Week 13 Exercise 4

1)  Apart from their different sizes, it is obvious from Luxo Jr. that the big lamp is “older” and that the small lamp is “younger”.

How is this communicated by the animation? Give at least THREE examples.

Do NOT say because the small lamp is playing with a ball, or that its name is Luxo Jr. – you should be looking at the animation, how the lamps move and emote (emote means to express emotions).

The big lamp is shown as being older by its slow movements and curiosity over the ball, displayed by it look at the ball for a while before interacting with it. Unlike the small lamp, the big lamp simply looked at the small lamp playing with the ball, apparently watching over the small lamp and only playing with it when the ball comes to it. Even then, it does it with lesser enthusiasm and does not shake erratically. The big lamp also shake its head when the small lamp plays with the big ball, probably an alternative to a sigh as the big lamp may be tired entertaining the more active small lamp.

The small lamp is shown as being younger by its tendency to jump and its rather quick movements, implying youth. Its different parts sometimes move independently, like its base, and unlike the big lamp, who stays in place, the small lamps moves around and jumps a lot. It also poses more joints which allows it to move more frantically. When the ball bursts, the small lamp turn to the big lamp, seemingly trying to see the big lamp's reaction, an action typical with children when they break stuff.

2)  Give an example from Luxo Jr of how timing is used for comic effect. Explain how the timing decisions contribute to the humour.

The timing of the small lamps sudden stop in movement after its consistent jump on the ball gives the illusion that something just happened and the slowness of the ball's squash motion makes it appear funny. The big lamp's quick, though startled, reaction before the appearance of the balls also gives anticipation and adds humor at its reaction to the ball's appearance.

3)   When you create a joint chain, these form a hierarchy, with the first joint at the top and the last joint at the bottom. Explain why this is necessary for the joints to work properly.

Selecting the first joint affects the rest of the joints while selecting the last joint only affects itself. Hence, it is necessary to place joints in the proper place.

Week 12 Exercise 2

1)  Do you need to be able to draw well to create good 2D animation? Explain your view.

Personally, I don't think you need to able to draw well to create good 2D animation. Some very good 2D animations comes with very simple drawings, often in the form of stick-men or dots. Good drawing only adds to the appeal and does not guarantee a good 2D animation. Also, focusing too much on drawing well could lead to neglecting good animation.

2) Do you need to be able to draw well to create good 3D animation? Explain your view.

As with the above, I still do not believe that you need to draw well to create good 3D animation. It is not the design that matters for 3D; rather the key-framing, the outlining and the rigging of the model is what is more important. Simple design makes it easier to animate and this usually leads to good animation.

3) What do you think would separate a piece of poor animation from a piece of good animation? In other words, how would you go about deciding if a piece of animation is good or bad?

 I think the one thing that separates poor and good animation is whether or not the movement is believable should a similar situation happen in real life, unless the animation is meant to be cartoonic. If it is supposed to be cartoonic, I think it is the smoothness of the animation that will determine its quality.

4) In 2D animation, you need to be very aware of timing at a frame by frame level, using timing charts and other techniques - but for 3D animation, this is handled using the graph editor, which is more concerned with manipulating rates of change over time.

Does this affect how you approach your animation work? Explain.

 No. Technically, both of them are similar as it revolves around the timing of the animation. The only main difference I see is that 3D requires the user to pay some attention on the model's surrounding while 2D model only have one view to worry about. 3D animation is also more varied and flexible.

5) Give a brief critique of Maya as an animation tool. Don't just say Maya makes animation difficult, or easy, or that you need to learn a lot of stuff to use Maya - explain what Maya does well and not so well in terms of creating animation.

 Maya does well in allowing a large number of options for modelers to create models and animators to create good animations. The options seems almost endless and there are so many of them, I think it will take a very long time to learn and understand them. However, it can be laggy and not really user-friendly, especially for new users as a lot of jargons are used. Regardless, tutorials can help and overall, the tool is very good.

Week 11 Lab 2

1) Why is squash and stretch so useful in animation?

