Timing and Squash and Stretch Test: Week 2

Timing variations:

There I played around with the timing of the bounce of a hard and bouncy ball to get an idea of how the weight of the bounce is affected. I made the bounces longer or shorter in frames by selecting all the key frames in the time slider and used the side arrows moving the keyframes. I then used the snap tool to place the the key frames on to frames.

For the Hard ball the best test was 44 frames and 37 as they keep the weight of the bounce. Where as the 66 frames bounce looks like the ball is flouting and the ball has no weight.







For the Bouncy ball test I thought that the best was the 101 frames as it didn't flout but still had more bounce that the 73.  These tests where useful to understand the importance of timing and how it can effect the weight of a bounce.

Squash and Stretch using Deformer:

Before adding a squash and stretch to the ball bouncing I referenced this video to understand the bounce of a ball with a material quality that allows a lot of squash and stretch.




I added a deformer to the ball to create a squash and stretch. this was a lot of fun to do and the bounce of the ball was achieved using key frames and not the graph editor. Because of the stretch of the ball at different points in the arch it looked like the ball had the right spacing in the arch.  I also experimented with a jiggle deformer to make the ball look like it was full of fluid.

A Ball Bouncing Across a Room:

the next stage of my experimentation is to get the ball bouncing across a flat plane which means that not only do i need the correct timing and spacing but the shapes of the arches need to be correct too.  i had to use reference material of a bouncy ball where i looked at spacing and the arches to understand the correct movement of this particular type of ball.

Ball bouncing across screen Maya Tests:

For these test I decided to go about it using two different approaches; pose to pose and straigt ahead animation. I used the Ghost affect when animating so I could see the path of the archs reacted by the ball's bounce.

Straight ahead animation:

This I did by moving the ball every frame to the next positing in its arch. the problem with this is that it's very time consuming and if i wanted to change one of the fames I then had the change all the ones following which isn't particle. Also using the graph editor is very difficult due to all the key frames.

Pose to Pose Animation:

With this technique I made key frames at the top and bottom of the arches, mapping out the path of the bounce. Before using the graph editor the ball moves in straight lines creating v shapes. Then using the graph editor I could create the spacing of the arch and change the straight lines into curves.

The first coin has even spacing which is what Maya creates: linear spacing. the coin below has the same timing (key frames) but the spacing is different which in Maya is created by using the graph editor and manipulating the arches and curves between key frames.
(Diagram from 'The Animators Survival Kit' by Richard William)

Also by doing this I could alter the key frames more easily than the straight ahead animation. This experiment has taught me to use the graph editor more effectively and with less key frames.

Image Plane Reference video: 

Here I used an image plane in maya with a reference video of a basket ball bouncing. I also used key frames at the top and bottom of the arches to block out the animation. I then did the same for the balls rotation once I placed a ram labert on the ball. then using the graph editor I edited the bounce of the ball's arch and it's ration. Once having polished that animation I removed the image plane. Also experimented by adding a slight squash and stretch to the ball. Unfortunately I couldn't key frame the rotation of the deformer so as the ball rotates the squash and stretch couldn't follow and squash in the correct place.

Timing and Spacing tests: Week 1

Timing and Spacing:

These two concepts are the first two principles of animation we have covered. Timing refers to the time it takes for an object to travel from A to B or the action between these two points, in the case of the bouncing ball the distance between bounces. The diagram below form 'The Animators Survival Kit' by Richard William shows the principle of timing with a bouncing ball. As the energy is lost form the ball the bounces become more frequent meaning the ball is travelling slower.

Spacing instead is what happens between points A and B this gives the ball the feeling of weight. Uneven spacing can be used to create ease in/out by letting the frames overlap creating the feeling of the ball hanging in the air before it falls to the ground. The diagram below also form 'The Animators Survival Kit' by Richard William shows that as the ball reaches the top of the arc the spacing of the frames become closer and ease in and out of the top of the arc.

Before starting any animation test I found some secondary reference video research and used the first two balls for reference: an exercise ball and a basket ball. The exercise ball has a lot more energy in it's bounce that the basket ball and it bounces for much longer.

Animation tests:

Spline Graph:

When the key frames are made maya makes the spacing between each frame even but as seen above, uneven spacing gives the ball a feeling of weight. To alter the spacing I broke the tangents and freed the tangents of weight. Then I was free to create ease in and outs by plateauing tangents. By raising the tangent above or below the value of the key frame would also create anticipation but as I wanted to only create a simple bounce I apply that technique.

There is also a visible difference between the way the two graphs look for the different bounces. Test 002 has more bounces and the height of the bounce slowly decreases and the timing of the bounces come closer together. Test 001 by contrast has fewer bounces and the height of the bounces quickly deduces in value because it doesn't bounce as high.

Test 01: Hard Ball:

Test 002: Soft Ball