WEEK 1
On Friday 6th we were supposed to have a lesson with George, but it had to be rescheduled for Friday the 13th, in this case, I’m going to talk about the lessons as it was in the first week of the term.
During the initial class, we delved into the fundamentals of animation, focusing on the classic exercise of animating a bouncing ball. George also emphasized that effective animation is 60% planning and 40% execution, highlighting the importance of a well-thought-out concept before starting the actual animation process, well-planned animations tend to be more cohesive and successful.
For our first homework assignment, we were tasked with planning out the animation of our bouncing ball. we had to think about the key elements such as timing, spacing, and the trajectory of the ball. Planning could also involve sketching out keyframes or creating a storyboard.
While I was working on the homework, I considered breaking down the motion into key poses and frames. and I had to think about the speed, height, and rotation that I wanted to give to my bouncing ball animation. This planning phase will serve as a roadmap for the actual animation work I will do later.
Following the planning stage, I conducted additional research to enhance my understanding of animating the ball and then I commenced the animation process using Maya and the required downloadable model. While I had some prior experience with this software, it proved a bit challenging initially.
For the initial attempt, I animated the bouncing ball, and in the second iteration, I introduced ball rotation. In the third try, I incorporated both squash and stretch and after George’s critique, I refined my animation.
In our introductory session with Unreal Engine, we delved into the basics of the software, laying the groundwork for further exploration. The prospect of utilizing Unreal Engine to construct immersive environments for animating scenes immediately caught my attention. While my primary focus currently revolves around character animation and a modest foray into visual effects (VFX), the diverse capabilities of Unreal Engine have sparked my enthusiasm. As I continue my journey with this software, I look forward to incorporating its features to enhance the visual storytelling aspects of character animation and delve deeper into the realm of VFX
Leave a Reply