It makes objects appear real rather than static or stiff. In addition, squash and stretch actually happens in real life, albeit not being so obvious.

2) Think of a situation in which extreme squash and stretch could be applied to a character - try to be original.

In a cartoon world, a character may be pelted with objects dropping on his head thrown by another unhappy character. It begins with small objects and lesser squash and stretch before bigger objects comes down and hence, more squash and stretch. This applies to the character and the falling objects. Rather than falling down onto the ground, the character remains still, allowing the squash and stretch to appear obvious, and exaggerated.

3) Think of an animation example where squash and stretch would NOT be appropriate

When a crane or a character gently places an object onto the ground regardless of hardness.

4) If squash and stretch doesn't really happen so obviously in real life, why do you think is it so effective in animation?
(Look at the title of Disney animator Ollie Johnston's famous book about animation - do an Amazon search ... there's a clue in the title!)

It gives the animation and the object the image of it being real or alive, or the illusion of life in its movements.

Week 10 Lab 2 Exercise 2

1. What is ease-in ease-out in reference to animation?

Ease-in ease-out refers to the proximity of the distance traveled by an object between each frame. Ease-in normally refers to when the distance traveled by an object slowly decreases while ease-out is the opposite: it increases. In terms of reality, this is mainly caused by gravity pull, although the cause may vary (Exhaustion, acceleration, deceleration, etc.) In the basic bouncing ball animation, ease-in ease-out occurs when the ball bounces off the ground and due to gravity pull, slows down mid air and decelerates before going back down at an accelerating speed.

2. What does frame-per-second mean?

Frame-per-second, abbreviated as fps, is the number of frames (images, pictures etc.) viewed on the screen every second. This method is used in videos. Normally, 24 fps is the average fps used by most videos and the human eyes can only detect individual frames as no more than 25 fps. Regardless, at higher fps (normally 60 fps) produces very smooth videos.

3. The spacing of the ticks in the animation chart is for an object bouncing with linear speed over 12 frames - draw a similar chart, but with ease-in and ease-out.

As the ball moves up, it decelerates due to gravity pull. At frame 4, it begins to ease-in, peaking at frame 6. After frame 6, it begins to fall down and accelerate, easing-out till frame 12.

Week 10 Lab 2 Exercise 1 Part 2

For the final part of Exercise 1, I chose the punching video:

The above is the animation chart for the scene, showing little by little how the pose of both the puncher and victim should be like. A lot of squash and stretch is involved for the puncher while the victim has a lot of secondary actions.

The above the actually animation for the scene, with the actors replaced with stickmen. This whole process is very tedious to make but overall, I am honestly proud of it despite its simplicity.

Week 10 Lab 2 Exercise 1

The above is the bouncing ball animation. It is set at 24 fps and possesses a combination of squash and stretch along with ease in and out. Squash and stretch is especially noticeable when the ball is about to hit the ground. With this example, I has an easier time doing the next animation.

The above is the animation chart for the bowling ball. The 5th frame (bottom left most) is a keyframe and has a minor amount of squash and stretch unlike the bouncing ball.  This is due to the hardness of a bowling ball. As it goes on, it slows down and the easing in and out gets more prominent.

The above is actually animation for the bowling ball. It is set at 24 fps and when compared to the bouncing ball, bounces less and slows down faster. In addition, I add in a rolling effect when it stops bouncing.

Week 10 Lab 1 Exercise 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQlgA68z_L4


The video displays the squash and stretch principle through the movement of the kicker's right leg. It changes shape as it is about to kick the soccer-ball. In addition, the kicking back of his leg shows anticipation right before he kicks the ball. Also, the goalkeeper's stance, along with his reaction to the ball being kicked, shows anticipation. The shaking of both the player's clothes shows the follow through and overlapping action as it continues to move despite the lack of movements from both player. The speed of the kicker's leg and the speed of the ball as it flies decelerates over time, showing the slow in and out principle. The ball and the kicker's leg move in an arc, hence another principle.

