Advanced Animation - Project 2 Jump Animation
24.09.2024 - .2024 (Week 1 - Week 14)
Low Li Vern/ 0362678
Advance Animation / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
PROJECT 1: WALK CYCLE ANIMATION
INSTRUCTIONS
I began by posing the neutral pose, which serves as the starting point for the jump animation.
For the anticipation pose, I focused on bending the waist to create a sense of buildup and tension. This helps emphasize the moment just before the jump, making the action feel more dynamic and exaggerated. By lowering the torso and preparing the character for launch, I set the stage for a strong, powerful jump that will follow.
For the contact pose in the jump, this moment comes after the bend (anticipation) pose, where the character is preparing to launch into the air. The character's body is in a crouched position, with knees bent and weight shifted upward, ready to push off the ground. The arms are pulled back in preparation for the jump, building tension and setting up the next action.
For the recovery pose, I really like how it turned out. I followed the reference closely, where the character’s head is looking down at the floor, and his left hand moves backward while the right hand is planted on the ground. This pose shows the character beginning to regain balance after the fall, with the arms and head positioning helping to convey the effort of stabilizing themselves. It creates a smooth transition toward getting back up.
For my first attempt, Mr. Kamal gave me some helpful feedback. He pointed out that the character's leg looked like it was sliding, and he showed me how to avoid this by adjusting the foot placement and ensuring more solid contact with the ground.
Low Li Vern/ 0362678
Advance Animation / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
PROJECT 1: WALK CYCLE ANIMATION
PROJECT 2: CARTOON JUMP ANIMATION
For Project 2, we are assigned to create a cartoony jump animation demonstrating three different speeds: slow, medium, and fast. Similar to Project 1, the animation must be created at 24fps, with lighting and rendering set to a resolution of 1280px x 720px.
We began Project 2 by animating our character using the jump key poses from the Animator’s Survival Kit book, following Mr. Kamal’s guidance in class. To ensure clear silhouettes, we utilized Blender's viewport shading function to view the poses in silhouette form during the animation process.
For this task, I started by searching for references to create a cartoony jump. After class, I decided to experiment with animating a jump that includes a superhero-style landing to make it more exciting. I searched YouTube for reference videos to guide my animation. I found one I really liked, recorded the video, and imported it into Blender to guide my animation.
To start the progress, I focused on reviewing a few important key poses: neutral, anticipation, contact, and mid-air poses. Following the reference closely, I also acted out some actions while blocking to ensure the poses felt natural and accurate. Additionally, I enabled motion paths in Blender to clearly visualize the torso's position, helping me plan the jump's distance effectively.
Fig 1.1 Neutral Pose
I began by posing the neutral pose, which serves as the starting point for the jump animation.
Fig 1.2 Anticipation Pose
For the anticipation pose, I focused on bending the waist to create a sense of buildup and tension. This helps emphasize the moment just before the jump, making the action feel more dynamic and exaggerated. By lowering the torso and preparing the character for launch, I set the stage for a strong, powerful jump that will follow.
Fig 1.3 Contact pose Jump
For the contact pose in the jump, this moment comes after the bend (anticipation) pose, where the character is preparing to launch into the air. The character's body is in a crouched position, with knees bent and weight shifted upward, ready to push off the ground. The arms are pulled back in preparation for the jump, building tension and setting up the next action.
Fig 1.4 Mid Air Jump
Fig 1.5 Jump Progress
For the mid-air pose in the jump, the character is fully off the ground, with their body stretched out. The legs are bent, with one knee higher than the other, showing movement and lightness. The arms are either outstretched or in a position that adds to the jump's energy. This pose captures the highest point of the jump, when the character is floating in the air before starting to come down.
Fig 1.6 Contact Pose Fall
For the contact pose in the fall, the whole body is tilted backward as the first leg nears the floor. The character’s torso is slightly arched backward, with the raised leg almost touching the ground, ready to make contact. The arms are often stretched out to help balance the character as they prepare to land.
For the recovery pose, I really like how it turned out. I followed the reference closely, where the character’s head is looking down at the floor, and his left hand moves backward while the right hand is planted on the ground. This pose shows the character beginning to regain balance after the fall, with the arms and head positioning helping to convey the effort of stabilizing themselves. It creates a smooth transition toward getting back up.
For my first attempt, Mr. Kamal gave me some helpful feedback. He pointed out that the character's leg looked like it was sliding, and he showed me how to avoid this by adjusting the foot placement and ensuring more solid contact with the ground.
After key posing the main poses, I added details to the jump, like the recovery pose, where the character bounces back slightly from the big bend and also the hand swing. I learned this technique from the pendulum animation exercise. I applied the same principles to the jump to make it feel more natural and fluid.
Final Cartoon Animation Jump
REFLECTIONS
n Project 2, I tackled the challenge of animating a jump. This was a great opportunity to explore the principles of timing, spacing, and squash and stretch in animation. The most interesting part was working on the anticipation and follow-through, which are crucial for making the jump feel natural and believable. I focused on how the character prepares to jump, the moment of lift off, and the landing impact. Getting the timing right for each phase was key to ensuring the jump looked smooth and dynamic. Overall, this project helped me refine my understanding of character movement and how subtle details can greatly improve the animation's realism.
THE END
Comments
Post a Comment