Create your own jumping squares!

Get more comfortable using After Effects and see firsthand the impact animation can have by creating your own trio of jumping squares.

To start, just create a square and get it to simply move up and down. Next, use the speed graph in After Effects to improve the timing and spacing of your moving square to make it feel more realistic. Finally, you’ll want to squish and stretch your square to add a little anticipation before it jump and lands, creating a surprisingly compelling animation with just a few simple steps.

If you’re feeling extra ambitious, try practicing animating in photoshop by creating an exploding ball, or use your imagination to animate something else using the principle of anticipation.

However far you get, please share your work in the project gallery so we can all see the progress you’ve made!

Feeling a little lost? Dive deeper into Bee’s process and her tips for using After Effects and Photoshop in her class on character animation basics.

Resources

Here are all the books and videos Bee mentioned during the class as great ways to keep studying animation and anticipation!
- The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation [book]
- The 12 Principles of Animation [video]
- The Animator’s Survival Kit [book]
- The Jump by Charles Huettner [video]
- Photoshop Animation Techniques [video]
Connect with Bee on Instagram and on her website.
Check out Bee’s other classes on her Skillshare profile.
Find other inspiring animators to follow on Panimation, the directory of women, trans and non-binary friends working with animation and motion graphics that Bee helped create.

Explore More Classes on Skillshare

The Art of Animation: How to Create Lifelike Movement — Emanuele Colombo

Storyboarding for Animation: How to Illustrate and Design for Successful Motion — Sarah Beth Morgan

Animation for Illustration: Adding Movement with Procreate & Photoshop — Libby VanderPloeg

NAJU

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