Let's Get Physics-al!

Bouncing balls. Wow. To tell you the truth, I thought I had a good grasp on the concept. How hard can it be? It's...a...bouncing...frickin'...ball. Give me a break. Well faithful readers? The animator-to-be has a lot to learn indeed. I watched video others made of actual bouncing balls. I made video of my own bouncing ball. In the process, I done bounced a ball myself. I've been bouncing balls all my LIFE! Richard Williams had some great reading. The lectures and AM videos had great stuff. So why was it so HARD?! I'll tell you. It's hard because it's simple. The simplicity, the sheer maddening, common, everyday, see-it-in-my-sleep nature of a bouncing ball means that you could take a half blind, hundred year old lady who's been living in a cave since birth and SHE'LL tell you if it's working or not! Why? It's physics. It's weight, gravity, force, energy...and we all know it, even if we don't know it. Problem is, it's got to make sense when you view it. Ok, maybe it doesn't have to be perfect, but darn close. It has to "read" as a bouncing ball. The path of motion, the amount of energy on the rebound, the spin, the arcs...not to mention is it a superball? Is it a basketball? Is it a cannon ball? On grass? On concrete? On a trampoline? Is it windy? Rainy? Is there a slope? Stairs? Objects that it has to bounce off of? That's why the bouncing ball, in all it's infinite "simplicity" is a great subject to start animating with. It teaches you that not all that looks easy is. That you should pay attention to the details and really think it out. Most importantly, it teaches you to plan, plan, plan. Be prepared and know what you want to do. There will be plenty of challenges, preparation is your strongest defender.