Okay, so I’ve been wanting to mess around with some animation stuff, and I had this idea for a “friendly game of volleyball” scene, inspired by anime. Here’s how I went about it, totally amateur hour, but fun!
First, I brainstormed. What kind of scene did I really want? Just a simple back-and-forth? Nah, I wanted a little bit of drama, a near miss, maybe a funny reaction. I pictured two characters, one setting the ball, the other going for a spike, and almost missing.
Getting Started (aka Stumbling Around)
- I dug around for some free 3D models. I needed something simple, not super detailed, because, let’s be honest, I’m not a pro. Found a couple of generic “anime-style” characters that looked okay.
- Next, I needed a volleyball. Easy enough, found one of those online too. Also grabbed a net, because, you know, volleyball.
- Software-wise, I just used what I had – I ain’t got money to burn on fancy programs. so it’s Free and avaiable.
The Painful Process (aka Animation is Hard)
This is where things got… interesting.
I started by placing the characters and the net. Figuring out the poses took forever. I wanted one character to look like they were mid-air, about to hit the ball, and the other one in a setting position.
Then came the actual animation. I decided to do a short sequence:
- Character A tosses the ball up.
- Character B jumps.
- Character B swings at the ball (and almost misses!).
- The ball flies just over the net.
- Character A reacts with a surprised/relieved face.
Each of those steps? Yeah, they took a bunch of tiny adjustments. I moved limbs, rotated joints, tweaked positions… It felt like I was wrestling with the software the whole time. Keyframing is a beast, I tell ya.
The “almost miss” was tricky. I wanted it to look close, but not too close. I ended up animating the ball’s path several times, making slight changes to the curve and speed until it looked right.
The (Sort of) Finished Product
It’s not perfect, not by a long shot. The movements are a bit jerky, the timing could be better, and I definitely need to learn more about lighting. But, hey, it’s something. It’s a little, goofy, anime-inspired volleyball scene, and I made it. It took hours and was super frustrating at times, I will prictice it later.
Maybe someday I’ll get good at this animation thing. For now, I’m just happy I managed to create something that vaguely resembles what I had in my head. On to the next project!
