If a ball bounces in the woods, and there is no one around to hear it. Does it make a sound? How indeed can sound exist if there is no one there to hear it. For sound is merely the perception of the disturbance in the air.
Now hopefully you’re having a moment of clarity. In this zen-like state it’s time to learn!
The concept of timing and spacing are the CORE of animation. A concept you’ll use over and over in everything you do. Here is a great video that describes this concept cleanly and succinctly.
(Ignore the fool bouncing it). Take note of the bounce sounds and when they happen. If you were to muffle the sound of the bounce, by bouncing it on carpet perhaps. You could still guess that it was a basketball purely by the timing of the bounces. This is what is the essence of the Bouncing Ball assignment.
It is important to go out and get reference for animation assignments. Either filmed yourself (preferred) or taken from the internet. It’s also one thing that will make your animations stand out from the crowd.
This one goes to Eleven!
If you’re not familiar with the 11 Second Club, check it out. It’s a great little community of animators and enthusiasts. A place you can hone your skills, critique others work and check out the forums. One such post is below.
11 Second Club Bouncing Ball Tutorials
If you’re new to Maya, or 3D in general. Here is a quick start.
REMEMBER this is not the only way to do things, nor is it the best. But it is a quick method of getting something in front of you if you’re struggling and are new to this. The ball bounce still needs tweaks to get right. Those are your task. ;)
This is an amazingly simple rule of thumb for making something fall accurately at the speed of gravity. Keep in mind of course that Animation is an artform and your mentor might want to distort true physics slightly to make it feel better.
The most common approach to calculating wheel rotation, and also similar to the one I use, is a postscript that bakes rotation per frame based on the distance traveled from the last frame. However, this process has certain drawbacks, for example the wheel going straight up (such as being raised on an elevator) or fishtailing sideways. In these instances, the wheel is not moving forward, so would not need to rotate. The solution that I’ve found is a bit more involved than judging distance per frame, but rather the difference per frame.
An involved process for finding out the rotation of an object. Regardless of size. Keep it for reference later on. For now you can totally eyeball it to ensure it’s working correctly.
