Getting ready

Visualize how your animation is going to work before creating it. Think about the:

• Direction of the simulated movement
• Amount of space you need to execute the simulated movement
• Size of your animation

These factors determine much about how you create the first picture in your animation.

The direction of movement determines the placement of the object in the initial animation frame. For example, if you create an animation of a ball bouncing from left to right, draw the ball in the lower-left corner of the first animation frame. This placement gives you room above and to the right to move the ball in subsequent animation frames.

The area you need to execute the animation determines the size of your animation frame. If the object you animate moves but doesn’t change its position in the frame, you can make the frame smaller. For example, if you create a face with blinking eyes, you don’t need to allow space around the face. However, if you animate a bouncing ball, you need space around the ball, and the frame needs to be larger.

The size of your animation also helps to determine the size of the animation frame. For ex- ample, if you animate a small corporate logo or name, the animation frame can be smaller. If you animate a large object illustrating a web page or computer game, the frame needs to be bigger.