In week 11 we studied 2D Effects. 2D effects consists of elements like water, rain, fire, smoke and explosion which in animation can be made to enhance a scene and be a form of substance for an action. There are different types of timing cycles for the different elements to create their organic and realistic presence as they are in real life.
Source: Week 11 – One to one feedback tutorials & animating 2D effects, Animating 2D effects.mp4
Burning fire
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- Not repetitive
- Can change shape very fluidly – the bigger the fire the longer the flames take to reach top of fire
- Requires cycle of 1+ seconds
- Can be arranged in or out of order
- Result – to look more alive and unpredictable as fire is in real life
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Smoke
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- Smoke can move in waves and circular curves, can be smooth, fluid lines or puffy shaped
- Drawings become closer together as smoke rises to top
- Requires cycle of several seconds (3+)
- action is fast at start then slow as it rises
- Result – to achieve the presence of smoke dissipating into air
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Snow
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- Requires cycle of several seconds (2+)
- Drifts in wavy lines, needs longer cycles to reach bottom of surface
- E.g. if you have animated snow in three positions of a scene, create three long cycles at different lengths – foreground moves faster than ones further away
- Result – to give the effect of a longer cycle (no noticeable repetition) of falling snow
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Flags/Banners
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- Requires no key frames – All frames stimulate movement
- Each frame should flow smoothly to the next
- Can use secondary action / follow-through cycle
- Result – to give realistic approach to wind catching flag
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Water
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- Smooth movement
- Requires cycle of 1+ seconds, can be split into two different movements
- Timing is crucial; too slow – oily, too fast – fizzy
- Water splashes radiates outwards into sheets, then splits into individual drops – splash depends on weight of object that hits water and/or depth of water surface
- Result – for a realistic rise/fall/curve movement
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Rain
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- Mechanical movement
- Can fall in different intensities, directions and slopes
- Requires fast timing/multiple layering
- Foreground raindrops tend to be faster than further away raindrops
- Needs long continuous cycle
- Result – effective rain fall and splashes
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Explosions
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- Explosions are effective to shock the audience – meant to be staggering and exaggerated
- Anticipation, then short series of bursts, then dispense of smoke
- Requires cycle of several seconds (3+)
- Result – dramatic effect to action
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2D effects are important in animation to give life and purpose to animated objects in a sequence. With 2D effects comes lively, realistic and entertaining actions.
Source: Week 11 – One to one feedback tutorials & Animating 2D effects, Animating 2D effects.mp4
In our World project we are looking into creating 2D effects such as explosions and smoke, we will experiment and see how this goes for us.
We took a one-to-one tutorial this week for the tutors to help us out and answer any questions that we had. I talked to Aodhan and he have me some great feedback and advice for the bits of animation I had completed so far. This is the feedback he had sent to me:
Make his stop and turn more panicked and less casual. Fix the perspective on the left hand building, foreshorten the open apartment bit. Push the depth a bit more by making your skyscrapers lighter. Make him a little bit bigger as he comes towards the screen. Line thickness for your BG to help with depth. Thicker lines in FG.
My edits to my animation are shown in blog post Cyberpunk World – Week 11.