In week 7 we studied Animation basics. We looked more specifically at timing and spacing. These features are apart of the 12 principles of animation. Timing refers to the number of drawings or frames for an action, which translates to the speed of said action. It is how long something takes to happen or not happen. Spacing refers to where that object is at each frame of the animation. The distance of each space in each frame gives the illusion of movement.
Frame rates consist of how many drawings are displayed in motion every second. Here are some examples:
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- 1’s, 24 images in 24fps (fast, fluid)
- 2’s, 12 images in 24fps (a little choppy)
- 3’s, 8 images in 24fps (choppy, limited)
- Can go higher (4’s, 5’s) can mix frame rates above
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Source: Week 7 – Animation Introduction, Lecture & tutorial videos, Animation 101 lecture.mp4
Timing and spacing is important in animation because they determine how action can move in any kind of way. I completed some activities trying out timing and spacing. I used Adobe Animate to complete these activities.
At first I tried out an experiment Alec had shown in the lecture video to practice timing and spacing in different frame rates with a ball shape.
Source: Week 7 – Animation introduction, Bouncing Ball – Animation tutorial.mp4
My homework was to animate 3 bouncing balls of different weights, such as a tennis ball, or a bowling ball. Before I attempted this homework I made a practice run with the help of this diagram my tutor provided. Source: Week 7 – Ball bounce timing & Adobe Animate hotkeys.pdf
The first ball I animated was a volley ball. I figured this kind of ball would be quite neutral but has a bounce to it. I used this video as reference: https://youtu.be/Rq3kErnT-oE?list=LL
The second ball I animated was a ping pong ball. This kind of ball would bounce vertically unlike other balls; it is also quite small and light which can be seen when it bounces. I used this video as reference: https://youtu.be/-aTibaqEwl8
The last ball I animated was a bowling ball. This ball is very different from the rest as it carries much more weight. A bowling ball bounces very little compared to others. I used this video as reference: https://youtu.be/8eejc0p7nCM