010AnimationBasics

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Chapter

10

Animation BasicsChapter 10:

In this chapter, you will learn the essentials of animation. Although animation is not always used

in presentations of design projects, it is a good idea to have some familiarity with its concepts and

capabilities. More in-depth explanations of this topic would be reserved for more advanced

material.

Objectives

After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

n Create a basic animation using keyframes

n Create animation using an alternative animation technique

346 n Chapter 10: Animation Basics

Lesson: Animation Basics

Overview

3ds Max® and 3ds Max Design provides tools for animation, but to animate well, you also need to

understand and use the laws that govern animation. In this lesson, you will learn about the general

principles of animation and the tools provided for in the software.

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

n Describe the process of animation, save and modify keyframes, animate different types of

objects efficiently

n Work with the Track View editor

Lesson: Animation Basics n 347

Animation Theory

About Animation

Before you start animating objects in the scene, there are some fundamentals rules to learn about. We

will start with some background information on animation and then move into the specifics.

History of Animation

People have always told stories. Animation, like filmmaking in general, is one way of telling a story. But

what is animation exactly? Animation is a sequence of images, with slight differences from one image

to the next, which gives the impression of movement.

Here are some key developments in the history of animation:

n In 1826, one of the first animation gadgets was the thaumatrope. It consisted of a disc with an

image painted on each side: a bird and a cage. You would crank it using a string, and when you

released the disc it would spin, and the bird would appear to be inside the cage.

n Later, in 1874, Eadweard Muybridge was hired by a California governor to see whether or not a

trotting horse ever had all four feet off the ground. The California governor needed the proof to

settle a bet. Muybridge, with a series of photographs, proved that a trotting horse does indeed

have all four hooves off the ground at a certain time. His photographic sequences were one of the

origins of motion pictures.

n In 1913, Felix the Cat was one of the first animated cartoons to hit the big screen, and by far one

of the most popular of its time.

n Then in the 1920s, Disney combined animation with sound; shortly after, Mickey Mouse was born.

His studio also created feature-length animations.

n Much later, in 1974, computer animation was employed in “Hunger‚” a short computer-graphics

(CG) movie.

n In 1995, Pixar Animation Studios, in collaboration with Disney, created Toy Story, the first full-

length CG movie.

Today, 3D animation has taken the place of traditional, hand-drawn animation as a cheaper, faster,

and more efficient way of animating characters, with specialized television cartoons broadcasting

around the clock, along with the movie and gaming industries, 3D animation seems to be the

way to go.

The basic principles of animation remain the same, where slight differences in object position from

frame to frame create the illusion of motion.

A bouncing ball is a classic animation exercise


2D versus 3D Animation

3D animation differs from its elder sibling in that you have to deal with three dimensions instead of

two. When you animate, you have to consider all angles in order to have a good understanding of your

animation. Thus, the viewport configuration becomes very important.

You need to know where the positions of the limbs are going to be at all times, so they don’t intersect

with one another.

Time

Time is the essence of animation. When you move your hand to pick up a coffee cup, you need time

to reach your goal. If the allocated on-screen time is too slow or too fast, it changes the whole meaning

of the motion. Thus, time is a crucial element of animation.

In animation, the measure of time is a unit called a frame. More precisely, the measure of time is

defined by the number of frames in a second of animation. Depending on your medium or

geographical location, one second of animation can be equal to 24 frames (film), 30 frames (the North

American NTSC video standard) or 25 frames (the European PAL video standard). A second is still a

constant measure of time, but the difference is the number of images that are shown in one second.

By default, 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design are set to work in NTSC mode at 30 frames per second

or 30 fps.

Time is also very important in making your animation look right. This is called timing!

Keyframing

In the early days of traditional animation, an artist would hand-draw all the images of a movie, from

start to finish. Later on, the task would be divided among several artists. The lead animator would draw

the main positions of a character, or the “key” positions, and assistants would draw the in-between

frames.

In 3D animation, the term “key” is still in use and is sometimes referred to as a keyframe. It is a value

recorded on an object at a specific frame.

Front and Left viewports layout Perspective, Front, and Left viewports layout

A key is displayed as a small, colored rectangle.

