ADVANCED ANIMATION ✿ EXERCISES ✿

ADVANCED ANIMATION ✿ EXERCISES ✿

24.09.24 - .0.24

week 1 - week 4

✿ TAN JIA JIA 0350577 ✿

Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Lectures

Exercises

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Reflection

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✿ LECTURES ✿

Week 1

In Week 1, Mr. Kamal thoroughly briefed us on the key aspects of the module, providing an overview of the topics we will cover throughout the course. He also introduced us to the differences between 2D and 3D animation, explaining their unique characteristics, techniques, and applications. Additionally, he explained the structure and expectations of the assignment we will be working on, outlining its objectives and the skills we will need to develop in order to successfully complete it.

Figure 1.1 Screenshot from MIRO (week 1)

Week 2

In Week 2, Mr. Kamal taught us how to animate a bouncing ball in Blender. He also explained the importance of timing in the animation to make the bouncing ball appear realistic. It was challenging for me because I am not yet familiar with Blender, and using the software for the first time required some adjustment.

Figure 1.2 Screenshot from MIRO (week 2)

Figure 1.3 Screenshot from MIRO (week 2)

Week 3

-- MC --

Week 4

In Week 4, Mr. Kamal taught us how to animate a pendulum in Blender. He guided us through the process, focusing on the key principles of animation, such as drag, overlapping, and follow-through. We were shown how to create a smooth, realistic swinging motion for the pendulum, paying close attention to the timing and speed of the main action. By adding these principles, we learned how to make the pendulum's movement feel more natural and believable. Mr. Kamal also emphasized the importance of flexibility in the tail of the pendulum, showing us how to animate it reacting to the main motion with proper drag and follow-through. This was a great exercise in applying basic animation principles to a simple object, helping us further develop our understanding of fluid motion and timing in animation.

Week 5

In Week 5, Mr. Kamal provided us with a character model and taught us how to animate it. He showed us how to adjust the body of the character, focusing on proper posture and movement. The process of animating the character was enjoyable, as we were able to bring the character to life through different poses. Afterward, Mr. Kamal assigned us the task of creating various poses using the character. This exercise allowed us to explore different emotional expressions and physical stances, helping us understand how to convey different moods and actions effectively in animation. It was a fun and educational experience that enhanced our skills in character animation.

Week 6

In this week, Mr. Kamal briefed us about Project 1, which focused on animating a walk cycle. Although we had already learned walk cycles in 2D animation, the challenge for this project was adapting it to 3D. Initially, I thought it would be more difficult, but I soon realized that animating a 3D walk cycle was actually easier than 2D. The process felt more intuitive because of the additional control over the character's movements in a 3D space. As a result, I was able to quickly grasp the concepts and complete the animation with a better understanding of the mechanics involved. This experience helped me gain confidence in 3D animation.

Week 7

 

-- Independent Learning Week --

Week 8

-- No Class --

Week 9

-No Class --

Week 10

In Week 10, Mr. Kamal briefed us on Project 2, which focused on Jump Animation. The task involved animating a character performing a jump, emphasizing exaggeration in poses and timing to achieve a cartoony, appealing effect. We were required to analyze references, identify key poses, and incorporate aspects like drag, follow-through, and overlap to make the animation look more fluid and dynamic. This project introduced new challenges, particularly in ensuring the keyframes were well-timed and the motion was exaggerated enough to capture the cartoony essence. Despite the challenges, it was a valuable learning experience in enhancing my animation skills.

Week 11

-- Consultation Week --

Week 12

-- Consultation Week --

Week 13

-- Consultation Week --

Week 14

-- Consultation Week --

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✿ INSTRUCTION ✿

Figure 2.1 MIB of Advanced Animation

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✿ EXERCISES ✿

Exercise 1

The first exercise required us to animate a 3D bouncing ball, including a soccer ball, ping pong ball, bowling ball, and beach ball. All the 3D models of the balls were provided by Mr. Kamal.

Find image/video reference for these bouncing ball:

1. Soccer ball - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01cm7H1QoJg
2. Ping Pong - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTsx5eW2eLU
3. Bowling ball - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTz_5quG_ig
4. Beach ball - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s74P1ejubEA

Before I started animating the 3D bouncing ball, I watched the reference videos provided by Mr. Kamal.

Figure 3.1 Soccer ball

Figure 3.2 Ping Pong

Figure 3.3 Bowling

Figure 3.4 Beach Ball

Exercise 2

In Exercise 2, I was tasked with animating a pendulum rig to demonstrate key animation principles like drag, overlapping, and follow-through. First, I downloaded the pendulum rig and familiarized myself with its controls. The main goal was to animate the pendulum’s movement from left to right, ensuring the tail reacted with flexibility to create a believable swinging motion. I focused on achieving the correct timing for drag, overlapping, and follow-through to enhance the realism of the animation. The project was set to an image size of 1280x720 (HD) with a 24fps frame rate. The challenge was to ensure the motion felt natural by considering the speed of the swing and how the tail followed the main action.

Figure 3.5 Pendulum 1

Figure 3.6 Pendulum 2

Figure 3.7 Pendulum 3

Exercise 3

For **Exercise 3: Emotion Pose**, you will start by downloading the character rig "Snow" from the provided link and exploring it to understand how to manipulate the character's body and facial expressions. Next, you need to find references for action poses that depict the emotions of happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. You can capture still images from video references or take reference photos of yourself using a smartphone camera. Once you have your references, observe the key or storytelling poses, focusing on the line of action, silhouette, and weight distribution, while also avoiding parallel and twinning poses. Pay attention to the balance and contrapposto of the character's posture to ensure the poses feel natural and dynamic. Using the Snow rig, pose the character’s body and facial expression to convey each emotion accurately. Finally, render the pose with simple lighting to showcase the emotion, ensuring the character’s expression and body language are clear and effective.

Figure 3.8 Happy Pose

Figure 3.9 Angry Pose

Figure 3.10 Sad Pose

Figure 3.11 Scared Pose

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✿ REFLECTION ✿

In the exercises, I explored various aspects of animation, starting with **Exercise 1: Bouncing Ball**, where I focused on creating smooth ball animations by adjusting keyframes and timing to reflect realistic movement. In **Exercise 2: Pendulum Animation**, I worked on enhancing the believability of motion by focusing on drag, overlapping, and follow-through, ensuring the pendulum's tail responded naturally. Lastly, **Exercise 3: Emotion Pose** allowed me to convey different emotions—happy, sad, angry, and scared—through body language, studying key poses and using techniques like line of action, silhouette, and weight distribution. Each exercise challenged me to think critically about movement and expression, helping me improve my animation skills and better understand how to make actions and emotions feel dynamic and lifelike.