July 2009 www.AnimationPhysics.

com

One of the major problems for the inbetweeners is that it is much more difficult to make a drawing on an arc...Drawings made as straight inbetweens completely kill the essence of the action.
from The Illusion of Life, F. Thomas & O. Johnston

Physics of Paths of Action

This tutorial explains basic paths of action, such as the flight of a thrown ball or a brick tipping off the side of a table. In other words, how things move when theyre not moving in a straight line.

2009 Alejandro L. Garcia Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

Brick Drop Animation Test

The brick drop is a basic animation test that introduces several principles of animation. Well use it as the unifying exampleinthistutorial.

Inthistestabricktipsoverfromaheight(sayatable),falls throughtheair,andstrikestheground.Onimpactthebrick maybounceorevenbreakintopieces.

Themainprinciplediscussedinthistutorialisthepathofaction,suchasintipping,falling,andbouncing.Butwellalso talkaboutotherelements,suchasthetimingoftippingover (andhowitcreatesanticipation)aswellastheturningmotion of the falling brick, which could be viewed as a secondary pathofaction.

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Paths of Action
Thepathofactionindicatesthepathalongwhichanobjectoracharacterismovingthroughspace.Physicistscall thisatrajectory. Objectsrarelymoveinstraightlines;itsmuchmorecommon forthemtomoveinarcs.

Complex Arc

an object, such as gravity, friction, etc., the more complicated the motion. Some forces, such as air resistance, vary with time, which makes the timing, spacing, and path of action even more complicated.

Note: Typically, the more forces acting on

Physics of Paths of Action

Line of Action vs. Path of Action

Itsimportantthatyoudontconfusethelineofactionina drawingwiththepathofactioninananimation. Individualdrawingshavealineofaction,whichindicatesthe visualflowofactioninthatsingledrawing.

The path of action is the trajectory for a sequence of drawings, such as the parabolic arc in this jump.

The path of action is usually associated with the primary action but we can also consider paths of action for secondary actions, such as the motion of a characters hand, arm, foot, etc.

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Circular Arcs
Oneofthesimplestpathsofactionisthecirculararc. Forexample,abrickrotatesaboutapointasittipsbecause frictiontendstokeepthebrickfromslidinguntilitsaboutto losecontactwiththetable. The center of the circular arc is the point about which the brick rotates.

A brick may be off-balance in two ways: * Center tipped past point of contact * Center past the edge of the table

Circular arcs are common because motion is often constrained by a fixed pivot point, such as a joint.

The timing of the motion on a circular arc may be uniform and even (as in the lower right part of this golf swing), or it may slow out (as in the lower left) or slow in (as in the upper half).

Physics of Paths of Action

Exponential Spacing
Exponential spacing occurs when the acceleration itself accelerates,suchaswhenaballrollsdownaslopethatis increasinglysteeperandsteeper. AsdiscussedinthetutorialPhysicsofTimingandSpacing, a ball rolling down a straight ramp slows out with spacings givenbytheOddRule,thatis,intheratiosof1:3:5:7:9:... Ontheotherhand,iftheslopeisacirculararcthenthespacingsincreaseexponentially(e.g.,1:2:4:8:16:...).Slowingout fromthepeakofthehillisveryslowinitiallybutthengains speedrapidlyastheslopesteepens. Similarly,aballrollingupacircularhillslowsinwithexponentialspacing,movingveryslowlyasitnearstheapex.

In the Odd Rule, the spacings increase by a constant added increment. In exponential spacing, the spacings increase by a constant multiplied factor, as with compound interest in banking.

Another example of exponential spacing occurs when an objecttipsover.Themotionisveryslowinitiallybutgains speedrapidlyastheangleincreases.

principles of animation and it may be achieved in the brick drop by having the brick initially rock backwards (as an antic) before falling forward. Exponential spacing helps to create anticipation because the motion near the apex is slow, allowing the audience to cue in on the whats to occur, before the main action in which the brick slows out in a dramatic fashion.

Important: Anticipation is one of the

Tipping brick at 1/24th second per frame

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Pendulum Spacing
Apendulumalsoswingsinacirculararcbutitsspacingis notexponential. Thespacingofapendulumisbestunderstoodbyviewingit asaballrollingfromsidetosideinacircularbowl(oraskater inahalf-pipe). Attheleftandrightextremestheslopeissteepestsotheaccelerationisthegreatestatthoseturningpoints. Atthecentertheslopeflattensoutsowhilethespeedisthe greatestinthecenter,thatspeedismoreorlessconstantso thespacingisnearlyeven.

