A few tests with a new setup

 

 Okay, Here are a bunch of new animation tests! The one above was just a spontaneous exercise to try out a new stage set up. Of all the videos I think this one was the most successful in establishing a personality for the ball.

 

Two more exercises, more technical this time. Just trying to get a hang of more detailed facial animation with clay. It's kind of tricky... especially when the clay starts to get soft under the lights. You can see where I had to stop in the first video because the clay wanted to move in more dramatic ways than I needed it to. A trick I just learned is to use compressed air to cool the clay and stiffen it up for more subtle / smaller movements.

The Second video has no sound, I was just following the animators survival guide lip sync examples. What is shows though is how easy it is to animate a simple mouth. This mouth was just a gash I made with a sculpting tool. More complex mouths are possible of course with tongues and teeth and such, but  that requires a commitment beyond just trying out mouth shapes for the first time.