Assignment 6: Pantomime

Due Class 11

Create a pantomime animation of a flour sack character that emphasizes an emotion.  It can be shock, anger, excitement, sadness, disappointment or any other emotion, but whatever you choose has to be clear in the animation.  What causes the flour sack to feel this way, how the story begins or ends is up to you.

I would recommend having something on screen to help give visual cues as to why the flour sack feels the way it does.  This could be a static background, or foreground elements.  The elements can move, but they don't have to.

Examples of Flour Sack Animations

Assignment 3: Overlapping Action Exercise

Due Class 8

Using what we're learning with the pendulum and the flag, create a moving object that has something hanging from it.  The moving object is the driving force, and the hanging object is reacting.  The hanging object could be above or below the driving force.

Examples:

• An arm waving a flag.
• A basic floating rectangle with a pendulum attached.
• Green Goblin's hanglider with Spider-Man hanging from it.  
• Someone riding a mechanical bull.

The purpose of this assignment is to help foster an understanding of overlapping action and drag.  The main action could come to a stop on screen, fly off screen, hit something, etc.  It doesn't matter how the action begins or ends, so long as there is some kind of beginning and some kind of ending.  The action should not just come to a sudden stop.  Any changes in speed and trajectory of the main object should influence the attached object.

I recommend keeping it simple so the focus can stay on animating.

What I will be looking for when grading:

• Volume control
• Are there two elements?  Which element is the lead and which is the follower?
• Is there overlapping action and drag?
• Are there any technical problems, such as elements appearing or disappearing?  Does the animation have a beginning and ending?  Does the video last far longer than the animation itself?

Assignment 5: Gesture Drawings

Due Class 9

Create a sheet of gesture drawings for a flour sack character, which you will be animating for in the next assignment. 

The sheet should have at least 5 drawings, showing different poses and emotions.  Try to avoid drawing the character from the same angle and in relatively similar poses - see if you can change it up!  Jumping, sitting, running, laying, twisting, handstands, rolling, try to see if you can get the most out of your flour sack's body shape.

You can choose the details on what the flour sack looks like, but the 5 poses should look like they belong to the same 'character'.

The drawings do not have to be inked or in color, but should be clean enough to clearly read what the character is doing.  The drawings can be done on paper or digitally, but will need to be turned in digitally.  For those who drew traditionally, you can scan the images onto the computer using the scanner, or take a clear picture of them with your phone to submit through the server.

Student Examples: