AP201 2D Animation Software Module Guest Lecturer: Shane Le Mar

Basic Bouncing Ball Tutorial Instructions

Short Recap: Intro to AE & Project Setup

• Go to Google Classroom and Download the Project Files I’ve uploaded
• Open up a New Project
• Set it to the Standard Dimensions & Frame Rates
- 1920 x 1080 – 60fps – 10seconds -
• Import the Project Files you’ve downloaded
- Drag and drop the folder, or Right Click Import –

Basic Bouncing Ball Tutorial

Step 1:
Using the Ellipse Tool create a shape with 1:1 dimensions (by holding shift)
Step 2:
Create a Background layer
Step 3:
Align the Anchor Point to Bottom Centre using Move Anchor Point (or to the best of
your freehand abilities)
Step 4:
Right click on the Position and hit ‘Separate Dimensions’
Step 5:
Turn on Title/Action Safe (TAS)
Step 6:
Simply move the ball to the base of the TAS box (this will act as a floor line)
Step 7:
Record a keyframe at the first frame on the ‘Y’ Axis
Step 8:
All keyframes are to be recorded onto the ‘Y’ Axis until noted otherwise
Step 9:
Move ahead half a second & create a keyframe
Step 10:
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Go to the centre of the two keyframes

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BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

 AP201 2D Animation Software Module Guest Lecturer: Shane Le Mar

Step 11:
Move the Ball Up on the ‘Y Axis’ & create a keyframe
Step 12:
Highlight all keyframes & copy
Step 13:
Move to the last recorded keyframe (3)
Step 14:
Paste keyframes, repeat process until around five seconds
Step 15:
Delete all frames but the original three
Step 16:
Select the mid-keyframe and make it an ‘Easy Ease’ (F9) keyframe
Step 17:
Zoom into the timeline
Step 18:
Click into the Graph Editor window & select the centre yellow keyframe
Step 19:
Click & Hold Shift, then Drag the yellow toggles as far left and right as they can go
Step 20:
This will make the ball stay in the air longer as you are extending the centre
keyframe
Step 21:
Once again, highlight the keyframes, move to the final recorded keyframe and paste
Step 22:
Repeat until you get to around 5 seconds
Step 23:
Turn on Motion Blur
Step 24:
In the Effects and Presets Menu find RG Shadow
Step 25:
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Drag it onto the ball layer

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

 AP201 2D Animation Software Module Guest Lecturer: Shane Le Mar

Step 26:
You won’t see a shadow to begin with
Step 27:
Press Ctrl R or Press Cmd R
Step 28:
This will show you virtual rulers, drag a horizontal and vertical ruler to the base and
through the centre of the ball
Step: 29:
Zoom right into the Ball and select the RG Shadow in the Effects window
Step 30:
Click – Hold Shift and drag the Baseline Start & End up to the ruler line
Step 31:
Then drag the Height and Slant to about ¼ of the way away from the base of the ball
along the centre line
Step 32:
Set zoom to ‘fit up to 100%’
Step 33:
Drag the rulers back into the sides and hit play – the RG Shadow will heavily
increase the preview render time but it’s worth it

Remember to save out & render the Project now!

Bonus Tutorial: Rendering

Media Encoder Method – Small File Size & Better Quality but slightly Harder
1. File – Export – Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue
2. Click the first bit of Blue text (underneath where it says format)
a. Select H.264 for .mp4 (or Quicktime for .mov)
b. Choose a location to render out the file and name it
c. Choose Match Source to ensure best quality
d. Click Okay
3. Finally click the Green play button
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BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice