Motion Graphics Week 3: Puppet Pin Tool

This week we were learning how to animate using the puppet pin tool, in which Sam made this adorable dancing V can and Fanta bottle animation.

Basically the puppet pin tool is the same principle as the inverse kinematics (bone tool) in Flash, or rigging in any 3D Animation program (I use Maya myself). Creating 'joints' allows you to create a virtual skeleton of the flat image you're using in AE. Manipulating these points allows you to create the illusion of animation, sometimes looking fluid, and sometimes looking lame.

This animation I did for my Multimedia studio last year, I ended up using half puppet pin and half traditional tween animation.

Also look, we're finally learning about Motion Blur! You just click on these little circles in the timeline box here. It's almost too easy. Damn you AE.