character design prevent tipping

Character design 2: Will it tip over?

This post is the second in a series on applying the physics concept of center of gravity to character design. In the previous post in this series, we looked at finding a character’s center of gravity, which is usually just below its belly button. When creating a model sheet, you probably have an idea of […]

Does Spider-Man pass the physics test?

I’ve recently discovered a blogger that tackles the tough questions of movie physics. Rhett Allain is an Associate Professor of Physics at Southeastern Louisiana University and the author of the Wired magazine science blog Dot Physics. His blog covers many questions near and dear to the animator’s soul, at least when it comes to physics. […]

Friction: your best friend on Earth

A common animation scenario involves two characters pulling toward one another, as in a rescue scene. Understanding the part gravity plays in such actions is key to animating the scene with enough realism to keep your audience engaged in the story. Every object on Earth is continually responding to gravity. At every moment of every day, […]