After learning some basic modelling skills, the next step in developing our knowledge of Maya was to learn some basic animation skills. For Study Task 2, we were set a number of short tasks that would allow us to practice using different animation tools. The graph editor is perhaps the most important of these tools, as it allows you to adjust the automatic in between movement Maya applies to key frames.
The first, and perhaps most simple task, was to produce a turntable animation, showing a complete 360 degree rotation of an object (I choose to use Moom rather than either of my models from Study Task 1). All that was required to create this animation was the addition of a turntable camera to a scene containing the object you wish to rotate. So, with Moom selected (and in the Animation menu set) I simply selected the Turntable... option from the Animate menu. The number of frames and the direction or the turn can be adjusted in the Turntable... options menu.
The processes for the Bouncing Balls, Pendulum and Anticipation tasks were all fairly similar; after setting the key frames at the high and low points of each object's path of movement, the majority of the work was in the Graph Editor (found in Window - Animation Editors - Graph Editor). In the graph, the Y axis represents the attribute value and the X axis the time line/frame number. The graph can display a number of different curves, one for each keyed attribute of an object. To minimize confusion, you can select the relevant attributes in the window to the left of the Graph Editor and only those curves will be shown on the graph.
Before editing in the Graph Editor, in the Curves menu, select Weighted Tangents, then in the Tangents menu Free and Break the tangents, so that each tangent handle can be moved independently. If the tangents aren't broken, when one handle is moved the other will automatically move so that they remain symmetrical.
The main aim of using the Graph Editor with these task was to achieve a more natural looking animation by having the balls bounce quickly off the ground before slowing as they reach their peak in the air (the pendulum would similarly need to speed up as it enters a swing before slowing as it begins to climb again). There is no magic formula to this, just trial and error of adjusting the handles until you're satisfied with the result.
I based the red ball on a tennis ball (hard with a high bounce), while the green ball was based on a beach/volley style ball, although with more exaggerated squash & stretch.
The most intimidating of the tasks was undoubtedly the segmented pendulum, but thankfully the Graph Editor made this a manageable task. After setting the key frames for a normal pendulum swing (we were provided with scenes for each task with the correct controllers in place), in the Graph Editor the curve for each ball needed moving by a couple of frames. By doing this, the impression could be created that the swing was led by the top ball and carried through the rest of the pendulum.
Finally, to ensure that all of the elements keep moving in this pattern (and don't start and stop at different times), in the Graph Editor select Infinity from the View menu, and then in the Curves menu set both the Pre ad Post Infinity options to cycle, which should repeat the curves endlessly along the timeline.
Oddly, although the overlapping action task looked tricky I found the anticipation and bouncing ball ones more frustrating, as there was no fixed set of instructions to follow, just your own judgement and grasp of the principles of animation. The process behind the segmented pendulum was a little more formulaic, which made a nice change.
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