STRETCH & SQUASH
INTRODUCTION:
Squash and stretch is the phrase used to describe "by far the most important" of the basic principles of animation.
It is what gives some elasticity and flexibility to your animation. When an object hits the ground, the impact drawing will be really squashed. As it bounces off the ground, it will stretch in the opposite direction. The stronger the squash and stretch is, the smoother and bouncier the animation will look.
As you squash and stretch an object, it is really important to maintain the volume of the object. When you squash something down, you need to proportionally stretch it sideways, otherwise, the object will look like it is getting smaller.
Squash and stretch is the phrase used to describe "by far the most important" of the basic principles of animation.
It is what gives some elasticity and flexibility to your animation. When an object hits the ground, the impact drawing will be really squashed. As it bounces off the ground, it will stretch in the opposite direction. The stronger the squash and stretch is, the smoother and bouncier the animation will look.
As you squash and stretch an object, it is really important to maintain the volume of the object. When you squash something down, you need to proportionally stretch it sideways, otherwise, the object will look like it is getting smaller.
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BEGINNER LEVEL:
ASSIGNMENT #1- CREATE A 30+ FRAME BOUNCING BALL Using PENCIL 2D, SKETCHBOOK, or KRITA go through the steps in The Larry Toon Institute "Bouncing Ball" Lesson.If you need help with using PENCIL 2D's Frame by Frame Animation tools, review the videos on the TUTORIAL PAGE. See the examples below to give you an idea of what your animation should look like. Go the extra step, introduce a background, what is the ball jumping off of? Start with the basic black and white outline, then introduce color and shading to your ball and ground. |
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ADVANCE LEVEL:
ASSIGNMENT- CREATE A CHARACTER MOVEMENT USING "STRETCH & SQUASH" Make a character jump, hop, run off, bounce, turn it's head quickly, or look surprised. It does help to draw your character frames in pencil first and then take photos of it. Import the images into your animation program so you have a drawing to use for reference. The more frames you include, the more fluid the motion will look. |