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

Advanced Bouncing Ball Tutorial Instructions

Advanced Bouncing Ball Tutorial

Step 22:
Open up the Scale Parameter and record a Keyframe at the beginning of the Comp
Step 23:
Move the first Keyframe where the Ball touches the floor and record another
Keyframe
Step 24:
Holding Ctrl or CMD and the pressing the Left key, move one click to the left, record
a keyframe, click again to the left, record a keyframe and do this once more so you
will have 3 keyframes all next to each other
Step 25:
Now Hold Ctrl or CMD and click the Right key and move one frame right (the frame
in the centre of the 3)
Step 26:
Unlink the scale parameter and on the ‘Y’ scale axis stretch the ball upwards to 130
and on the ‘X’ scale squeeze it inwards to 70
Step 27:
Move forwards one keyframe and do the opposite, change the ‘Y’ to 60 and the ‘X’ to
140 (keeping it even)
Step 28:
Now move forwards one keyframe and copy and paste the Stretch keyframe here
adjusting the number by 10 either way so the ‘Y’ sits at 80 and the ‘X’ at 120
Step 29:
Now you’ll want to move ahead one more keyframe and copy and paste the first of
the keyframes to set the ball back to its original dimensions
Step 30:
Head to the first ‘Ease’ keyframe, tap ‘R’ for Rotation and create a keyframe
Step 31:
Go ahead to the 2nd Squash and Stretch keyframe (the long one) and create
1

another Rotation keyframe

Page

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

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

Step 32:
Click into the Rotation parameter and using the up and down arrow keys make the
top of the ball follow the arc of the bounce
Step 33:
Move forward 2 frames and do the same, line the ball up with the arc of the bounce
Step 34:
We can resolve this by moving both the start and end keyframe of the Squash and
Stretch back 2 frames each to elongate the animation
Step 35:
Now move to the frame where-in-which the ball hits the ground and set the rotation
to ‘0’
Step 36:
Move ahead to the next frame the ball hits the floor and set that to ‘0’ too
Step 37:
Highlight only the scale keyframes of the squash and stretch motion
Step 38:
Ensure you are at the point in the timeline where the ball next touches the ground
and paste the keyframes, with them still highlighted ensure that the centre keyframe
lines up with the point at which the ball hits the floor
Step 39:
Move back one frame from the place where the ball meets the floor and change the
scale from 70 to 75 and 130 to 125 this will make the squash and stretch less as the
ball looses momentum
Step 40:
Move forward 2 frames to the frame after the ball touches the floor and change the
scale parameters from 80 to 85 and 120 to 115
Step 41:
Once again change the rotation to follow the arc of the bounce, go back 2 frames to
and align the ball with the arc again
Step 42:
Go forward to the next time the ball hits the floor and set the rotation to ‘0’
Step 43:
Then go back a frame and record a scale keyframe, go forward two frames and
2
Page

record another scale keyframe

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

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

Step 44:
Set the scale ‘Y’ to 90 and the scale ‘X’ to 110 to squash the ball one last time
Step 45:
There doesn’t need to be any anticipation this time as the squash is so small
Step 46:
Ensure you aren’t selecting any layers
Step 47:
Select the pen tool and begin to draw any swirly and basic pattern/shape that can
over/fit inside the ball
Step 48:
Turn off the fill and turn on the stroke, set it to whatever takes your fancy
Step 49:
Make sure you connect the pattern to close the shape
Step 50:
Afterwards ensure you’re not selecting any layer
Step 51:
Make sure you are at the last keyframe
Step 52:
Using the rulers again drag then down and along to mark the exact centre of the ball
Step 53:
To make it easier click the ball layer and use the square transform points to help
mark the centre
Step 55:
Align the anchor point of the shape you just made to the centre of the shape and
move it so that the anchor point is over the intersecting rulers
Step 56:
Then move away the rulers once again
Step 57:
Scale the shape down to fit the ball better
Step 58:
Select the shape/design and navigate to Effect – Channel – Set Matte
3
Page

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

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

Step 59:
In the Set Matte effect find the ‘Take Matte From Layer’ it will currently be set to the
Shape/Design layer – We don’t want this
Step 60:
Click the drop down box and set it to be the ball layer
Step 61:
Make sure you are at the last keyframe
Step 62:
Using the rulers again drag then down and along to mark the exact centre of the ball
Step 63:
To make it easier click the ball layer and use the square transform points to help
mark the centre
Step 64:
Align the anchor point of the shape you just made to the centre of the shape and
move it so that the anchor point is over the intersecting rulers
Step 65:
Then move away the rulers once again
Step 66:
Ensure you’re on the final recorded keyframe and hit ‘R’ to open up the Rotation
Step 67:
Record a keyframe
Step 68:
In the Modes menu there is a Spiral next to the ‘Mode’ and ‘TrkMat’
Step 69:
This is the parent tool, click and drag the spiral (a line will appear) and let go of it
over the ball layer
Step 70:
Head back to the first frame and drag the Rotation back into the minuses
Step 71:
A good idea is to keep it around -1x-200 or thereabouts
Step 72:
4
Page

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

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

After you’ve tweaked the rotation (I’m using -1x-323) go to the final recorded
keyframe
Step 73:
Right click – Keyframes Assistant – Easy Ease In (or Shift – F9)
Step 74:
Turn Motion Blur on the Shape/Design layer & make sure Motion Blur is turned on in
the Comp
Step 75:
Turn on the Shadow again and render out!

Independent Task 1
Using everything learnt in the previous lessons create a simple Text Reveal (see
below) that will be used as an introduction screen for your final submission for this
2D Animation Unit!
You’ve got 15 - 25 mins to do it!

Independent Task 2

Create a new Ball Bounce animation

But this time create a basic staircase with the shape/pen tool
Make the ball bounce down the stairs, complete with Squash and Stretch, Timing etc
This can be done with everything you’ve learnt today, and you can even edit the one
you’ve already created if you remember how from the previous lessons covering
compositions

Homework Task:
Create a Logo you’d like to use for your own personal brand, created in Photoshop
to a document size of 5000 x 5000 Pixels! Remember to do most things on separate
layers!!!
5
Page

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice