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.