Week 1: Bouncing Ball and Maze

Part one：12 Principles of Animation

Before the production of 3D animation, 12 principles of animation should be fully acquainted. The 12 principles of animation were first introduced by Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their work of The Illusion Of Life: Disney Animation. 

In this book, Johnston and Thomas study the work of Disney animators. After the 1930s, their method was reduced to 12 basic principles of animation. These principles form the basis of all animation works.

12 basic principles of animationconsist of:

1. Squash and Stretch
2. Anticipation
3. Staging
4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
6. Slow-in and Slow-out
7. Arcs
8. Secondary Action
9. Timing
10. Exaggeration
11. Solid Drawing and Solid Posing
12. Appeal

I found a picture of the 12 cardinal principles, which I thought would be more interesting to read and help me remind myself to abide by them.

I collected videos about 12 principles of animation and we can see the process of animation production more clearly in the video. Animation comes from life, and respecting the basic laws of physics is the most important. In this way, the logic of action design can be rationalized.

Part two: Bouncing Ball

Before making, I found a sample picture of square and stretch, and we can clearly observe the deformation and trajectory of the ball in the process of free falling in this picture.

In the process of making the bouncing ball animation, I choose two kinds of balls of different quality for squash and stretch motion.

Production process:

In the falling process of the ball, the ball will produce a flattening deformation phenomenon due to the influence of gravity.

In the rising process of the ball, the ball will become an upward elliptical shape due to the influence of gravity.

Graph Editor:

The translate Y axis of a small ball (elastic)

In the first edition of the production of small ball bouncing, the height difference of small ball is too large, resulting in the whole movement looks unnatural. After adjusting the curve panel, I found that the highest point of the ball bouncing keeps a gentle and continuous decline state, which will make the whole movement more natural.

Translate Y axis of big ball (lighter weight)

In order to make the movement of the two balls more in line with the movement rules, I have made adjustments and modifications in the graph editor of each ball. Smooth for both sides of the node of the curve. The object will lose some energy in the process of motion for conservation of energy, so the height of each ball falling will be lower than that of the previous frame.

I think there are two points to pay attention to in the production process:

• Compression and elongation are suitable for elastic objects. They should not be overused, otherwise they will lose the elasticity and become powerless.

• In the process of compression and elongation, the shape of the object changes, while the volume and direction of movement can not be changed.

Bouncing ball animation:

Part 3: Maze of Bouncing Ball

Firstly, the process of maze and bouncing ball is designed. The picture below is the draft.

I hope that the three plates hit by the ball in the process of falling can change their positions after being hit by the ball. Between the two plates on the right side of the design, the bouncing ball will constantly impact, and the speed of the bouncing ball will be faster than that of the plate in the air.

Scene model making：

Making the key frame of bouncing ball movement:

Animation Graph Editor

Stretch the shape of the ball as the ball moves. The shape of the ball in the collision and moving is more in line with the law of motion.

The ball will stretch in the process of acceleration

The ball will be extrusion when it collides

Playbast:

I also tried to render the project for the previous production is realistic style rendering, while this model is not complex for fast rendering. I want to use the cartoon rendering style, so the material of maze model is standard surface.

The material of the bouncing ball is a surface shader. I hope the ball emits light directly so that I can observe its trajectory. I also used a gradient skydome light material.

Renderings:

I reall love this picture style.

Final rendering video:

I really enjoyed the process of making 3D animation. During the learning process, I explored animated keyframing and rendering. This style of the rendering I haven’t tried before. I will try to explore more MAYA production techniques in the future.