animation exercise 2

This is a simple exercise I've taken from the "stopmotion pro" website.

Make a ball go crazy in this tutorial that explores the concept of "replacements". Replacment is basically substituting models between frames.  You can save a lot of time using this technique

 

Make 5 round balls all the same size. Deform 4 of the balls so they end up looking like this. 

The ball on the far left has been slightly squashed vertically, this will give you ball a bit of squash when it jumps around.

Leave one of the balls round, this will be the "normal" position of the ball between movements.  The remaining three balls should be made conical, this is the stretch to give your ball speed.

Use the round ball to start with, shoot a few frames of it stationary. Capture a frame of the ball in the new position.  You can then position the next replacement ball shape.

The image below shows one of the movements overlaying each other.  You can see the relative positions of each of the substitute shapes.

Note how the vertially squashed ball is used the frame before the "normal" ball.  This helps give the ball an elastic effect.

Go ahead and try your own timing, add extra shapes and slow the animation down.  Stretch the balls even further and really make it shoot about.

Tip: A few frames (5 -10) of the ball stationary will give your audience time to catch up

animation exercise - bouncing ball

A good place to start with your animation is with a simple bouncing ball exercise.  You don't any puppets and it incorporates rhythms, weight, arcs and timing.

Point your camera downwards towards your desk or floor then use a coin and then follow the spacing on the diagram below to make it look like it's bouncing.  The ball should move slower at the top of the arc where momentum turns to gravity.

Try it several times each time try express different weights/types of ball by varying the spacing and the height

If you use plasticine or blu-tack you can include some squash and stretch as the ball impacts onto the ground.