AVC 287 - Week 4 - Spring 2026

Week Overview

Monday covers this lecture covers advanced animation principles including smearing techniques using both manual scaling and the Smear add-on, follow through animation using hierarchical objects, and an introduction to bone-based rigging for deformation animation. Wednesday focuses on this lecture provided detailed feedback on student animation projects including squash and stretch continuums, hammer animations, and anticipation scenes. The session concluded with a demonstration of armature follow-through animation and rendering workflows.

Smearing Follow Through Rigging Deformation Animation Principles Blender Add-ons Animation Feedback Squash Stretch Armature Rigging Rendering

Monday

February 09, 2026

Smearing and Follow Through Animation

This lecture covers advanced animation principles including smearing techniques using both manual scaling and the Smear add-on, follow through animation using hierarchical objects, and an introduction to bone-based rigging for deformation animation.

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Course Introduction

0:00 Introduction and Gaming Discussion

6:45 Course Setup and Smearing Overview

Scene Setup and Materials

11:16 Blender Scene Setup and Materials

Smearing Techniques

21:44 Basic Scale-Based Smearing Animation

43:01 Installing and Using Smear Add-on

1:17:02 Comparing Different Smear Techniques

1:31:41 Follow Through Principles Introduction

Follow Through Animation

1:33:56 Hierarchical Animation and Double Anchor Points

1:58:51 Introduction to Bones and Rigging

Bone Rigging Fundamentals

2:07:32 Creating Armatures and Binding Meshes

2:18:11 Pose Mode and Bone Animation

Key Concepts

Smearing is deformation motivated by velocity rather than impact
Subdivision is required for smooth deformation in 3D objects
The Smear add-on provides multiple approaches: elongation, motion lines, and multiple instances
Follow through requires hierarchical animation with parent-child relationships
Double anchor point problems can be solved using empty objects as parents
Bone rigging workflow: create armature, build in edit mode, bind with automatic weights
Pose mode is used for animating bones after rigging is complete
Always animate the root of a hierarchy for positional movement

Wednesday

February 11, 2026

Animation Feedback & Follow Through

This lecture provided detailed feedback on student animation projects including squash and stretch continuums, hammer animations, and anticipation scenes. The session concluded with a demonstration of armature follow-through animation and rendering workflows.

Watch Full Lecture →

Student Presentations

12 student projects

0:00 Introduction and Setup

0:29 Student Feedback: Continuum Animation

3:47 Student Feedback: Hammer Ball Animation

5:16 Student Feedback: Hammer Anticipation

8:46 Student Feedback: Bouncing Ball

12:52 Student Feedback: Squash Stretch

22:12 Student Feedback: Heavy Light

28:04 Student Feedback: Anticipation Scenes

31:54 Student Feedback: Audio Issues

38:06 Student Feedback: Lateral Movement

52:21 Student Feedback: Graph Editor

1:16:01 Student Feedback: Continuum Timing

Technical Concepts

1:26:00 Blocking with Constant Interpolation

1:43:54 Armature Follow Through Animation

Production Workflow

2:03:05 Camera Setup and Materials

2:13:03 Rendering and After Effects

Key Concepts

Constant interpolation helps with blocking animation poses
F-curve manipulation is critical for proper bounce timing
Squash and stretch requires proper anchor point placement
Follow-through animation uses multiple bones for realistic motion
Rendered movies should loop multiple times for presentation
Gravity acceleration must be reflected in animation curves
Multi-part rigs require careful coordination between objects