Organic life moves in arcs, simulating curvature in motion, it’s characterised by the increase and decrease in the acceleration that is not constant.
Robotic and artificial ways, on the other hand, move linearly as per constant acceleration.
Exaggeration:
Enhances dramatic effect and emphasizes important moments, so it’s clear to an audience what’s happening. Animation is about exaggeration.
Timing and Motion:
Defines the pace and the rhythm of movement, and justifies the simulation that approximates real movement.
Anticipation:
Prepares the audience for an action by providing a visual clue about what is about to happen. It gets pulled back before it goes forward etc.
Follow-Through and Overlapping Action:
the primary action comes with secondary actions that follow to enhance the fluidity of the organic movement.
Staging:
Understanding where the subject that is being animated is supposed to be situated is more related to the viewer feedback, in the way that the viewer has a sense of what’s going on, thus the animator’s role is to clearly convey that action that is taking place.
Straight-Ahead vs. Pose-to-Pose Action:
Straight Ahead: Suited for tackling heavily organic movements, emphasizing the physicality of motion.
Pose-to-Pose: Structured and thought through as per break down, useful for complex animations.
Layering: Combining both approaches for efficiency and optimized approach.
Slow In and Slow Out:
Achieved using Graph Editor curves:
Linear Curve: Constant motion.
Smooth Gradual Curve: Gradual acceleration or deceleration.
Sharp Steep Curve: Quick, abrupt motion.
Secondary Action:
It follows the primary action and adds depth and richness to the movement, enhancing the fluidity of the organic movement.
Appeal:
Adds an “extra flavour” to the animation, often during the polishing stage.
Squash and Stretch:
Reflects the flexibility and mass of the object. (Covered in the detailed during the 1st week)
Solid Drawing:
A principle rooted in 2D animation, ensuring that forms remain consistent in volume and appearance, and reliable in motion.
Pendulum motion: Understanding follow-through and overlapping action
What is Follow-Through?
Follow-through refers to the movement that continues after the primary action has taken place. It describes secondary actions that are a natural result of the primary motion, enhancing the realism and fluidity of the animation. This principle ensures that movements feel organic and not abruptly mechanical.
Successive Breaking of Joints
A key technique in follow-through is the successive breaking of joints, where the motion flows like a chain reaction. Each joint moves with a slight delay compared to the previous one, creating a cascading effect. This slight offset prevents the animation from looking rigid, introducing a natural and dynamic quality to the movement
Drag aka Wave Principle
Drag, or the wave principle is essential for achieving overlap in motion. It involves a lead-and-follow dynamic, where the leading part of an object drives the movement, and the following parts react to it. This interaction highlights the relationship between primary and secondary actions, adding depth and complexity to the animation.
Pendulum Motion
A classic example of overlapping and follow-through action is pendulum motion. Here, the gravitational energy transitions into kinetic energy, creating smooth arcs and diminishing momentum over time. The pendulum showcases how overlapping motion can add weight, rhythm, and natural flow to animated objects, making them feel grounded in physical principles.
A video demonstration reveals that the complex movement of a character in animation can be broken down into separate areas, each of which can be depicted as a bouncing ball moving independently. Each joint or limb of the character follows its own unique path, much like an individual bouncing ball, yet when combined with the motion of the rest of the body, they come together to define the cohesive and dynamic movement of the character. This approach highlights how the interplay of these individual elements contributes to the overall flow and believability of the animated motion.
Pendulum exercise
1. Quick and Dirty Method in Maya
Following the class example, I attempted the “quick and dirty” method in Maya. However, I encountered difficulties when trying to develop the pendulum’s movement after its base stops. At this point, the kinetic energy transfers through the system, creating the characteristic “C” and “S” shapes.
To better understand the logic behind the movement, I started by sketching the motion of grass as demonstrated in the tutorial.
Observations:
The grass tail begins its motion in an initial C-like shape.
As it moves, the bottom half of the tail shifts in the opposite direction to the upper half, transforming the C-shape into an S-shape.
The S-shape represents the point where the energy peaks, causing the tail to snap back into an inverted C-shape.
This cycle repeats, following a similar pattern of movement logic.
