This unit taught us the basic principles of Animation:
timing, weight, stretch-and-squash, anticipation, and follow-through. It was
also an introduction to Dragon Frame, an animation software allowing you to
photograph frames and then play them on the computer. I also used the light-box
room during this unit, which made me very happy as I have wanted to use one for
a long time, as it feels more professional.
Timing, weight, and stretch-and-squash were some of the
first things we looked at. We did this by animating three separate kinds of
ball. First was a simple bouncing ball. We focused on the stretch-and-squash
principle. The ball had to squash upon impact with the floor, and stretch at
points during its flight. I initially had trouble with this, because I didn't get the consistency of the volume correct, so it appeared to shrink rather than
squash. After some editing it did look more fluid. Next we had to animate a
ping pong ball, which had more frames due to it bouncing more. I enjoyed this
better as the only real issue was ensuring the timing was correct. When rising
into the air, the ball is quite quick, but its fall is less due to its reduced
weight. The final ball was a massive bowling ball. As the heaviest, the ball
had to fall quite quickly and rise in the air slowly, also slowing down when it began to roll on the floor. I think I may need to improve the
final version of the bowling ball, as it doesn't slow down much when rolling.
Follow-through was the next principle we looked at. It
refers to the animation of anything that trails behind the character: tail or
coat. We created a simple creature with a tail and focused on the tail’s
animation. I found this one easier, but I had to improve it because when the
creature hits the ground, the tail disappears behind him. So I added the tail
into these frames so it hits the ground in a ‘C’ motion. The only thing I would
change would be the blocks, perhaps making the lines less messy.
Anticipation was a lengthier one because I had to do a lot
of editing and retakes. The scene depicts two sacks jumping onto a block. One
of the sacks was bigger, and thus heavier. The anticipation comes in here just
before the big one jumps. I had to add some extra frames at this part because he
jumped too quickly, and thus didn't look heavy enough. The consistency also needed work, so I kept the construction lines intact until the final to ensure
the stretch-and-squash worked.
Finally, we created a simple walk cycle. I found this one
extremely difficult, as it was hard to keep the figure consistent without
looking like it was stretching when walking. Though it isn't as apparent as
when I started, it still stretches in some places, and needs a little
improvement.
Overall I have enjoyed this unit, and I have
learned a lot about the main principles. The life drawing classes have also
helped me in getting my proportions right. My improvements are to focus on the
consistency on the pieces, as the line-work can often be quite messy.
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