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Topic: Impact - An Animation Guide

Impact - An Animation Guide]

So I've had this thought recently, and it's bugging me, so I'm asking for you guys to tell me what you think.


In life, there are things like damage, that will cause a certain impact of power to the victim. An good example that is very common would be a car accident. If that car keeps going on, it can drive over the victim, but if it stops a little late, it tends to hit the victim flying (I have experience, my little sister was once hit by a car), but you have to get the distance of the fall right, the impact. It all depends on the speed of the car, and you're going to need to mark the speed of the car, which would sort of be an immediate ease out for breaking, and at about 40mph I'd estimate the fall would be around from 2-6 meters.

Basically, I'm saying that in a brickfilm, to make things look right, you have to get the impact right. If a man hits a table, the cup which was sitting on it probably isn't going to fly up and hit the ceiling (And that's a bother, with masking etc.) so you have to think about it.

I'm thinking of doing a few test videos which basically show the average impact of a certain thing at a certain power. I could start off with testing car crashes, or other accidents. If a spanner hits a block of metal, how big will the dent be? It depends on the speed and power of the hit, which you're going to have to guess to get it right.

I'll try and do a bit of research on the impact of items in the very near future. I have exams coming up so I will also need to do revision, so I won't be firing this stuff out, if I get a good result.

I'll be editing this post every time there's a new video up, but I'm only going to do that if you guys tell me what you think. Will this help people with things that they're struggling with? Is this whole idea useless? I want your feedback, people, so please, say what's on your mind. I'm interested.

EDIT:
Lessons have been uploaded, so here they are:
#1 - Car Hit by Niall Cameron: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCaIcrarj7g
#2 - Throwing a Ball by Ryan Wood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY16F7pS01E

Last edited by Splash (June 19, 2010 (05:22am))

"Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can't create it if you don't have one." - Brad Bird

Splash's Website

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

Sounds like something a lot of animators struggle with, including me. Are you going to get reference videos and then create a lego version to test what it would look like? And if you so choose, would others be able to add to this as well, with your judgement on whether or not the video is adequete first?

Awesome idea! It will be cool to see what you come up with. mini/wink

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

Sorry, but I really want more feedback on this idea. I expected more of you interested in this idea. Why is it that every time I do a certain thing it gets ignored?

"Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can't create it if you don't have one." - Brad Bird

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

I think this is a good idea. It would be very helpful to know this kind of stuff. mini/bigsmile

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

OK. I'll have a go tomorrow at one test, when I have the time.

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

Yes that is a good idea, but it will be useless to me because I don't know how to make a Lego car! mini/tongue

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

Who says it has to be a car? Get a motorbike or even a hovercar. IMAGINATION mini/smile

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

Or a spaceship. Anyway, you can't break a Lego motercycle without perminate damage. They only come in two pieces!

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

This is actually all relative. If it's a comedy, a single punch can send someone through a door. But in a less comedic sense, the same punch could be easily deflected, and have no effect at all. So, it's hard to judge what would be most appropriate.

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

That's exactly the sort of thing I'm going to try to cover.

"Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can't create it if you don't have one." - Brad Bird

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

I'm not really sure what this thread is for or what it has to do with anything... but cool mini/bigsmile

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

Yoder, did you even READ the first post? It was pretty detailed saying EXACTLY what this thread is about. Heck even the thread title was descriptive enough to tell you...

I don't comprehend what your comment added to this thread.

Now, to remain on topic:

It's a well written, concise guide, Splash, and I applaud it. Sometimes having some completely out-there responses to impact (ie kicking a barrel which then flies to the moon) can add comedic value, for the most part impact should indeed reflect what caused the impact. Personally I think a lot of this is just common sense however I think it will go a long way to help those animators who read it and take it into consideration. Kudos!

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

I'm just watching this thread to see a couple good test films.

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

I very much like this thread. Can't wait until some examples come out

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

I'm really sorry for not getting stuff out. My little sister is addicted to this stupid site called StarDoll and she's always on and I can never get time. However, I have the time now...Do you guys mind if I start off with something more simple than a car? I'm going to need to build a set fast.

Thanks for the great responses, guys!

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

Just a wall and maybe just a normal set car.

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

OK, the first one, "Car Hit" will be on YouTube tomorrow. The first post will have a link.

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

Can't wait!

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

Number one is up. It's not very professional, but this is a community experiment, the way I see it. The direction for brickfilms are comedy and sometimes serious, usually the former. This is how I would see it. The animation needs a little bit of work, but it's the basic idea behind how much impact the character takes.

It may seem odd to some but even though a serious hit is smaller, the damage is more. In this serious film we want to get across the idea of pain and necessary recovery for the character to be alright. In a comedy, the character will usually be absolutely fine.

Some may argue that the victim will actually fall on the car bonnet, but if the car suddenly stops then the victim must roll on.

Link to #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCaIcrarj7g

"Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can't create it if you don't have one." - Brad Bird

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Re: Impact - An Animation Guide

For some reason, it did not look right without a roll from the "victim"

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