Red is for position, green is for rotation, and

blue is for scale.


Once you’ve created keyframes, the software acts as your assistant and creates the in-between frames

by interpolating automatically from key to key.

Auto Key & Set Key

There are two distinct types of animation approaches: automatic keying called Auto Key and explicit

keying called Set Key. Each approach has its own particular advantages.

n Auto Key allows you to animate freely. When Auto Key is on and you are on a frame other than 0,

keys are created automatically when you transform an object or change its parameters.

n Set Key creates animation only when you explicitly set an animation key. This method of animation

favors what is often referred to as pose-to-pose animation. You establish all the transforms and

parameters you need at a given frame and then set the keyframe.

Animation Control

As you have just seen, it is easy to animate objects. However, it is crucial that you are also able to

control how objects behave when animated. The application offers many tools to control the

animation so that it does not get out of hand. There are also some tools to help you embellish the

motion so you can achieve more realistic results.

Track View

Track View is a very important feature; it’s the animator’s special tool for fixing and adjusting

animation. There are two types of Track View: the Curve Editor and the Dope Sheet. The Curve Editor

is useful for correcting the trajectory of an animated object and to adjust timing, while the Dope Sheet

is more useful for copying and pasting keys.

Timing

Timing is arguably the most important aspect of animation. Timing is the number of frames it takes to

make a certain movement or the time it takes to hold that movement.

Take a really energetic character, almost too energetic. Picture him in your head, the way he walks,

moves, talks. All motion emanating from this character is going to be really fast and snappy.

Now picture an old, weary character. The same brisk walk would be impossible for him to achieve.

On such a character, the timing should be slow—really, really slow—like walking on the moon.


Ease In / Ease Out

The principle of ease in/ease out is also known as cushioning. It is the art of accelerating and

decelerating an object, so its motion does not look too mechanical.

For example, a bouncing ball slows down before it reaches its peak in midair, and then accelerates as

it begins to descend.

Arcs

There is almost no uniform linear motion in real life. Almost everything moves in some sort of curved

motion. Arcs are important for the esthetics of movement. In particular, the joints of people and

animals work like hinges, and cause our limbs to describe arcs as they move.

For example, even when motion is linear in real life, as when a heavy object falls, there is almost always

some acceleration.


Exercise: The Bouncing Ball

1. Open the file Basketball_Start.max.

2. On the main toolbar, click the Select

Object button, click the basketball in any

viewport to select it.

3. Near the bottom of the application window,

click the Auto Key button.

The border of the active viewport turns red

and so does the timeline. This is a reminder to

let you know that you’re now in record mode.

When you make a change to the scene, such

as transforming an object or adjusting a

numeric parameter, the change is recorded

and used for animation.

4. Move the time slider by dragging it to the

right until you reach frame 30.

5. Activate the Front viewport and maximize the

view by pressing ALT+W.

6. Select the basketball, then right-click it and

choose Properties from the quad menu.

7. In the Display Properties group, turn on

Trajectory and click OK.

Trajectory displays the path of the basketball

in the viewports. This can be helpful while you

animate.


8. On the main toolbar, click the Select

And Move button. In the Front viewport,

move the ball to a point above the hoop, as

shown in the illustration below.

9. Drag the time slider back and forth. The

basketball is now moving in a straight line. On

the track bar just below the viewport, notice

the two red rectangles: these are the keys that

recorded the ball’s movement. In the

viewport, the straight red line shows the ball’s

trajectory.

NOTE: The trajectory is a red line with white dots.

Each white dot represents a frame. A white box

around a dot represents a keyframe.

10. Drag the time slider to frame 15, and then

move the basketball upward so that the

trajectory is more like an arc.

11. Go to frame 45, and move the basketball so it’s

just touching the floor, as shown in the

illustration.

12. Next, you’ll create the bouncing effect on the

floor. Go to frame 55 and move the ball

slightly up and to the left, and then go to

frame 65 and move the ball down to the floor

and slightly more to the left. This takes care of

the first bounce.

13. Repeat the procedure to create additional

bounces, each new one smaller than the

previous one. Create a bounce at frames 73

and 80 (up and down), frame 86 and 92, and

then finish the sequence with a small straight

line between Frames 92 and 100. Use the

following illustration as a reference.


