QIULIHUA/0365036
Design Research Dissertation / Bachelor of Design (Honours)in Creative Media
Advanced Animation
INTRODUCTION
EXERCISE 1: BOUNCING BALL ANIMATION
My task is to create a smooth and realistic bouncing ball animation using the provided sphere models. The goal is to explore timing, spacing, trajectory, and physics properties to showcase the unique characteristics of each sphere.
bowling:
First, I referenced the spacing, arc, and physical properties of the bowling balls, and then used Blender to edit them. To better determine the ball's descent time, I used keyframes in the timeline, which made it easier for me to confirm the ball's spacing later.
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| fig1.0 Bowling process |
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| fig1.1 Bowling process |
ping-pong ball ：
I observed that because the ping-pong ball is relatively light, it has a large range of motion. The red trajectory line is the bouncing path "hit" step by step using keyframes. The core is to simulate the physical laws of gravity and decaying bounce, with the height of each bounce decreasing and the time interval shortening.
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| Fig 1.2 ping-pong ball process |
Beach ball:
I noticed that beach balls are quite light, almost like balloons, so I focused on the curve editor, a key tool for adjusting the movement rhythm, to make the beach ball's bounce feel more "light and floating."
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| Fig 1.3 Beach ball process |
Soccer:
I have observed that a soccer ball's bounce follows three core principles: the descent is an accelerating motion, the ascent is a decelerating motion, and the height of each bounce gradually decreases.
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| Fig1.4 Soccer process |
- Optimize the Beach Ball's animation curve by removing unnecessary keyframes to make the curve smoother and closer to a straight line. Adjust the overall green curve (Graph Editor) to make the movement more even, avoiding excessively fast movement, especially in the final segment where the speed needs to be slowed down, and adjust the final drop position to approximately -800. Add a node before the last keyframe of X Location and adjust the last keyframe to approximately -14, allowing the ball to decelerate naturally and come to a slow stop. Modify the outer rotation curve of the ball to ensure consistent curve changes with the preceding sections, guaranteeing a smooth rolling rhythm.
- The bowling ball's movement speed was too fast. Due to its weight, the bowling ball should bounce slightly in place before starting to roll forward to enhance realism.
- The soccer ball's Y-axis enter curve should be adjusted to a diagonal line for a more natural trajectory. The soccer ball's X Location curve needs to have redundant nodes removed and adjusted to a straight line. A new keyframe is added at frame 48, and the speed at the end of the scrolling is slowed down to ensure the ball stops smoothly.
- The ping-pong ball animation needs a continuous bouncing effect at the end; it cannot stop abruptly. Keyframes at frames 54 and 55 are adjusted to maintain a continuous bounce, improving the animation's naturalness and rhythm.
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| Fig1.5 Blender graphic modification |
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| Fig 1.6 bowling movement trajectory |
And modify the curve to make the motion trajectory the same.
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| Fig1.7 Blender graphic modification |
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| Fig1.8 Blender graphic modification |
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| Fig 1.9 ping-pong ball movement trajectory |
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| Fig2.0 Blender graphic modification |
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| Fig 2.1 Beach ball movement trajectory |
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| Fig 2.2 Blender graphic modification |
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| Fig 2.3 Blender graphic modification |
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| Fig 2.4 Soccer movement trajectory |
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| Fig 2.5 Blender graphic modification |
final bowling:
For this exercise, we need to work on this project using the end file that the teacher sent us.
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| Fig 1.5 ball with tall process |
First, I modified the image size according to the teacher's requirements and added a face as the ground of the image.
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| Fig 1.6 Image Size |
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| Fig1.7 added a face |
Then, we began creating the animation, utilizing the knowledge of sphere jumping from the previous lesson.
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| Fig 1.8 movement trajectory |
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| Fig 1.9 Blender graphic modification |
I removed the dragging motion of the object and, based on the teacher's feedback, made the object touch the ground when it was compressed.
Furthermore, I modified the shape changes that occurred after the object was compressed, making the tail at the very top of the first jump slightly pointed upwards.
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| Fig 2.0 尾巴改变 |
Exercise 2 - Ball with Tail：
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CNi8n7-VpgYoZVzopUb40IQGes01cqEl/view?usp=drive_link
EXERCISE 3: EMOTION POSE
Based on the teacher's feedback, I made detailed modifications to the characters.
https://www.canva.cn/design/DAHKBDCGUb4/Yfq7PbKAqJ5MuqDkoBGPGA/viewWEEK 12:
General Feedback:I need to change
Specific Feedback:
- The beach ball's animation curve needs optimization. Remove unnecessary keyframes to make the curve smoother and closer to a straight line.
- Adjust the overall green curve (Graph Editor) to make the movement more even, preventing the object from moving too fast, especially slowing down the final segment. Adjust the final drop position to approximately -800.
- Add a node before the last keyframe of X Location and adjust the last keyframe to approximately -14 to allow the ball to decelerate naturally and come to a slow stop.
- Modify the outer rotation curve of the ball to keep the curve changes consistent with the previous segment, ensuring a smooth rolling rhythm.
- The bowling ball's movement speed is too fast. Due to the bowling ball's weight, it should bounce slightly in place before starting to roll forward to enhance realism.
- The soccer ball's Y-axis enter curve should be adjusted to a diagonal line for a more natural trajectory.
- The soccer ball's X Location curve needs to have redundant nodes removed and adjusted to a straight line. A new keyframe is added at frame 48, and the speed at the end of the scrolling is slowed down to ensure the ball stops smoothly.
- The ping-pong ball animation needs a continuous bouncing effect at the end; it cannot stop abruptly. Keyframes at frames 54 and 55 are adjusted to maintain a continuous bounce, improving the animation's naturalness and rhythm.
REFLECTION
Through this ball-bouncing animation exercise and the teacher's feedback, I realized that although I had completed the basic movements of different balls, there were still many areas for improvement in adjusting the animation curves (Graph Editor) and representing physical motion. For example, the curves in some keyframes were not adjusted to straight lines, resulting in unnatural changes in object speed; some balls moved and rolled too fast, failing to show the motion characteristics that different materials and weights should have. Furthermore, the deceleration and pauses at the end of the animation were not handled smoothly enough, making the overall animation look rather stiff.
The teacher suggested that I adjust the curves in the Graph Editor to make the overall motion smoother, and also modify them according to the characteristics of different balls. For example, the beach ball needs to slow down its final movement and stop naturally; the bowling ball, due to its weight, should bounce slightly in place before starting to roll; the soccer ball needs to have its direction and rolling rhythm adjusted; and the ping-pong ball needs to have continuous small bounces added at the end to reflect its lightness and elasticity. This feedback helped me understand more deeply that animation is not only about completing the action, but more importantly, about enhancing realism through speed changes, ease-in and ease-out transitions, and motion patterns.
Through this exercise, I learned to use keyframes and the Graph Editor to control the animation rhythm, and I also gained a better understanding of the differences in motion caused by different objects due to variations in weight, material, and elasticity. In the future, I will pay more attention to detail when creating animations, repeatedly checking keyframes, motion curves, and rhythm changes to continuously optimize animation quality and make my work more natural, fluid, and convincing.
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