Bouncing Ball Animation Exercise

Summary

This lesson demonstrates how to combine previously learned skills to create a classic bouncing ball animation. It covers setting up the hierarchy, animating Y-position and shadow scaling, adjusting interpolation curves for realistic physics, and adding squash and stretch to give the animation more character and "juice."

Step by Step

1. 00:04
   Scene Setup

   Create a white circle for the ball and a black circle for the shadow. Move the ball's origin to its bottom center (using the Y key) to ensure scaling happens from the ground up.
2. 01:02
   Animate Core Motion

   Set Y-position keyframes for the ball (low-high-low) and scale keyframes for the shadow (large-small-large) to match the ball's height.
3. 01:56
   Apply Cubic Interpolation

   Change the default interpolation to Cubic. Modify the handle shapes so the ball launches fast and slows down at the peak, then accelerates back to the floor.
4. 02:56
   Add Squash and Stretch

   Unlink the X and Y scale properties. At the point of impact, make the ball skinnier (X) and taller (Y) during the launch/fall, and squash it (wide X, short Y) the moment it hits the floor.
5. 04:24
   Refine Scale Interpolation

   Apply Cubic easing to the scale keyframes to ensure the transitions between stretching and squashing feel natural and consistent with the ball's inertia.

Notes About Current Rive

• Origin Placement: Moving the origin to the bottom of the object is crucial for bouncing animations; otherwise, the "squash" will happen from the center, making the ball appear to float off the ground.
• Unlinking Properties: Remember to click the link icon in the Inspector to animate X and Y scale independently for squash and stretch effects.
• Logic-Driven Easing: Always consider the physics—a ball stretches because of speed/inertia and squashes because of impact. Match your curves to these physical forces.