3. Analysing Pendulum Motion
Video source: https://vimeo.com/111841120
To analyse the pendulum motion, I used George’s pendulum animation to closely examine for all the shapes discussed in the point above.
Steps taken:
I selected a specific chunk of the video and extended its duration to slow it down significantly.
This allowed me to view the motion in slow motion and clearly identify the pendulum’s path, including all the “C” and “S” shapes.
Extremes and keyframes
According to Animation Survival Kit, the positions where the pendulum reaches its furthest points are called extremes, which is intuitive. As a rule of thumb, extremes are not circled in animation planning sketches, but keyframes are.
Keyframes, based on the 1940s animation method, are the key drawings circled in the sketches used to plan an animation. Between these keyframes are the intermediate drawings, often referred to as in-betweens or phasing frames.
The hierarchy of animation planning follows this structure: KEYS → EXTREMES → BREAKDOWNS → IN-BETWEENS
For example, moving from frame A to frame B without any in-between frames would create a “teleportation” effect—an unnaturally quick movement with no sense of transition. To address this, a breakdown key is introduced to highlight the journey between frames. The in-between frames are critical as they define the character of the movement. By adding in-between frames, the motion can be slowed down or made more fluid. Concepts like ease-in and ease-out rely on adding frames strategically to emphasize gradual acceleration or deceleration.
Keyframes define what happens and where it happens on the screen, providing staging information (e.g., if a character moves forward, the keyframes indicate the start and end positions).
In-betweens define how the action happens, adding nuance to the nature of the movement.
In 3D animation, software handles interpolation between frames automatically. However, the animator’s role remains essential for keying the major positions during the blocking stage.
Best Approach to Animation Planning
A hybrid method known as layered method (discussed in detailed in week1), combining pose-to-pose and straight-ahead techniques, is the most effective approach. This ensures the animation is both logical and structured (pose-to-pose) while maintaining a fluid and natural quality (straight-ahead).
Steps for Planning Animation:
Define the main keys for the animation.
Add the extremes.
Incorporate breakdowns and in-betweens.
Apply the straight-ahead approach to specific parts of the character.
For example, in the flying squirrel animation from week 3, the ball and the tail would be treated as separate components.
The keyframes are the most critical as they define the foundation of the animation.
The pendulum loses momentum as it swings, resulting in asymmetrical movement. Each successive endpoint of the swing decreases in height (as seen in the cartographic view/left plane). These “endpoints of the movement” are numbered in the image below, starting with 1.
” Animation requires for ball to bounce 1 or 2 times”.
“Please try to curve out motion trail and reduce rotations since some parts are spinning to much”.
Pendulum exercise
Planning
Delivering
As the base of the pendulum moves, the end of the pendulum is getting dragged alongside. This dragging gets transcend into kinematic energy, so when the base comes to stop the pendulum swings until the complete loss of the energy. The most important when delivering an animation is that, the end of pendulum, remains in the same position, for the first few keyframes, to achieve the notion of dragging.
The base comes to stop, energy is being transcend, resulting in a swing into the opposite direction.
The graph describes rotation X of the pendulum base, that decreases over the time, as the pendulum swing backwards and forwards, until complete lose of energy (flat line at the end).
Successive breaking of the following joints, as depicted on the screenshot above, as the pendulum take a awkward shape that resembles S shape, as it’s swing from one side to the opposite one, marking both extremes, while taking a shape of reversed letter C and regular C, respectively.
Offsetting as an easy and quick way to get fast results. For the consecutive joints of the pendulum the keys are applied in that same values are applied but offset in the time, meaning moved across the timeline by the certain number of keyframes for each of the following joints, with the highest offset applied for the end of the pendulum, as this comes to the end as the last. the screenshot shows the graph editor, where rotation x is shown for the following joints.
Art Fundamentals: Animation History and Cinematography
Animation has evolved tremendously over the years, with technological advancements playing a pivotal role in shaping its techniques and impact. Understanding the historical development of animation, alongside the role of cinematography and technology, allows us to appreciate the innovative progress the medium has undergone. Here’s a look at the key developments starting from the early 1900s, highlighting the technological and artistic shifts that influenced animation.
