Bouncing Balls Maya Animation

The Project

For this project we were to make a realistic animation of a bowling ball, tennis ball, and golf ball bouncing. For accuracy, we took real video of these balls bouncing, and then recorded the height of each bounce and the frame number in Google Sheets. After modeling the balls and applying bump and color mapping, we used the graph editor to create keyframes for the bouncing. The measurements we recorded earlier helped us to make correct keyframes.  Using the Graph Editor, we also edited out the ease-in and ease-out by making the bottom points linear. The final steps of this project were to set a background. To do this, we made a plane for the floor and chose a picture off of images search and set it as the background. We used the camera toggle controls to make it look like the balls were proportional to the environment and actually sitting on the floor. Lighting was the last thing to adjust.

What I Learned

During this project I learned how use the Graph Editor in Maya that allows keyframes to be made using precise measurements. I also learned how to adjust the lighting by choosing "Look Through Selected". This changes your perspective to that of the light you have selected. You can use the same camera toggle controls to move and direct your light to the position you want it. This option makes it easier to see exactly where your light is shining. Another trick I learned in this project is how to assign a new material as a background. This allowed us to take a real-life picture and place our bouncing balls inside of the setting. All of these skills will be very helpful to me in future projects. I found the "Look Through Selected" option to be the most useful because lighting is usually a bit hard for me to get right the first time.

I was very pleased with the way this project turned out and I decided to make it my top video on my YouTube channel.