Week 2: 07-02-08

Week 2: 07-02-08

This week we started to look at the basics of animation. Above is my attempt at a simple bouncing ball. The technique I used for this is Key frame animation. Like many 3D packages, Studio Max uses a time line that allows you to work on individual frames. by using the Auto key you can ache vie movement of objects. If you position an object in one key and then move it in another, Max will create the animation in between those two points.

In order to get realistic animations you need to need to give a lot of consideration to way the object would move in the real world. because I am animating a ball I have rotated it through the animation to give the impression that it is rolling. Another really important tool is the curve editor. this allows to adjust the position of an object and the speed that it moves. in the case of a ball rather than moving from one key to another at a constant speed, it can slow as the energy of each bounce fades.

I have also started to try and finalize my ideas on what I want to produce. Starting with the mood board I created during Week 1, I have begun to raise specific questions to try and pin down what I want to create.