This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Stiffening an area
The pincers, legs, and antennae of the crab will move in the animation, but the carapace should stay firm. You’ll use the Puppet Starch Pin tool to add Starch pins to ensure the carapace isn’t affected by the pins’ movements.
Select the Puppet Starch Pin tool (
), which is hidden behind the Puppet Bend Pin tool in the Tools panel.If the mesh isn’t showing, select Show in the options area of the Tools panel to display it.
Place Starch pins at the base of each pincer, leg, and antenna to stiffen the entire carapace, as in the image below.
Hide the properties for the crab.psd layer in the Timeline panel.
Choose File > Save to save your work so far.
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SQUASH AND STRETCH
Squash and stretch is a traditional animation technique that adds realism and weight to objects. It’s an exaggeration of the effect that occurs in real life when a moving object comes into contact with a stationary object, such as the ground. When squashing and stretching are applied correctly, the volume of the character doesn’t change. If you use the Puppet tools to animate cartoon characters or similar objects, consider how they interact with other objects.
The easiest way to understand the principle of squash and stretch is to view an animation of a bouncing ball. As the ball lands, it partially flattens, or squashes. As it bounces up, it stretches.
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