Follow through and Joe-verlapping action (follow through and overlapping action exercise)

This exercise is a study into the animation principle of follow through and overlapping action. It was an interesting exercise as there were a lot of very subtle movements which were easy to miss on the lecturer's rigged demo. There is a slight bounce on the hammer as it impacts on the ground which I didn't notice at all until I zoomed in on the graph editor. After adding this bounce to my exercise and manipulating the rotation on the antenna, it became clear that the timing and extent of the rotation led to different visuals in which the eye perceived different materials that the antenna was made of. In this animation, the aim was to make the antenna like a wire. By using keyframes and graph editor manipulation, it became easier to add the timing to the follow through. Learning about offsetting the keyframes also came in handy as this led to the overlap as each hammer moves slightly after the one before it. This creates a powerful effect of motion and timing that is pleasing to the eye. Looking at the animation, it looks as though I managed to successfully achieve this. To date this is one of my better animations as there is a nice flow to it. Other than that, if I were to redo this exercise, I would look more into using a different object unlike a hammer. Maybe feathers would have a light enough texture that an offset of follow through and overlapping action could work nicely with it. In conclusion, this animation was one of my favourite exercises to date due to it's success. I look forward to the next exercise.


Also sorry for the terrible pun in the title. Yes, it was called for.  


THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS

Jackie Chan: Follow through and Overlapping action

This scene from the film, Shanghai Knights with Jackie Chan is a good example of a well timed live action comedy with some large and some subtle elements of follow through and overlapping action. The movement of the umbrella comes just after Jackie's movements and adds to the overall feeling of the clip. The way that the umbrella spins repeatedly at the eleven second mark and Chan leans forward is interesting because straight after it, his arm moves forward to continue with the rest of his body. There are also a lot of slight motions with the hair as the actor jerks forward throughout the clip. There are a lot of hand movement that link up to the main action but come slightly after it before coming to a stop. Follow through and Overlapping action are important when it comes to storytelling as they add realism to a motion. At 29 seconds, Jackie jumps down from the box and in doing so, raises his arms before lowering them on impact. This is to do with his balance as well as a natural bodily function of anticipation. This is also important in animation as there is a built up and also a wind down, an action followed by a reaction. The cartwheel at 32 seconds is interesting as after Jackie grabs the cloth, it continues to move slightly. This physical reaction is in essence these principles. Finally at 46 seconds when Chan gets the coat and runs towards Owen Wilson, he stops suddenly but his coat continues to move for a second. The follow through and overlapping action will be a great asset to realism when I create my own animations and it is important to learn and study it now.    

I do not own this clip.

The Joe Jump: Animation reference video

This video of me jumping will work nicely as a reference video for animation. There are many principles at work here such as anticipation as I build up to the jump. The Arcs that are present in the rotation of my arms also add to my movement as I move through the air. The Impact as I land would be great in animation as the weight distribution of my legs at this point, incorporated into a character's movement would be able to add a sense of realism and gravity to it. There isn't any follow through really as far as extra items such as my hair as it isn't long enough to move at a different speed. A character could easily be given longer hair though and this same movement could be demonstrated by a variety of different people of varying weights and sizes. If paused, the jump looks impressive as my legs took behind me. This could also add an interesting element to characterisation in an animation as height of a character could impact on the exaggeration and timing of the jump.    

Tennis ball vs Cannon ball

Slide In slide Out example. This depicts weight and timing.

I am very happy with the bounce that is incorporated into the two balls. They move very differently which conveys weight and is an interesting study into the way gravity and movement work with different weighted objects. The timing in this video could be a little bit better on the heavier ball as it is somewhat jittery in places. The lighter ball though moves nicely and rebounds as it impacts, much more than the heavier ball. Little things such as how far the balls get when they reach the bottom also add to the realism of the weight and movement. I tried to use the rotation tool in conjunction with the bounces so that it looks right when the balls roll from each step to the next. 

The heavier ball was much harder than the light one to manipulate with the graph editor. This could have been due to the various little movements that I added to the ball in order to make it appear as though it is harder for it to move. Overall though, this exercise, which was optional, helped me to practice the Slide In and Slide out principle as well as give me practice with manipulation of the tangents in the graph editor.   

THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS 

Anticipation exercises

                               

These two exercises worked very well. They look into the idea of anticipation. The second one with the two balls is interesting as the balls have a build up before they fire upwards. One of them is more exaggerated than the other, taking in other principles such as squash and stretch. The first one is a bit more complicated as it shows the ball building up to land in the container at the end. There is character to the ball and there is clearly a look of concern to the ball's movement as it decides whether to commit to the jump or not. The timing seems to work out well but the second video could do with a bit more as it seems unrealistic when it hits the top of the screen. It seems to hit the top quite abruptly which is an issue with spacing i think. Either way though these exercises are a chance to look into the principle of anticipation and build on my animation abilities.  

THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS 

Newton's cradle

This exercise which looks at the principle of slow In and Slow out worked quite well. It highlighted movement and weight and looks at the ideas of physics in balls and takes it a step further from the bounce of squash and stretch. Gravity is meant to be used in a way that shows weight and speed. The motion works as when the balls connect, there is an equal amount of believable force applied to project the ball at the other side. Weight is definitely distributed but I feel that there is a bit of rigidity in the wire/string that connects the balls. Thankfully it doesn't look mechanical and this adds greatly to the overall realism of the animation.

Using the rotation tool, I added keyframes in order to create a smooth flow as the balls connected. I went from a high angle, 70 on the x rotation to a 0 and so on in order to create an even distribution of frames.

Once the keyframes were set, I manipulated the graph editor in order to show slow in and slow out. This is before I edited. 

Using weighted tangents, I first smooth the curve to get a more realistic curve.

In order to get a sharper curve of slow In and Slow Out, I used the move tool to edit the keyframe points and add a better effect to the flow of the animation. The ball therefore manages to impact with a better sense of motion and gravity incorporated in it without looking stiff and lifeless.

This is the scene just before the playblast. I think that the other principles of animation such as timing and anticipation are also incorporated into this cradle in order to add more to the animation.

There are some issues as I still need more practice with the graph editor and the rigidity is still present in some places but overall i feel that this was a successful exercise in animating the slide in, slide out principle. 

THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS 

Slow In Slow Out

This video uses diagrams and examples to explain the lack of constant poses that humans use in comparison to mechanical movement. It shows how in life, movement moves slowly then fast and then slows down again. In 3D the change of linear to spline helps this. The video talks about inbetweens and how necessary they are to different levels of timing. The inbetweens added and the space between the drawings are mentioned and we are told that how small and large these spaces are add to the speed of the movement. This video really helped to explain this principle.

I DO NOT OWN THIS VIDEO

Slow Motion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw3q4_jZv8M

Interesting look at the principles of animation through slow motion videos. This helps to see the subtle movements that objects make that we probably would not notice if shown at a normal speed. We see how even hard surfaces have an element of squash and stretch to them as well as how slow in and slow out plays a part in a lot of daily activities. When the man blows the paper, he follows through in his movement. The mousetrap follows an arc as it springs backwards, there is overlapping action with the chainsaw and there is a stretch when the eggs collide. These principles are much easier to see when slowed down. This video definitely helps with that and provides a good animation reference so it is easy to identify movement.

I do not own this video.

Squash and stretch dinosaur

This exercise worked quite well. Using the graph editor to manipulate the timing aspect of the exercise, the animation looked better. The squash and stretch on the ball look good as they it hits the surface and deforms. The dinosaur works in some ways as the feet are even as the dinosaur rises after the impact but I think that the impact on the dinosaur doesn't have the right weight on it which slightly affects the timing compared to the ball. The realism of the springing motion that the dinosaur does adds momentum and motion to an otherwise lifeless character but even though this worked, I still need much more practice with the graph editor. This will come with time but currently the animation is quite good. There are a lot of subtleties that work such as the foot flick. Things like these add realism and weight to a character and make them work better within a three dimensional space.

THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS

Good example of squash and stretch with anticipation

I do not own this video.

