Material obtained from a Guilford County Workshop, July, 2014

V204.02

Advanced Animation Techniques

Animation Animation is giving

movement to drawings or objects.

Two Types of animation Student generated

animation Computer

generated animation

Animation Student generated

animation Students can

manually transform, move, and/or modify 3D objects.

Students can manually set animation parameters.

Animation - Student Generated Manual animation changes will create key

frames. Key frames are frames that demonstrate major action. A computer will fill in the frames between each key frame. These filled in frames are called tweens. This process sped up the animation industry greatly since all of the frames did not have to be hand drawn.

tweens

key frames

Example: Frame one is a key frame set by the student

(teapot on a table.) Frame 100 is a key frame set by the student

(teapot on the floor.) Frames 2-99 are filled in by the computer and

are called tweens.

Animation - Student Generated

Animation - Student Generated

KeyFrame

# 1 KeyFrame # 100

Animation - Student Generated Students can insert and delete key frames in

appropriate locations. Students can move and copy key frames to

appropriate locations. Movements into and out of key frames can be

controlled. Imagine a ball bouncing on the floor. The movement of the ball is not smooth since the ball slows as it nears the top of its path and speeds up as it bounces. This effect can be achieved by editing these movements in and out of the key frames.

Animation - Student Generated Pivot points (axis

origin) can be adjusted. Example:A door hinge

has a pivot point on the side of the door. The door’s pivot point needs to be moved from the default (center) to the edge.

Default pivot point

New pivot point

Animation- Computer Generated Students can apply computer-generated

transformations, movements, and/or modifications of 3D objects.

Students can apply computer-generated settings of animation parameters.

Morphing is changing an object’s geometry from one shape to another. Used for facial animation Blends from one object into another object Materials can also be morphed

Animation- Computer Generated Controllers can add

animation. An object can be made to follow a path in a path controller.

Animation can simulate environmental effects such as detonation, gravity, water movement and flag waving.

Particles can be rendered. Particles can include sprays, rain, or snow.

It’s raining teapots

Animation- Computer Generated

Timeline for 3D Animation Frame rate is the

number of frames used in an animation and how fast they will run.

Students can lengthen or shorten an animation by adding or subtracting frames.

Students can make adjustments to key frame for editing purposes.

Timeline for 3D Animation Students can set the frame rate and number of

frames. 24 frames per second is used for editing

motion-picture film. 25 frames per second is used for editing PAL

(European standard.) 30 (29.97) frames per second is used for

editing NTSC (North American standard) video (television.)

Students will be able to calculate the number of frames and play rate in an animation. Using NTSC, a 120-frame animation will play

for about 4 seconds. 120frames/30frames per second = 4 seconds If a NSTC animation plays for 10 seconds, then

there are 300 frames. 10 seconds = 300 frames/30 frames per sec

Loop animation -- animations can be looped many times. This is useful in repeating a needed movement such as a bouncing ball.

Timeline for 3D Animation

Animating CamerasCamera movement can add to your

animations by allowing your audience to know more about the environment. The rate of movement helps the viewer understand distances within your scene. Architects use walkthroughs to

show clients what the proposed structure will look like. The camera follows a defined path, which is a line of motion the viewer takes as they walk around or through the building.

Animating CamerasLook At tools

automatically point a camera’s Z axis at a selected object’s axis origin and keeps the camera pointed at the object regardless of the path.

In some programs, the look at tool can be used to control not only cameras but also other tools such as a light. Look At

ToolCamera

Animating CamerasAttaching a camera to an

object is a simple way of getting the camera into the action.

An example would a roller coaster ride where the camera is glued to a passenger car and set to look ahead as the objects in the scene pass.

Motion blur tools blur everything in the scene, which can add realism to the scene.

Hierarchy and LinkingTo achieve realistic

action, you must study movement.

Professional cinematographers expend significant resources mapping the motion of humans, animals, insects, and objects when trying to create realistic computer graphic scenes.

Hierarchy and LinkingThe motion of a bouncing ball

is simple when compared to the multiple movements involved as the human leg is lifted, moved forward, and replanted on the walking surface.

Complex objects may be created from several parts (each with its own origins) that require individual movement or movement of all parts together as one unit.

Hierarchy and LinkingA part of the solution to complex

structures with different origins and X, Y, Z-axes is to organize the parts into a hierarchical structure.

Hierarchies allow the user to move the entire object and/or select and move individual components.

An example is the model of a truck, which consists of wheels and a body. The wheels need to rotate around their axes while moving forward with the body in a defined direction.

Hierarchy and LinkingHierarchical structures

allow the individual parts to be moved, rotated, scaled, colored, or textured independently.

A complex object formed by parts that are unioned will only assume a single color or texture and allow only a single transformation of the entire structure.

Hierarchy and LinkingComputer graphics programs

allow the parts to be linked using different hierarchies, the most common being the Parent-Child and the Sibling. The highest element within

the hierarchy is the parent or in our example, the entire truck.

The lower levels would be the children or in our truck example, the individual wheels.

Hierarchy and LinkingThe child(ren) will

follow the parent wherever the parent goes in a Parent-Child relationship.

Where the individual links are equal and do not contain a “highest level,” you have a sibling relationship.

Render and Output Rendering will allow

an animation or scene to be used in other applications. Also, files can be rendered using different file formats and different compressions.

A scene can be rendered form any view including a camera.

Render and Output Output can include a

single frame, an active time segment, and a range of frames.

Common output sizes include 320x240 through 800x600. The larger the output size, the longer the rendering time.

Render and Output Common single frame output

formats include bitmap, JPEG, TARGA, and TIFF.

Common multi-image formats include AVI and MOV.

Rendered images can be compressed. Compression will reduce the size of the file. A CODEC is used to compress the file.

A common CODEC is Cinepak. Using different CODECs will depend on your subject matter and desired output.

Render and Output Basic post-production editing are effects that

are added to a scene after the scene has been rendered. Lens Flare -- reality by recreating real

camera lenses such as streaks of light and secondary flares. Glows, rings, and streaks

Render and Output Depth of field - Objects inside

focal range can become blurred while main subject stays in focus. Depth of field is determined by the focal point and focal parameters.

Environmental mapping - adds a map to the environment. Add clouds or stars

Blurs - added to give the illusion of movement.

Render and Output Atmospheric effects can also

be added when rendering. Examples include fog, volume fog, combustion, and volume light. Adding fog to a scene can add realism.

Once files are created, they can be converted from one format to another depending on the software application. AVI QuickTime Real Player