The Bowling Ball Drop
I found this reference footage on youtube. It was helpful in helping me assess the speed, weight and timing of a bowling ball dropping from a height.
Rough Timings:
1st Drop - 0.4 seconds = 10 frames
1st Bounce - 0.5 seconds = 12.5 frames
2nd - 0.4 seconds = 10 frames
3rd - 0.2 = 5 frames
4th - 0.1 = 2.5 frames
These timings give a general impression of where the key frames should be allocated.
These are basic positions of the bowling ball on the drop. I noticed that the ball has a slight amount of spin also.
Once dropped, the ball picks up speed rapidly until it makes contact with the floor.
Once the ball dropped, a small amount of spin was generated causing a change in the direction of the bounce.
This was drawn to show how the ball behaves from the bounce. I shoots upwards using the speed and velocity that it made contact with and slows down once it reaches the height of the jump.
When the ball stops bouncing, it covered a minimal amount of space with a roll and slight spin.
Bowling ball 1st Capture from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
I have keyed out all frames with the timings that had been taken from the reference footage, but at this point there isn't any weight to the ball and seems quite slow.
Bowling Ball Capture 3 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Bowling Ball Capture 4 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Using the F-Curve editor I have attempted to give the ball a realistic movement by varying the speed of each bounce and have also decided on adding a slight roll after the bounce.
Bowling ball capture5 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Rotation has now been keyed in but it is not blending smoothly.
Bowling ball capture6 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
After studying the reference footage further, I have decided to cut the distance in which the ball travels after the bounce. The F-curves have also been edited to a finer degree, to make the blend more effective.
Bowling ball Capture 8 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
The Tennis Ball Drop
Reference footage:
(My Uca Tennis Ball Drop)
http://myuca.ucreative.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=null&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_12922_1%26url%3D
Tennis Ball on contact
Tennis ball toss (1.19)
Timings(approximate timings to help with keying the animation):
1st drop - 0.4 seconds = 10 frames
1st bounce - 0.3 seconds = 7.5 frames
2nd - 0.3 seconds = 7.5 frames
3rd - 0.2 seconds = 5 frames
4th - 0.2 seconds = 5 frames
5th - 0.1 seconds = 2.5 frames
6th - 0.1 seconds = 2.5 frames
7th - 0.1 seconds = 2.5 frames
Roll - 0.3 seconds = 7.5 frames
Approximately 50 frames
These were drawn to give me a general idea for height of each bounce, I used reference footage to study.
In the reference footage the ball picks up a minimal amount of spin from the 1st drop, which makes the ball bounce in a certain direction depending on which way the spin is generated. As the ball begins to speed up and the bounces are decreasing in height, more spin is generated.
Through further observation, it was noticed that a tennis ball when dropped from roughly a meter falls and bounces, it is relatively slow and only speeds up slightly as the bounce progresses. This is because of the material of the ball and the making. A tennis ball is hollow and therefore very light, the furry material on the outside of the ball is also designed to slow the ball down.
The roll : After the bouncing, it rolls over a short amount of space and the weight takes effect as the momentum is depleted, bringing it to a holt.
Tennis Ball Capture 1 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Using the timings gathered from reference material, the keyframes have been placed. It is quite fast at this stage, the tennis ball should be slower closer to the final bounce.
Tennis Ball Capture 2 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Using the F-Curve editor, unnecessary key frames have been deleted and the timings have been altered slightly to slow some bounces down.
Tennis Ball Capture 3 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Rotational key frames have now been added according to my footage and notes. The final part of the roll where the ball comes to a holt is quite severe and snappy. The idea was to have the ball fall inwards as the momentum stops and the weight takes effect.
Tennis Ball Capture 4 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Tennis Ball Capture 6 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
This capture was taken to help me observe whether the first few bounces were falling at the correct pace.
Tennis Ball Capture 7 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Tennis Ball Capture 8 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Tennisball Capture10 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
I have gradually cut down the final roll of the ball to eradicate the sudden jolt of movement, as I have had trouble correcting that particular part.
The Shuttlecock Drop
The shuttlecock must be animated as if, being hit over the net onto the other side of the court and shall make contact within the painted box on the court ground.
Reference footage:
Shuttlecock reference shot from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Shuttle cock reference screen recording from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
This reference footage was found on youtube and shows how a shuttlecock behaves when in the air
The shuttlecock tends to dip after being hit, it increases in speed on the drop.
Timings(flight):
From the air to contact point with the ground - 0.9 seconds = 22.5 frames
Point of descend from start - 0.4 seconds = 10 frames
Point of Contact
Contact reference shot from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
close up contact from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Timings for Contact
1st to 2nd contact - 0.3 seconds = 7.5
2nd to 3rd - 0.2 = 5 frames
3rd to 4th - 0.1 = 2.5 frames
4th to 5th = 0.1 = 2.5 frames
Shuttlecock Capture 1 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Shuttlecock Capture 2 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Shuttlecock Capture 3 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Shuttlecock Capture 4 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
Shuttlecock Capture 5 from Johnathan Sigalas on Vimeo.