14. Turn off Auto Key mode.

15. Play the animation. The animation looks

a little loose. Default interpolation sometimes

results in animation that is overly smooth and

looks artificial. You’ll be adjusting this.

16. Right-click the basketball and choose Curve

Editor from the quad menu. The Track View

window appears.

17. Reposition the Track View window, so you can

also see the action in the viewport.

You’ll be using the Track View - Curve Editor to

ensure that when the basketball hits the panel

or the floor, it appears to bounce off these

surfaces, instead of the soft, unrealistic

motion it’s following currently.

On the left side of the Curve Editor window is

the controller window. The controller window

lists objects (and other entities) in the scene,

along with their motion tracks and any

controllers that have been assigned. A

controller is a module in 3ds Max that controls

animation.

On the right of the Curve Editor window are

function curves. These show the motion of the

basketball in three axes: red for X, green for Y,

and blue for Z. The first key you need to

change is the X-Position key at frame 30.

This is where the ball hits the backboard.

18. In the Curve Editor, in the controller window

you will see the three position tracks for the

basketball. Resize the window to your liking

using the lower left corner of the window. The

two icons at the lower left will zoom extents

the timeline.


19. Then click the X-Position track so that it’s the

only one highlighted in yellow. In the function

curve window, only the red curve should

appear.

20. In the Curve Editor, click the key at the top of

the curve (at frame 30) to select it. Two

tangent handles appear on the key.

21. Hold down the SHIFT key on the keyboard,

and drag the handle on the left side, bringing

it down until it points directly to the key at

frame 15.

By moving the tangent, you create a break in

the continuity of the movement. Now the ball

bounces off the backboard more rapidly,

creating a sharper movement.

22. Drag the handle on the right side until it

points at key 45. The trajectory at frame 30

now looks like an inverted “V” shape.

23. Play the animation.

24. Next, you need to fix the bounces off the floor.

In the Curve Editor’s controller window, click

the Z Position track. Now a blue function

curve appears, representing the Z axis

motion.


25. You’ll have to fix the frames when there is

contact with the floor. You can try a different

method this time to create a “V” shape in the

trajectory. Hold down the CTRL KEY and click

the keys at frames 45, 65, 80 and 92. These

keys represent the position of the ball as it hits

the floor.

HINT: Selecting keys in Track View works like

selecting objects in a viewport. Clicking a key

selects it. CTRL+click adds or removes keys from

a selection, and ALT+click removes keys from a

selection. You can also drag a rectangular

region to select multiple keys at once.

26. In Track View, on the main toolbar of the

Curve Editor, change the type of tangent

to Fast.

Once you have changed the keys note how

the curve in the Curve Editor window has

changed.

27. Close the Curve Editor, press the P key to

change the viewport to Perspective, and then

play the animation.


Summary

Having completed this lesson, you can:

n Describe the process of animation, save and modify keyframes, animate different types

of objects efficiently

n Work with the Track View editor

Lesson: Alternative Animation Methods n 357

Lesson: Alternative Animation Methods

Overview

There are several different methodologies for creating animation, keyframing is only one of them.

In this lesson you will learn about some alternative methods.

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

n Describe alternative animation methods


Alternative Animation Methods

Typically, the animation you create through keyframing is created with Bezier animation controllers.

Animation does not always have to be created though keyframes. The software provides alternative

methods using constraints and other controller types. Constraints are animation devices where one

object’s animation will be partially or totally controlled by another object. A controller is an animation

device where a parametric algorithm controls the animation of the object.

n Path constraint – Animates an object to follow a spline. You can use path constraint to animate a

car driving down a road, or a roller coaster car to follow the roller coaster track.

n LookAt constraint – Controls an object’s orientation based on the position of another object in

the scene. For example, you can use the LookAt constraint when you want a character’s eyes to

follow the movement of another person or object in the scene.

n Noise controller – Adds irregular motion to an object. Noise can be added to the motion of a car

along a rough terrain to provide the effect of driving along a bumpy surface.

n Waveform controller – Adds a smooth rhythmic motion to an object’s transforms or parameters.