The way that the penguin squashes and stretches back into it's original position helps to highlight the startled emotion that it is feeling. There is a slight moment of build up/ anticipation as the penguin's eyes guide the viewer to look where it is looking. It is also an exaggerated jump that has the secondary action of him grabbing the hat and placing it back on his head before he runs to the safety of the igloo. These principles all work together to add emotion and character to the overall story. The staging here is also quite simplistic but because of the water and the dull greyish colour as well as the penguin's appeal as he wears the clothing help to highlight and point out that this is a cold icy place. This is impressive as a still image is enough to highlight the setting of the story without even watching the clip. The animation quality is very impressive, a 2D Disney short from 1945 that uses all of the skills that were available at the time to create a story that is powerful and beautiful at the same time.


clip from "The Cold Blooded Penguin", (1945),  Walt Disney

Squash and stretch

This video explains the principle of squash and stretch and helps to explain how the exaggeration of the face and other elements using the principle c an help to explain the story or the character's motivations. Speed, momentum, weight and mass are all highlighted by the use of squash and stretch. Animation uses it for texture too. This video explains how it is important not to change the overall volume of the object when it is elongated otherwise it ruins it. Flat should be wide too. Narrow should be long too. As something speeds up, it can have more squash and stretch but don't overdo it. This video helped me to understand the principle a lot.

I DO NOT OWN THIS VIDEO.

The second bouncing ball exercise incorporates elements of weight into it. Based on the timing and the variation of the bounces when dropped from the same height, there is an automatic impression of different weights and materials in each ball. The heavier one could be made of concrete and the one that bounces could be made of a much lighter substance. The timing in this playblast could be better as some aspects of it look rigid and not as smooth as I had hoped. The bounce and rotations that the force of the impact creates is interesting though. Based on an already rigged ball, i added the bounces and timing in order to better portray the level of motion, speed and impact and in turn add to a better understanding of object weight. This was an interesting exercise as it allowed me to work with the tangents in the graph editor in order to make the timing of the animation run smoother.

There was an issue with the video upload and so I had to upload the edited video to Youtube before putting it here.

THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS 

First Timing and Spacing exercise

This is the first timing and spacing exercise and is a continuation of a maya file that contains rigs that the lecturer set up. It shows two bouncing balls, one is realistic, the physics ball, and the other is an exaggerated cartoon animation, the cartoon ball. Both contain 24 frames. I incorporated squash and stretch into both balls, the left one, the cartoon one, containing much more squash and stretch than the physics ball on the right. Using keyframes and manipulation of the Maya graph editor, I tried to incorporate the best timing that i could to make the two bounces run smoothly. The slight deformation of the physics ball adds to it's realism as in real life it would squash and stretch slightly but not as much as the cartoon one. I feel that the correct amount of squash and stretch was incorporated in order to add interest to the cartoon ball without ruining it and the timing works reasonably well. As a learning experience, the timing could be a bit better in places but I tried to use even numbers on the squash and stretch rig options in order to produce a smoother graph editor curve in order to get better timing.


There was an issue with the video upload and so I had to upload the edited video to Youtube before putting it here.


THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS 

Bad Example of Timing

This animation, Western Town is a cartoon that contains poor timing. The movements and the footsteps are all out of place and don't work at all with the music. There is a random poorly timed cut to another character and then out of nowhere comes the climax of the scene which happens suddenly with no anticipation, build up or well timed action at all. The frames appear to make the animation all wrong and even though you can tell what is going on, it feels boring and lifeless as it lacks the realism of a properly timed animation. Therefore I think that the timing in this animation is off and this creates a strongly mechanical feel for the cartoon. 

There was an issue with the video upload and so I had to upload the edited video to Youtube before putting it here.

I do not own this video.

Timing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BarOk2p38LQ

Timing: The first of the 12 principles of Animation

I do not own this video.

Timing looks at the personality of the animation in relation to the framing. The speed of the drawings can affect the understanding of the story. I like the example it gives of the various story suggestions that are implied by the number of drawings. This video does highlight effectively the importance of timing in animation and I can see how it becomes relatable to the other principles. The timing exercise should also help with this understanding and I hope that in the future I will be able to create well timed animations using the graph editor for manipulation of frames.