What is the best way to make a "splash"?
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What is the best way to make a "splash"?
I am trying to do a short 30sec test animation, but I need to create an "Anime Style" water splash, like rain falling on a pond or a large object falling into the ocean or something. what's the easiest or best way to do this?
I was hoping for an easier approach! 
Oh Well!There's a few good books about animation that give good tips on how to do effects animations. Do a search on Richard Williams.
Just telling you a few steps wouldn't help you in the long run.
I guess I'm working on the principle of "Give a man a fish, he'll eat one day. Give him a fishing-rod, he'll eat for life".
Just telling you a few steps wouldn't help you in the long run.
I guess I'm working on the principle of "Give a man a fish, he'll eat one day. Give him a fishing-rod, he'll eat for life".
It alwyays depends on which style you prefer to work in.
Realistic: no other way than to study real raindrops and splashes and re-create them in your style. Because of the nature of splashes many animators use particle effects here, or even special software packages tailor-made for this purpose.
Cartoony: much much easier. In the same way as a cartoony explosion with some colored stars doesn't very much look like a real explosion with expanding fireballs and stuff, a cartoony splash of water is an abstraction or symbol of what's happening in reality.
There are some established chiffres for water motion in animation. The choice depends on how close you are to the action.
Rain: slanted parallel lines in black or white (contrast to background) randomly showing up or animated to cross the screen in 3 or 4 frames.
Rain on ground: circles in perspective (= ellipses) expanding within two or three frames, randomly appearing in every place. Some small drops added randomly here and there like splashes where rain hits ground.
Close-up of small splash: water hitting a surface always causes droplets jumping up in small arcs from the spot of impact. It's enough to animate this with two or three drops very fast.
An object falling into water just causes a bigger splash, a mini-tsunami, which in this case is a circular wave expanding from the point of impact. Do this fast, make the wave highest in the first frame. Add some reflexes or single droplets as fit your style.
Things like this can be found in old-fashioned animation books by the dozen.
Realistic: no other way than to study real raindrops and splashes and re-create them in your style. Because of the nature of splashes many animators use particle effects here, or even special software packages tailor-made for this purpose.
Cartoony: much much easier. In the same way as a cartoony explosion with some colored stars doesn't very much look like a real explosion with expanding fireballs and stuff, a cartoony splash of water is an abstraction or symbol of what's happening in reality.
There are some established chiffres for water motion in animation. The choice depends on how close you are to the action.
Rain: slanted parallel lines in black or white (contrast to background) randomly showing up or animated to cross the screen in 3 or 4 frames.
Rain on ground: circles in perspective (= ellipses) expanding within two or three frames, randomly appearing in every place. Some small drops added randomly here and there like splashes where rain hits ground.
Close-up of small splash: water hitting a surface always causes droplets jumping up in small arcs from the spot of impact. It's enough to animate this with two or three drops very fast.
An object falling into water just causes a bigger splash, a mini-tsunami, which in this case is a circular wave expanding from the point of impact. Do this fast, make the wave highest in the first frame. Add some reflexes or single droplets as fit your style.
Things like this can be found in old-fashioned animation books by the dozen.
This is kind of a long-winded way of going about it, but if you go to the Odd Job Jack site, they have made all of the artwork available from their last series. As well as all the wonderful characters and props, there are a number of files devoted to effects like blood spurting, fire, and water effects...
It's all done with BitTorrent, as the files are massive, but you *will* have a fantastic resource for the future. I know I have...!!
J
It's all done with BitTorrent, as the files are massive, but you *will* have a fantastic resource for the future. I know I have...!!
J
You can't have everything. Where would you put it?