This is a continuation from the previous blog on Bouncing Ball Animation with Maya : 4 Factors to Create Good Animation. In this video tutorial blog, I’ll explain from start to end on creating a good bouncing ball animation with Maya. 

Before we start learning animation, we have some technical aspect to cover.

1. Mac O/S

Mac O/S is generally more stable and processes much faster in graphics compared to Windows O/S. If you are using Windows O/S, just note that the Command Key is mapped as Control Key in Windows.

 

2. Maya Software

Maya Software is available in educational license at Autodesk website. If you are a student, they allow you to download an educational copy by registering with them. If you are not, you might want to borrow your friend’s copy to try it out before you purchase it.

 

Click here to watch my 3D animation and 3D modelling video tutorials.

 

3. Bouncing Ball Rig

This is the maya file that we will use for the bouncing ball tutorial. I’ve created this rig for your convenience and feel free to download it for your own use.

 

4. Hand position

I need to stress that efficiency is important in our industry, so we make use of our two hands when working in 3D. I see many students who are lazy and uses only 1 hand on the mouse which can be very very slow.

 

Left hand:
Thumb is placed at Command/Ctrl key and easily tap Spacebar when necessary.

Fourth, middle and index fingers are placed on W, E and R respectively because these are the common shortcut keys to Translate, Rotate and Scale tool in most 3D softwares.

 

Right Hand:
Use on a mouse. I have to recommend buying a 3 button mouse with scrolling middle mouse button. 3D softwares needs 3 buttons for navigation so investing in a good mouse will gives you a piece of mind when animating. I’m currently using a wireless USB mouse by Logitech (Model M185) which I bought at about USD$25 and has been serving me very well for the past 1 year.

 

Here are the #8/8 video tutorial previews. Watch the full videos at www.learnhowtoanimate.com!

Bouncing Ball Tutorial with Maya 1/8 – Basic Maya and Rig

 

Bouncing Ball Tutorial with Maya 2/8 – Key framing and Animation settings

 

Bouncing Ball Tutorial with Maya 3/8 – Slow in, Slow Out and Graph editor

 

Bouncing Ball Tutorial with Maya 4/8 – Timing and Key Framing

 

Bouncing Ball Tutorial with Maya 5/8 – Graph Editor and Handle Controls

 

Bouncing Ball Tutorial with Maya 6/8 – Play Blast & Preview Animation

 

Bouncing Ball Tutorial with Maya 7/8 – Moving Horizontally

 

Bouncing Ball Tutorial with Maya 8/8 – Realistic Rotation

Learning to animate does not relies on only software skills. The fundamentals of animation is critical to make your animation looks realistic. Check out what contributes to a good animation and I’ll see you soon!