exercise 1
nov 30th

Hey Heather, nice of you to join bootcamp. I don't think "it sucks". It's good that you're taking the plunge into improving your animation skills. It might be a good idea to visit some of the past threads by the members to get an idea of what is expected in these exercises. Also, do you have the book "The Animator's Survival Kit" by Richard Williams?

Perhaps translate "it sucks" as "I've done all I can with this, where should I go from here?"

Doesn't suck - I think it's cute that he gets run over and squashed, but I'm not sure I understand the stretch in this context. As Dhar says, there's lots of bootcamp threads to read and learn from, starting with the "bouncing ball", which I understand is a challenge in itself.

I am still bogged down in particles in TAOAM, so perhaps I shouldn't comment on bootcamp, just wanted to say quietly "doesn't suck".

ball falling in hole
Dec. 5th
heather
Please send me suggestions on how to make this better. I'm stuck. Thank you!

ohhh Heather I like your style...fun. fun. fun. I liked both.

One thing you might do for ball falling thru the hole is to give a little pause (hold) when he reaches the edge of the hole, have him lean in maybe?, then slightly lean back and then continue to jump or fall in.

Also noticed that the hole was moving - probably because the keyframes are set to spline interpolation? Or did you mean it to move?

Which is another direction you could go - is to have the hole move and have mr. ball try to catch it so that he could jump in. The hole could finally stay still. Mr. Ball could do his hold anticipation thing at the edge of the hole and then when he jumps in, at the last moment the hole could move so that ball guy ends up squashed on the ground. The hole then could do a laughing type of jiggle.

You're doing great. Keep your "dance to another drummer" spirit alive.

Hi Heather,

As if you didn't have enough advice already.... I'd say your first move should be to do the bouncing ball exercise: One ball bouncing in place.

Get that right and you've got an essential skill that informs everything else you do in animation. And lots of people here can look at it and help you get it looking good.

Falling
Dec. 7th
Heather

Thanks for all the suggestions people. They have been really helpful. Here is something else I put together. Any and all suggestions/pointers are welcome and encouraged. Peachy King Jelly Bean;)