For this project, i am actually not that satisfied with the end results. My animation could have been better - adding squash & stretch to the boxes as well. But instead, i pretty much did a poor job of applying squash & stretch to the ball. I could have done better with the flow of the animations. My robot seems to jerk at some points. Some were accidental, but most i set on purpose. For instance, when the ball first appears, the robot jerks back a little to express shock(?). As well as the moment where the robot realises it didn't hit the ball (when the ball makes its second appearance). Towards the end, i animated the robot in such a way that it seems like it's questioning/demanding answers from the ball. (This part is pretty fast, bad keyframing). Also, the part where the ball decides to ruin the robot's work, it knocks the boxes tooo quickly. Overall, the animation was kind of ...not up to my own expectations. Some parts were pretty smooth, some parts...the timing was pretty off. The ball didn't move properly as it rotated & bounced. The boxes...oh god, they didn't even "fly" off properly upon being hit by the crazy ball. (I was probably too lazy to keyframe those properly)I simply made them fly out of the camera view, so i wouldn't have to add more keyframes. (Because i have a bad sense of timing)...Sigh.
I feel i could have definitely did better at the small details in the animation sequence if i wasn't so distracted by...umm, well, other stuff.
So here are just a few screenshots i took. Omg at the number of keyframes, but im sure everyone else experienced the same thing.
And here's the playblast.
Watching the playblast, i found even more bad animation in my work. The last red box my robot stacked seems to sort of slide into place as it is being stacked. Completely unnatural & weird. Oh, and i admit i tried to hide the bad rotation of the ball by applying such a ramp texture. Though it doesn't seem so bad here...BUT, i think i forgot to reposition the ball after adding squash & stretch. Oh no. -_-
So we start out with a given model of a mechanical arm & a crate.
By opening up a two panel view, it is easier for us to see the hierarchy of the mechanical arm.
So it makes it easier for us to rig it as well.
Here, i learned to create the rig for the mechanical arm.
A sort of mechanical frame which will enable it to move.
The order of the hierarchy is VERY important.
The first time i parented parts of the mechanical arm, i did it wrong.
& my mechanical arm went all haywire - the swivel base rotate left while the rest of mechanical arm just dislocated & flew in a different direction.
Here, after correcting errors. My mechanical arm finally moved properly.
Now here's a playblast.
Reflection for Ex2:
The rigging is definitely tedious and every step is crucial.
One wrong step & we'll end up with an object that can dislocate and fly all around the scene instead of moving as a whole. The keyframing is important, else the crate will end up falling halfway. (As if the mechanical arm lost its hold on the crate)
Ex3:
Continuing from the rig from the previous exercise, i had to re-animate the mechanical arm & the crate to make it seem like there is a conveyor belt moving the crate along.
So i had to reset all the different keyframes.
& the playblast.
Reflection for Ex3:
Because i reused the rig from Ex2, it is simpler yet just as tedious. I had to time the animation just right & reset all the keyframes - where the box should be parented to the mechanical arm & when it should be unparented (released).
Still, this is very useful since i will be doing something similar for our next project.
Ex4:
1) Apart from their different sizes, it is obvious from Luxo Jr. that the big lamp is “older” and that the small lamp is “younger”. How is this communicated by the animation? Give at least THREE examples. Do NOT say because the small lamp is playing with a ball, or that its name is Luxo Jr. – you should be looking at the animation, how the lamps move and emote (emote means to express emotions).
Firstly, it is obvious from the way the lamps are animated - which is the "older" lamp. The smaller lamp is animated in such a way that it has the personaility/characteristics of a young child. It is active/energetic & playful. Hopping around & chasing after the ball like a kid would. Whereas the bigger lamp, moves in a slower & gentler pace. Other than swivelling around & bending down, it doesn't seem to move in any other direction. (Like an old man)
Secondly, what these lamps are doing. The bigger lamp, like i said, doesn't move around much besides turning around every so often, observing the area. While Luxo Jr. is playing around. Like an adult watching over its child. This, too, shows which is "younger" or "older".
Thirdly, how both lamps react to each other. The big lamp knocks the ball towards Luxo Jr., like how an adult/a parent would play with a child.When Luxo Jr. accidentally deflates its toy, it looks up and around, as if to say "What just happened?". Big lamp then nods as if to tell Luxo Jr. that "Yes, it's broken. You can't play with that anymore." Big lamp then shakes its head like it knows another accident is bound to happen or to show disapproval. And Luxo Jr. hangs it's head, feeling dejected for a while before slowly hopping away.
2) Give an example from Luxo Jr of how timing is used for comic effect. Explain how the timing decisions contribute to the humour.
After a long pause where the big lamp looks at the deflated ball, then after Luxo Jr., a much larger ball then rolls along. And the bigger lamp jumps aside to avoid the incoming ball. Following the new toy, comes an enthusiastic Luxo Jr., once again chasing & playing with the ball.
The timing of the pauses and moments before something is about to happen, is such that it gives a audience something worth the wait. Especially the part where we thought the video was about to end when Luxo Jr. hops away after the ball deflated. But we didn't anticipate an even bigger ball to suddenly roll past. The ball also seems to deflate pretty slow, creating an awkward atmosphere for both lamps. Awkward moments are often funny to others (audience).
3) When you create a joint chain, these form a hierarchy, with the first joint at the top and the last joint at the bottom. Explain why this that is necessary for the joints to work properly.
It is so that the movement of each component is more natural. The animation will flow smoothly & doesn't have sudden/unecessary movements. The joints/hiearchy, as taught, is like a skeleton assigned to a body structure. It moves just like the human skeleton. For example, a human arm. When reaching out for an object - one would extend their arm towards the object. The elbow will bend before the hand moves & grips the object. If the order of connections are wrong, imagine - one moving his fingers, then extending the forearm before bending his elbow...weird & unnatural. Therefore, The order of how each joint is connected is essential for IK animation to work properly.
