This week I started to polish my tail animation, and I found a problem. My rig model’s body can only be stretched up and down, and its direction cannot be adjusted. Because my blocking was made according to the real squirrel jumping, I had to re-make the blocking.
I am going to start making an animation of a ball with a tail. I have made many similar animations before, but I have a new feeling this time. The reference I found this time is the jumping of a squirrel in real life. The squirrel’s tail will move in the same way as the squirrel’s body, just a few frames slower.
In week 2, I learned 12 principles of animation: Squash and stretch; Timing and Motion; Anticipation; Staging; Follow-through and Overlapping Action; Slow in and slow out; ArcSecondary action; Timing; Exaggeration; Solid drawing; Appeal.
Also, the assignment is to create a critique ball animation, I created a blocking animation first, splined it and polished in the end.
On week 2 we started a brand new journey to study the animation. Began with how to choose a critical report topic.
I learned that art is made up of various visual components that work together to create meaning and emotion. These components are called the elements of art, and they include colour, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value.
Lines: An element that is created when a point moves through space, it can be two or three dimensional and can serve various purposes, such as being descriptive, implied, or abstract.
Shape: A two-dimensional element, defined by height and width. Shapes can be geometric, like squares and circles, or organic, which are more free-form and natural.
Form: Unlike shape, form is three-dimensional and has depth, width, and height. Forms enclose volume, like cubes, spheres, pyramids, or cylinders, and can also be free-flowing.
Value: Refers to the lightness or darkness of a colour or tone. The extremes are white (lightest) and black (darkest), with middle gray representing the halfway point.
Space: This element deals with the area around and within the artwork. It defines both positive (occupied) and negative (empty) space, helping to create a sense of depth and dimensionality.
Color: Made up of three main properties:
Texture: Refers to the surface quality or the way an object feels, or appears to feel. Texture can be real (tactile) or visual (suggested by the artist).
The lecturer also mentioned that the principles of art are the methods used to organize and arrange the elements within a work of art. These principles help achieve balance, harmony, and focus within the artwork. There are 8 principles: Balance, emphasis, movement, proportion, rhythm, harmony, gradation, and variety.
Rhythm: A principle that suggests movement through the careful repetition of elements, creating a visual tempo or beat.
Balance: The arrangement of elements in a way that creates a sense of stability or equilibrium. This can be achieved symmetrically (evenly balanced) or asymmetrically (uneven balance).
Emphasis (Contrast): The technique of using different elements to highlight differences and create focal points in an artwork.
Proportion: Refers to the relationship between the size of elements in an artwork, considering their size relative to each other and the whole piece.
Gradation: The gradual change in elements such as size, color, or value. It could involve transitioning from large to small shapes, or from dark hues to light hues.
Harmony: The combination of similar elements in an artwork to emphasize their similarities, often achieved through repetition or subtle changes.
Variety: This principle focuses on introducing diversity or contrast in an artwork. Variety is created by mixing different shapes, sizes, or colors to make the artwork visually interesting.
Movement: The principle used to create a sense of action, directing the viewer’s eye through the composition of the artwork.
I began with the bouncing ball, which I have done many times, but I still feel something new when I try to use the graph editor. I can drag the graph lines faster and more accurately than I did before. I was more skillful when I did the animation with the graph editor.
In this project, I tried to use fewer frames to create the most natural movement.
Translate Y
Translate Z
Rotate X
This week, we started our journey with Unreal Engine! We learned how to open the software and explored its interface. It was exciting to meet classmates. The lecturer introduced the session and helped us get comfortable with the tools and set goals for the course. Everyone seemed eager to dive deeper into game development.