the next scene and join the next part.
In the second part, I chose the third rig. A controlled ball is much easier to operate. This exercise attempts to recreate a natural fall. In order to emphasize the elastic material, the stretching and squeezing of the ball are exaggerated.
Also,I built simple backgrounds and lights and replaced some materials to make the final look more complete.
As a simple exercise, it actually covers several principles of animation.
The process of making moving animation is Pose to Pose., which is the most common way in 3D animation. It’s basically layout. Help the animator to observe the general movement of the character, to have a general grasp of the rhythm of the animation. By combining the falling trajectory and bouncing trajectory of the real object, it can imitate its moving path. In the future, more complex animations will require animators to design actions and extract key frames in combination with reality.
Squash and Stretch help reflect textures. When an object is soft, collisions, rapid movement, etc., cause the object to deform greatly. When using the first rig, if the ball is flattened lengthwise, it should be stretched horizontally because the volume of the object should always remain the same. This is especially important in exaggerated squash and stretch.
The Anticipation is another important thing. Ignoring it makes the character’s movements stiff and mechanical. The ball needs an extrusion process before it bounces. Just as a character needs to squat before jumping. The anticipation can be appropriately exaggerated to increase the sense of power. If the ball squeezes for a long time before bouncing, you can imagine that it will bounce faster. The anticipation guide the audience to more easily accept the following action.
For physical reasons, most actions follow Slow In & Slow Out. When the ball hits the ground, it bounces off the ground, so its curve changes. Almost all movements start slowly building up speed and then slow down to complete the movement unless some other external force is encountered.
The above part to add Exaggeration can strengthen the expression, but should be appropriate.