History of Animation
Early 1900s: The Dawn of Animation
The Birth of Animated Film: The early 1900s marked the emergence of animation as an art form. Techniques like stop-motion and traditional hand-drawn animation were explored in films like Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)
Technological Limitations: Early animation was labor-intensive, often hand-drawing each frame and photographing it on film.
1920s–1930s: The Rise of Hollywood and the Golden Age of Animation
Technological Innovation: The introduction of the cel animation process in the 1920s revolutionized animation. Disney’s Steamboat Willie (1928)
Technological Influence on Artistry: As sound became an integral part of animation, it created new opportunities for storytelling. Cartoons like The Jazz Singer (1927) and Mickey Mouse.
The Introduction of Technicolor: Another game-changing technological advancement was the introduction of Technicolor in the 1930s, first used in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).
1940s–1960s: The Expansion of Animation Techniques
Post-War Innovation: The development of Xerox machines in the 1950s allowed animators to reproduce animation drawings directly onto cels, reducing costs and speeding up production.
Television and the Rise of TV Animation: The rise of television in the 1950s led to an increase in animated content for the small screen, including shows like The Flintstones (1960).
Stop-Motion and Puppetry: Stop-motion animation began to gain recognition as an artistic technique in the 1960s
1970s–1990s: The Digital Revolution and the Emergence of CGI
Digital Animation: The 1970s saw the dawn of computer-generated imagery (CGI), which began to change animation from traditional techniques to digital.
The Emergence of Pixar: In the late 1980s and 1990s, Pixar became a dominant force in animation,. Toy Story (1995)
2000s–Present: The Integration of New Technologies
3D Animation and Motion Capture: The 2000s saw the rise of 3D animation, and studios such as DreamWorks and Blue Sky Studios adopted CGI for feature films like Shrek (2001) and Ice Age (2002). The Polar Express (2004).
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality:
The Fusion of Live-Action and Animation: Avatar (2009) and The Jungle Book (2016)
Introduction to fellow colleagues on the course, following and Introduction to the module structure, in-class teaching and summative and formative assessments. The following section describes the detailed topics covered during the initial session.
Maya Setup
Project Setup Instructions
Create a New Project Locally Begin by creating a new project directory on your local drive.
Drag and Drop to Scenes Organize your scenes by dragging and dropping relevant files into your project’s “scenes” folder.
Set the Project Ensure the project is set in Maya to avoid pathing issues during the workflow.
Reference Project Use references to maintain an organized and modular project structure.
Maya settings for Animation (general)
Frame Rate: 24 FPS
Evaluation Mode: Parallel
Playback: Play every frame
Selection control
Group all controls under a “selection control” to optimise the workflow, via creation for the quick selection -> adding these to the navigation shelf for easy access.
Master Control
The master control, typically located at the rig’s base, should not be adjusted while animating to avoid unintended global transformations.
Graph Editor
Interpolation Curves
1. Straight line = no change
2. Linnear interpolation: constant acceleration from A to B coordinate space, characterized by robotic-like movement. However in 2D space, for the representation of the movement, the change within the X coordinate space is described as linear interpolation.
3. ARC: create organic movements, particularly for “living creatures,” as they naturally move in arcs, allowing for implementation of ease in and ease out to refine the transitions between keyframes for smooth motion. The change within the y coordinate space, corresponding to height is described with the parabola movement.
XYZ Rotation Order
X: Forward and backward
Y: Rotation around the vertical axis
Z: Left and right
Bouncing Ball Exercise
Key Concepts
Energy Loss: As the ball bounces, it loses energy, resulting in shorter heights, fewer frames between keyframes, and smaller angles of rotation over time.
Physics Principles: Applies Newton’s 2nd law (each time a ball hits the ground it loses its energy), gravity is an external force that works on the ball causing it to fall down again after each bounce, alongside the momentum, and friction informs/define the movement and its trajectory.
Material Properties: The number of bounces depends on the material’s elasticity, weight, and height from which the ball is being dropped. All these must be justified within the animation, to achieve reliability and approximate reality while simulating it.
Animation Principles
SQUASH & STRETCH:
1) Mass Indication: The amount of squash and stretch should be applied in reference to the object’s material properties, as it reflects the object’s stiffness or softness.
