Saturday, May 26, 2007

ANIMATION EDUCATION Try Try Again

SHEL HERE with my latest test: the assignment was to make a ball jump generating it's own momentum while paying attention to the arch of the jump, easing in and out, and squash and stretch. (for some reason the last four frames got cut off when i put it on vimeo, he actually zooms off screen at the end).






squash and stretch ball jump test from handmadeheros on Vimeo

this was my 3rd attempt. the first test was pretty good (got a B) but the arch was off a bit coming down and the green guy just jumped and zoomed off (and i thought, hey, wouldn't it be way cooler if the orange guy would follow him off?). the second one was much better (A), except i added that rocking part but didn't use enough easing in and out at the ends (and i realized, hey, wouldn't it be way cooler if the little green ball would actually bump into the big orange ball?). it was interesting to notice that while each attempt was getting better than the last in form (and way cooler), i found that they were diminishing in charm. i'm very familiar with this phenomon in dance performance so i'm assuming that's what true there will be true here too, by learning and honing the basic animation skills, one can get to the point where it works the first time out when it's got that fresh, improvisational, we're all discovering it at the same time feeling to it. that's my goal, to get to a place where i have the skills to improvise good animation.

all three tests were really fun to make, i'm loving how malliable and alive the clay feels compared to the foam puppets. and even though it wasn't as fresh feeling to me, this last test got an A+ and that's super inspiring, cuz even though my teacher does in fact like me, he's a hard ass (i mean, he has very high expectations!) so an A+ means something.

4 comments:

Shelley Noble said...

You make a super important point there , Shel. And an adorable test!

Anonymous said...

Hey Shel,

If you like experimenting with morphs, you might enjoy Sculpey III more than clay. It's better suited to deformation and stretching and it doesn't tear as easily in the process. It's also MUCH easier to smooth, and it's lighter weight. (Not that I'm calling your clay fat, or anything.)

handmadeheroes said...

that's okay pram, my clay is quite comfy with it's weight....the little ball is actually sculpy (though i don't know if it's sculpy III or not--?) but the big ball was clay, and he did tear when i stretched him out.....so thanks for the tip!
shel

Michelle Jennings said...

Hi jriggity!thanks for stopping by my blog.I'm back once again, and I'm glad to have an animator friend here:)I'm very curious about animations, and the world of animation fascinates me beyond anything.I'm looking forward to get few tips from you.Check some of the other stuff and best friends cards that I've posted.Keep in touch.