Finally, the timing principle is displayed. The time it takes for the ball to reach the goal post before being deflected to the goalkeeper's face is nicely timed, appearing realistic rather than too slow or too fast. The time it takes for the kicker to reach and kick the ball also applies to this principle, along with the goalkeeper's reaction to being hit by the ball.

Week 10 Lab 1 Exercise 1 and 2

Squat and jump

As seen in the video, Kevin’s legs and arms stretch out while jumping, appearing different from when he was squatting down. This shows the squash and stretch principle. The squatting position itself is in anticipation of the jump, showing the anticipation principle. The change of pose from squat to jump shows the pose to pose principle. The camera position is about to move in preparation for the jump, showing the staging principle. Kevin’s clothes and part of his hair does not move along with his body; rather it continues moving after he landed, following the laws of physics and the follow through and overlapping action principle. As he jumps, gravity begins to pull him down, slowing him down before descending. This is the slow in and out principle. As he jumps, his hand swings briefly, showing the secondary action principle. Lastly, the time it takes for him to land also shows the timing principle.

Punching

Jeremy’s hands and Vanan’s whole body shows the squash and stretch principle due to how it changes shape and position throughout the whole punching scene. Also, Jeremy’s very slow but brief jerk, along with the angry expression on his face and the clenching of his fist shows some amount of anticipation for his punch. I think Jeremy undergoes straight ahead action as his change of pose is minimal while Vanan’s reaction to the punch is pose to pose due to how he changes from standing to falling. Jeremy’s sleeves have follow through and overlapping action principle as it continues moving after the punch, although it isn’t so obvious. When Jeremy was about to punch, it started out slow before he got a swift punch. Vanan’s reaction was initially fast but slows down. Hence, both shows the slow in and out principle. Jeremy’s punch move in an arc, along with Vanan’s whole body after the punch. The clenching of Jeremy’s fist, along with the angry face, before the punch serves as secondary action. The timing of the punch and its following reaction keeps it realistic.

Throwing and catching

The way their arms move and changes shape shows the squash and stretch principle. Also, in anticipation for their throw, they swing their arms back before throwing. In addition, the catcher’s hands are stretched out, ready to catch the ball; another anticipation action. The camera movement, shifting between the thrower and catcher as the ball moves, shows the staging principle. Both catcher and thrower shifts from standing position to catching position before going to throwing position. This is the pose to pose principle. The shaking of the strings on Kevin’s jacket shows a minor amount of follow through and overlapping action. The speed of the ball constantly shifts from fast to slow and then fast again as it descends, showing the slow in and out principle. The ball’s movement, along with the movement of the catcher and thrower’s arms, move in an arc.

Throwing and catching with fakings

Most of the principles mentioned previously apply, though there are some additional actions that feature some of the principles. The fake throwing attempt shows the anticipation principle as it is similar to getting ready to throw. The movement of the arms while faking is in an arc and the slight change in shape before throwing is the squash and stretch principle. Also, while faking, the camera focuses on the ball, showing the staging principle.

Running

I grew bigger as I get closer and the change in shape for my whole body shows the squash and stretch principle. The camera’s focus being locked on me displays the staging principle. The movement more or less shows the straight ahead principle as there is little change from one pose to another. As I reach the top of the stairs, I begin to slow down, showing the slow in and out principle. The swinging of my arms is in an arc and serves as secondary action. The exhausted look on my face also displays secondary action. The time it takes for me to run up the stairs displays the timing principle.

Pushups and recovery

The bending of Jeremy’s arms displays the squash and stretch principle. The change of posture between each pump, along with his recovery from the pushup position shows the pose to pose principle since he changes pose multiple times. His clothes continue moving after each pump and after standing up, hence the follow through and overlapping action principle. As he does each pump of pushups, he descends quickly before stopping. He then pushes himself up at a slower pace. Thus, this displays the slow in and out principle. His arm moves in an arc for each pump and the movement of his arms as he recovers serves as secondary action.