– Soft Objects: High squash and stretch (e.g., rubber balls). – Stiff Objects: Low squash and stretch (e.g., bowling balls).
2) Volume Consistency: Maintain the object’s volume while deforming it, to avoid inaccuracy (fairly beginner mistake).
3) Timing:
– Stretch: As the ball accelerates downward or upward. – Squash: At the point of ground impact.
ARC MOVEMENT
Animation principles, state that all forms of the lives follow organic movements which are best approximated by circular/parabola-like shapes, not mechanical straight lines that define the linear interpolation.
In 2D, this can be visualized as a linear increase in the x-coordinate and a parabolic increase in the y-coordinate.
Keyframe Planning
Energy Decay: Each time the ball hits the ground, it loses energy. The subsequent bounce will not reach the same height.
Arc Movement: Bouncing follows an arc rather than a linear path for natural motion.
Squash and Stretch:
– Gradually reduce the squash and stretch effect over time. – The volume of the object should remain consistent during squash and stretch. – Avoid overusing squash and stretch for realism.
Motion Trails: Use motion trails in orthographic views to visualize and refine curved motion.
Planning and visualisation: – Work in the left view for planning and demonstrations. – Upload a picture of the sketch to SyncSketch for reference.
Observations & Practical application.
O. Breaking tangents in the Graph Editor allows finer control over the curve shapes, enabling more nuanced movement adjustments.
O. Removing keys helps explore the animation’s overall feel and assess whether it works before finalizing.
P. Applying the principles of squash and stretch gave the animation more life-like dynamics.
P. Observing motion trails provided a clearer understanding of how the object’s trajectory aligns with the principles of arcs.
Bouncing Ball Exercise
Planning
Delivering
The ball is dropped at the angle. Gradual drop at first followed by step line. As the ball is falling, it accelerates, so the speed up can be developed by making the curve gradual at first, followed by a steep curve.
The parabola-like curves, arcs, decrease in size as the balls lose momentum and energy.
During the first bounce, the arc defines the ball’s movement. It starts steep and becomes more gradual halfway through, representing the drop in velocity. At its peak, the ball reaches equilibrium, momentarily hanging in the air before gravity pulls it down again. As a result, the first parabola will have a noticeably flattened top to emphasize this equilibrium and make it perceptible to the viewer. In subsequent parabolas, the equilibrium point becomes less noticeable as the motion continues.
To refine the arcs, I broke the tangents and manually reshaped each arc to better approximate the natural movement of the bouncing ball.
The red path illustrates the changes in the ball’s rotation. While the direction remains consistent, there is a slight offset toward the end. As the ball moves, it gradually loses energy, momentum, and velocity, which also results in a reduction of its rotation. This is visualized by the decreasing distance between the rotation keys.
Although the overall rotation accumulates over time, as shown by the increasing graph, the spacing between consecutive keyframes reflects a decreasing rotation value.
Stretch and squash. The amount of it’s highest at the first bounce-off and then gradually decreases.
Welcome to whoever will be reading this blog. This serves as a documentation of my learning and development on the project for this part of the module. I’m beginning this module with no prior knowledge or experience with game engines. To be honest, I don’t really play video games, so you might find my notes obvious, basic, novice-like, or perhaps dull and boring. However, I’ll do my best to keep everything concise and digestible!
I’ll be approaching this from the perspective of a creative technologist, so you will find plenty of technical information, notes from class, and tutorials that I’ll be exploring during my individual studies.
Covered in class
Intro to Unreal: Visual Storytelling in Digital Space
We’ve gone through the administrative aspects of the course, which is divided into two separate blocks of classes led by Sara and George. Sara’s focus group will focus on Unreal Engine for World Building, Development Pipeline vor Virual Production including Pre and Post-processing, (primarily used for real-time rendering), while George’s group will focus on the animation fundamentals, theory and practice within Maya software.
Deliverable: Project Brief for this part of the Module ( referred to here as per immersion )
The project theme is open-ended, allowing for exploratory approaches to deconstructing familiar places. This theme must be approached with a clear and logical framework, supported by prior research to inform the implementation process.
Process Documentation
Submissions shall be accompanied by process documentation. This includes a minimum of 12 entries, corresponding to the number of weeks in the term, to reflect your weekly progress and development.
