How to Animate a Bouncing Ball

In the video below we show how to tackle the entry-level "Bouncing Ball" exercise.   Students at Escape Studios, like students at almost every course in animation, start off with the bouncing ball. This simple exercise introduces the principles of timing, spacing, paths of action and weight - four of the Twelve Principles of Animation.  Even a simple exercise like the bouncing call can be entertaining and interesting, and can be completed to a demo-reel level of skill.  You can download the rig for free at highend3D.

 

Bouncing Ball Rig from Escapee Dave Mattock

Free bouncing ball rig from David Mattock

We're liking this new free bouncing ball rig from Escapee David Mattock, founder of the independent animation studio Full Rotation Ltd, whose clients include Netflix.

David has recently launched a new YouTube channel teaching animation, 3d modelling, and motion design; the channel also serves as a growing online community for animation artists and freelancers. 

Bouncing Ball Tutorial with Marc Stevenson

Start with a bouncing ball

All animation courses begin with a bouncing ball. The Bouncing Ball Tutorial introduces animators to the basic concepts of timing and spacing, weight, paths of action and also squash and stretch.

A ball can be bounced well or badly, and the exercise - although superficially simple - can be done with skill and sophistication.

In this tutorial video, hosted at our Vimeo Tutorial Channel and aimed at junior animators, Escape Studios tutor Marc Stevenson shows how to make a ball bounce convincingly.

Bouncing Ball by Amanda Costa

All animation courses begin with a bouncing ball, and ours are no exception. The bouncing ball exercise introduces animators to the basic concepts of timing and spacing, weight, paths of action and also squash and stretch.

A ball can be bounced well or badly, and the exercise - although superficially simple - can be done to a high level of skill and complexity.  As with most of our classroom content, we have online videos to support classroom study.

Missed a class, or fallen behind? We've got you covered.  In this video, hosted at our Vimeo Channel, Studio Assistant Amanda Costa walks students step-by-step through the basics of animating a bouncing ball.

Meet The Bouncing Ball!

Bouncin' Ball 1.0.0

It's week 1 of Animation Core here at Escape Studios for our undergraduate VFX students, and also the first week for our short course animation students. Both groups are tackling the infamous bouncing ball exercise.

Why start with a bouncing ball? Well, pretty much every animation course on the planet starts with a ball. It's where students first encounter the concepts of timing and spacing, and also how to use important tools such as the Graph Editor.