Lab 5: Creating an Animation Loop
IDS252: 3D Animation, Fall 2009

Goals

• Continue practice using keyframes.
• Learn about path animation.
• Learn about driving keys.
• Create a 10 second animation loop.

Directions

1. File Location: You must work on the enfuzion drive and not on your H drive. When you create a new project, place it in the folder \IDS252Fa09\Lab5\WorkSpace\#_your_name on the enfuzion drive. When you have completed the lab, you will copy your final animations over to the folder \IDS252Fa09\Lab5\FinalAnimations Make sure that the name of your animation contains your name. Also, on Wise, submit one representative frame from your animation.

   Remember, when you create your new project (through Maya) on enfuzion, you should include an "images" subfolder.

2. Tutorials: In Maya, go to the tutorials on Animation (under Learning Resources;Tutorials;Getting Started with Maya;Animation) and work through

   • Lesson 2: Set Driven Key
   • Lesson 3: Path animation - requires file PathAnim.mb
   • (OPTIONAL) Lesson 5: Inverse Kinematics - requires file IK_MechArm.mb
   • (OPTIONAL) Another nice way to do modeling and animation is through the use of deformers. Lattice deformers can be particularly useful for modeling. Commonly used non-linear deformers for animation are bend and squash. If you are interested, read about them in the Maya help (look up "deformer" in the index). To create a deformer, select the Animation menu set. Then, select the object you wish to deform and, in the Create Deformers menu, select the deformer you wish to use. Bend and squash are in the submenu Nonlinear.

   The files you will need for the lessons can be downloaded by clicking the above links or by going to the folder \IDS252Fa09\Lab5\Resources on enfuzion.

   Create a new project and, copy (through Windows or Mac) these files into your project folder.

   Note, the above lessons will not be collected.

3. 10 Second Animation Loop:

   • You are to create a 10 second animation that is a loop, i.e. it ends exactly where it begins. The subject matter is less important than getting the motion to "feel right". Use any of the techniques you have learned so far, e.g. keyframing, path animation, etc. Observe how things move in real life. Think about the "Principles of Animation".

   • Do not use Bloke for this animation. Instead, create your own scene and objects. We will do another 10 animation later where you will be able to use Bloke if you wish.

   • Don't forget to set the animation rate to 30 frames per second. See lab 4 for instructions. Note, a 10 second animation at 30 fps will be 300 frames long.

   • To insure that the animation begins and ends at the exact same place, begin by setting the keyframes at t=0 then, without changing anything in the scene, move the slider to t=300 and set the keyframes again. At this point, you can begin animating in between.

   • See lab 4 for instructions on how to generate the frames in Maya and create a quicktime file using Adobe Premiere. Since there is no sound for this lab, you may also create a quicktime file directly in Maya if you use Maya on the Mac side. Ask instructor for directions on setting the compression and file extension.

Evaluation

Place your final animation on \\home\enfuzion in the folder IDS252Fa09\Lab5\FinalAnimations. Be sure that the file name contains your name.

On Wise, submit one representative frame from your animation.