Anticipation and Squash & Stretch

With animation, I am constantly faced with new challenges and opportunities to express my creativity. I've bee using the animation software Maya again. These tasks focus on core animation principles like anticipation and squash & stretch, which are vital for creating lifelike movements. In this blog post, I will share my experiences with animating a bowling ball and ping pong ball and creating a devastation pose using the bony rig.

Animating Bouncing Balls: Bowling Ball and Tennis Ball

One of my first tasks was to animate two bouncing balls with different weights: a bowling ball and a tennis ball. Initially, I struggled to understand how each ball should behave based on its mass. The bowling ball, being heavier, needed to show less bounce and a slower, more deliberate fall. On the other hand, the light and bouncy nature of the tennis ball called for quicker, more energetic movements.

To accurately represent these differences, I applied the squash & stretch principle. I used YouTube videos as references. As the heavier bowling ball hit the ground, I squashed it down very slightly to show impact and stretched it slightly when approaching the ground. Conversely, the tennis ball needed to be squashed a lot more on impact and stretched significantly, bouncing back quickly. This contrast helped enhance the visual appeal of my animation, showcasing both balls’ unique characteristics.

Creating My Favorite Devastation Pose

Another exciting assignment involved creating a devastation pose using a bony rig. At first, I felt overwhelmed because mastering the bony rig in Maya was no easy feat—it is a massive learning curve! I wanted to convey an intense emotion through my pose, one that communicated strength amidst chaos.

After several attempts and a lot of trial and error, I finally landed on a pose that encapsulated that feeling. I focused on the weight distribution and the angles of the limbs to express a confident stance. The process taught me the importance of building character through pose and dynamics, which I will carry forward into my future animations.

Sketchbook Reflections: Sketching Strength

While working on these animations, I made sure to sketch different human character poses that communicate strength. Incorporating sketches into my learning process has been beneficial for honing my understanding of body language. However, it has also been a challenge to consistently capture the essence of strength in my sketches.

I documented my progress and reflected on my challenges, recognizing that sometimes my sketches did not translate the way I envisioned them. To overcome this, I studied references and experimented with various angles and forms— ultimately leading to better portrayals of strength in my work.

In conclusion, my journey with Maya has been filled with both lightbulb moments and difficulties. Each assignment pushes me to think critically about animation principles like anticipation and squash & stretch while reinforcing my understanding of character and pose. I look forward to sharing more of my animations and sketches in the future as I continue to learn and grow as an artist in this field.