May2010: Whiplash

[stwert]

Yay! Done the animation, and rendering now. Will just have time to do a few final editing tweaks, output it from my video editing software, and upload it to vimeo before the deadline of May 31st midnight. That is the deadline... Right...? Right?

I would post a rendered still, but I've run out of DT attachment storage, and I haven't really set up an external file hosting site yet.

[DjVoyager]

and upload it to vimeo before the deadline of May 31st midnight. That is the deadline... Right...? Right?

That's right!

[stwert]

Final animation!
http://vimeo.com/12191140
Hope you enjoy. Watch it in HD!

[Dule]

Its awesome stwert

[DjVoyager]

Wonderful animation!

One suggestion for the future: When applying texture keep in mind its significance in the real world. For example, the texture of the little ball is that of a beach ball. Most people have a general idea of how a beach ball moves, it's a little slower compared to a regular ball, so your audience will more likely expect the little ball to behave like that. Presently, it is behaving like it's made of putty, though there's nothing wrong with it. Similarly, a shiny big ball will give an impression that the ball is heavy with very little squashing in its bounce. Hope that makes sense

Overall, I like the flow of the animation. Nice and quick cuts keeps the focus on the two characters.

[stwert]

Thanks for the comments. I agree with what you're saying, DjVoyager. I guess I was thinking more of a little stress ball than a beach ball. But I should be more careful about the psychological color choice.
The heavy ball is supposed to look like a bowling ball, and originally it didn't have any squash at all. Then I decided it looked too static and uninteresting, so I added some squash/stretch to keep it with a bit of a cartoony feel. (But hopefully not too much, trying to keep the heavy feel going on )

[vfxme]

Nice job overall Stewert. You could have stayed with less squash and stretch on the bigger ball. You would just need to do smaller bounces to show a heavier, more solid ball. A bowling ball would be good reference. It bounces very little and has almost no squash and stretch. Low bounces would show the rigidity of the ball. It would give the impression of weight too, like an elephant walking or somthing like that. I would also recommend half as much squash on the little ball too. Good squash and stretch should be more felt than seen, I've been told. Good energy though. Good work. Are you in on next months contest?

[stwert]

Thanks for the comments, vfxme. I appreciate the constructive criticism. I did consider the things you've mentioned as I was animating, and maybe I was a little over-zealous with the squashing. In the past though (with my very limited experience animating anything), I've felt that actions weren't really coming across very well, so in this case I was purposefully erring on the side of too much, rather than not enough, I think. I've definitely got a long way to go, and lots of reading, watching and practice ahead

As for next month, I'd definitely love to give it a try. I've got some other things on my plate this month, so we'll see how it goes.

[stwert]

Thought I'd try out the new vimeo tag with my whiplash entry: