Squash and Stretch / Anticipation - Bouncing Ball

In this module we are learning the 12 principles of animation, today we are covering 'Squash and Stretch' and 'Anticipation'.

We were given a scene which contained a sphere object, our task was to animate it so that it bounces around and after that we animated two spheres making them bounce into each other. The objects were rigged so that the object could be squashed and stretched and we incorporated this into the animation.

I learnt how to copy key-frames by using the Shift key, whilst dragging the key-frame selector.

The purpose of squash and stretch in animation is to give animations the realism and natural flexibility and weight of real objects.

image from Gamustra

As the ball falls it stretches as it falls and then squashes as it collides with the hard floor, the ball then stretches as it bounces off of the ground before shrinking back to normal size.

Ball falling begins to stretch

Ball squashes on colliding with the ground

The ball stretches after bouncing off of the floor

The balls shape returns to normal as it reaches the end of the bounce

Anticipation is when the character or object shows weight before taking action, this can be for example a baseball player preparing to throw a ball or when an enemy character is preparing for an attack. Anticipation can allow the viewers to predict what will happen next and it adds realism to the animation. Without anticipation in an animation it can create unexpected results or the viewers won't find the animation as believable.

image from Gamustra

When a character prepares to jump by bending legs, this is anticipation. In games, anticipation can allow the player to take action before things happen creating a more interesting gameplay such as allowing the player to avoid attacks from a boss.