Why does every animation student end up animating a bouncing ball early in their career? What is it about this assignment that has made it a right of passage? Moving a circle along a curved path trying to replicate the gravitational forces we see in the real world distills some of the more complex fundamentals into manageable bites. For those not confident in drawing skills, well it’s just a circle! The path of motion is obvious and intuitive, so this project is hopefully a confidence builder for most people, and a jumping off point for more complex movement. And for the skilled animator, there are all sorts of ways to add additional challenges with perspective, ricochets, and uneven surfaces.
My method of teaching the bouncing balls starts with real-world observation, a fun in-class activity that gets students up, outside and hopefully not breaking things!
You can find the assignment details here, which can be modified to your own particular goals and timeline.
And thanks to the pandemic, I’ve now got some online tutorials on how to get started.
Real-World Observation videos
Getting started with arcs and timing
You may also like this
Assignment: Walk-in-place Cycle
Walk Cycle Tutorial
Animation Fundamentals, flipped!
Cultivating Healthy Animators