It can be used to slowly turn on a light, and then slowly turn it off several times, or for something

to pulse rapidly on an increasing scale.


Exercise: Driving Around: Using Path Constraint

In this exercise, you’ll use the path constraint

method to animate a car moving along a racetrack.

1. Open the file Path_Start.max.

The scene shows a racetrack and a race car.

There are also two spline objects running

along the inside and outside edges of the

racetrack you’ll use to control the car motion.

The animation length has been set to 600

frames. You need about 20 seconds for a lap

around this circuit.

2. Select the car body in the front view.

3. In the Animation pull-down menu, choose

Constraints > Path Constraint.

4. In the Top viewport, move the cursor to the

inner edge of the racetrack. A rubberband line

appears to show you are constraining the car

to the spline.

5. Click on the inner spline (InLine) to reposition

the car to the start of the inner spline.

6. In the Command Panel, make sure

you’re in the Motion Tab.

7. At the bottom of the panel, in the Path

Parameters rollout, click the Add Path button.

8. Click the outer edge of the race track

(OutLine) to add it as a second controller path.

The car is now positioned in the middle of the

racetrack.


9. Scrub the animation slider bar, notice that the

car is traveling backwards.

10. Go to frame 150 and notice that the car does

not rotate as it follows the turn.

11. In the Path Options area of the Path

Parameters rollout, click the Follow checkbox,

so that the car points in the direction of travel.

12. Enable the Flip option so that the nose of the

car points forward.

13. Play back the animation.

The car follows the racetrack and remains in

the middle at all times. The animation looks

fine at this point but it still needs some

adjustments.

14. Right-click the Front viewport label and

switch the view to Camera-Bank.

15. Similarly, replace the Left view with Camera-

Blimp and the Perspective view with

Camera-Track.

16. Set the three camera views in shaded

mode (F3).

17. Select the car in any view, right-click it and

choose Object Properties from the quad

menu.

18. In the dialog that appears, turn on Trajectory.

This makes it easier to see the line the car is

following.

19. Click OK to exit the dialog. Next you’ll animate

the weights of the inner and outer control

splines to have the car follow the ideal

race line.


20. Make sure you’re at frame 0, and turn on Auto

Key mode.

21. In the Motion panel, highlight the OutLine

path and set its weight to 100. This will make

the car run closer to the outside edge of the

track.

22. Go to frame 50. The car is just about to

negotiate the long left turn, and at this time,

should be even closer to the outside wall.

23. Set the InLine weight to 15 and the OutLine

weight to 100.

24. Go to frame 110.

The car is now in the middle of the turn and

should be as close as possible to the inner line.

In racing terminology, this is called the apex.

25. Set the InLine weight to 100 and the OutLine

weight to 20.

26. Continue creating weight keyframes using

the following table as a guideline:

27. Play back the animation. The car is now

following the ideal racing line.

28. Go to frame 125.

The car is in the middle of the first turn. Notice

the problem: The car doesn’t bank to follow

the topology of the turn. It remains level

throughout the animation.

29. Go to Frame 110. As mentioned earlier, the car

is in the middle of the turn (apex) on that

frame.


30. In the Motion panel, turn on the Bank option

and set Bank Amount to 10.0.

31. Scrub the animation.

Notice the bank amount is animated to go

from values 0 to 10 between frames 0 and 110.

However, you only want the car to bank as it

enters the turn (on frame 50) and not before.

32. Go to frame 50 and set the bank amount to 0.

33. Go to frame 200 and set the bank amount to 0

again to level the car out of the turn.

34. Scrub the animation to test the banking. The

car now behaves properly in the first turn.

35. Repeat the procedure for turn three, setting

the banking amount to 10 in the middle of the

turn (frame 480), and zero out the banking

amount on frames 410 and 550.

NOTE: Turn two is shallow and does not require

any banking.

36. Turn Auto Key mode off and play back the

animation.

You can open the file Path_Final.max to view

the finished animation.

Chapter Summary n 363

Summary

Having completed this lesson, you can:

n Describe alternative animation methods

Chapter Summary

Having completed this chapter, you can:

n Create a basic animation using keyframes

n Create animation using an alternative animation technique


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