Foundations of Animation

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Section 1: Introduction to Animation
Lesson Plan (Week 1: Overview of Animation; Week 2: Animation Workflow and Pipeline
3
Section 2: Core Principles of Animation
Lesson Plan (Week 3: Squash and Stretch, Timing, and Spacing; Week 4: Anticipation, Staging, and Follow-Through; Week 5: Arcs, Exaggeration, and Secondary Action)
4

Lesson 3: Squash and Stretch, Timing, and Spacing

Objective: Apply squash and stretch, timing, and spacing to create lifelike motion.
Duration: 2 hours
Materials:
- Animation software (Adobe Animate or Blender).
- Reference videos of bouncing ball animations.
- Principle cheat sheet (e.g., 12 Principles of Animation).
Activities:
1. Lecture (30 min): Explain squash and stretch, timing, and spacing with examples.
2. Demo (30 min): Instructor animates a bouncing ball in real-time, showing keyframes.
3. Hands-On (60 min): Students animate a bouncing ball with varying timing (e.g., heavy vs. light ball).
Interactive Online Activity:
- Bouncing Ball Challenge (using FlipAnim or Animaker): Students create a simple bouncing ball animation online, adjusting timing and squash/stretch, and share it on a class Discord or Google Classroom for peer feedback.
- Platform: FlipAnim (free, browser-based 2D animation tool) or Animaker (simple animation platform).
Assessment: Bouncing ball animation quality and peer feedback participation.

Section 1 Quiz