This week I worked on a bouncing ball assignment that focused on planning rather than execution. Beforehand, I thought animation was mainly about the act of animating itself, but this exercise made it clear how crucial preparation is for creating believable motion.
By first creating a hand-drawn timing chart, I was able to better understand the relationship between height, speed, and time. The first drop of the ball starts high and fast, suggesting strong energy. With each subsequent bounce, the ball clearly loses energy, which is visible in the lower bounces and shorter arcs. Planning these moments helped me think more consciously about timing and spacing before I even started animating.
From the feedback, I learned that slow movement requires more frames and fast movement fewer, something I did not take into account enough in my initial planning. I was also missing some arcs and was not yet making enough use of tools such as the motion trail, which helps visualize movement more clearly.
I also gained insight into how subtle details make a big difference. My squash and stretch was too strong, and it was recommended to completely remove this effect after the third bounce. Each bounce should also become smaller until the ball eventually starts to roll. Finally, I learned how important proper cleanup in the Graph Editor is, by removing unnecessary keys at the end and adjusting the midpoint so the ball realistically slows down after each bounce.