Slow Out Even Spacing

Slow In

Slow Out Even Spacing

Slow In

Aswithfalling,thependulumstimingisindependentofthe weight(aslongasfrictiondoesntslowdownthemotion).

Theswingoftheleginthepassingpositionofawalkcycleis agoodexampleofpendulummotion. Themotionofanarmoralegrotatingaboutajointslowsin andoutasapendulumifthemusclesarerelaxedsuchthat thelimbswingsprimarilybytheforceofgravity. Thelargerthearcsradius,thelongerapendulumtakesto swingbackandforth.Thisisonereasonthatcreatureswith longerlegstendtohaveaslowerstride(forexample,alarge dog,suchasaGreatDane,hasalumberingwalkwhencomparedwiththebriskstrideofachihuahua).

Physics of Paths of Action

Circular Arcs in Perspective

Acircleviewedinperspectiveisanellipse. Thedistortionofspacingfrombackgroundtoforegroundcreatesdramatictiming,evenforuniformrotation. #3

#3
#1 #5

#1

#5
#7

#7
Visually, the distance travelled across the screen from pose #1 to #5 is about the same as from #6 to #8. Since the motion in the foreground occurs in half the time as the motion background, this foreground motion appears to have twice the speed. (Note: Earth-Moon orbit is not to scale)

Forapendulumtheeffectofperspectiveisevenmorenoticeableonthetimingandspacingofthemotion. Initiallyswingingfromthebackground,thependulumishardlyseentomove,creatinganticipation. Afterpassingthenadir(lowestpoint),thependulumquickly enterstheforeground. The timing near the end is similar to that of a ball thrown straightupwardapproachingitsapex.

#7
#1

#7

#1

#4
#4
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Spirals and Sinusoids

Spiralsandsinusoidsarevariationsofthecirculararc. Aspiralisacirculararcwitharadiusthatchangesasweturn aroundinangle.
Objects moving in a spiral often go faster as the radius gets smaller, such as water swirling into a drain. Even if the speed stays constant, as with a tether ball, it takes less and less time to go around since the radius of the circle gets smaller.

There are different types of spirals, depending on how the radius changes with angle. This logarithmic spiral, for which the radius increases exponentially, is one of the more common spirals in nature.

Sinusoidsareverycommoninnatureandmostwavemotion followsthispattern.Examplesincluderipplesonawatersurfaceandtheflappingofaflag.

Asinusoidiscreatedwhenuniformrotationgoesupanddown whileatthesametimeauniformshiftoccurstotheside.

2 3 4

Sinusoid
5

6 7 8

Physics of Paths of Action

Tipping Forward
Inthebrickdropanimationtestthebrickrotatesasittips overandthenfallsoffthetable.Duetoitsrotationthebrick acquiresahorizontalvelocitycausingittomoveawayfrom the table. Asitpicksupspeed,thebrickactsasifaforceispullingit awayfromthetable.Thisisknownasthecentrifugalforce.
The brick does not fall this way.

You experience centrifugal force when, as a passenger in a car making a sharp circular turn, you feel yourself pulled outward, away from the center of the circle.

Oncethebrickslipsofftheedgeofthetablethepathofactionisnolongeracirculararc. Intheair,thebrickfallsinafashionsimilartothefallingball, discussedinthePhysicsofTimingandSpacingtutorial,exceptthatitisnotfallingstraightdown. Thebricksfallingmotionisacombinationofverticalfalling plusahorizontalmotion.

Link: The origin

and nature of centrifugal force is described in the another tutorial (Physics of Creating Action)

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Timing the Brick Drop

Time (sec.) Frames Distance Fallen from Apex

1/24 1/12 1/8 1/6 1/4 1/3 1/2 2/3 3/4 1

1 2 3 4 6 8 12 16 18 24

1/3 inch 1 1/3 inches 3 inches 5 1/3 inches 1 foot 1 3/4 feet 4 feet 7 feet 9 feet 16 feet

Thetimingofthebrickwhileintheairisthesameasthat of an object falling straight down, simply adding a uniform horizontalmotiontotheslowingoutintheverticaldirection. TheDistanceFallentable(discussedinthePhysicsofTiming and Spacing tutorial) may be used to approximate the timingofthebrickasitfalls. Rememberthataslongasairresistanceisntsignificant,all objectsfallatthesamerate.Forabrick,airresistanceisnegligibleunlessthebrickfallsfromthetopofatallbuilding.

Distance Fallen = (1/3 inch) x (Frames) x (Frames)

Question: Answer:

After tipping over, about how many frames will this brick be in the air? A standard brick is 2 x 3 x 8 inches si hcihw( shtgnel kcirb 4 tuoba eb ot skool thgieh ehT 01 dnuora eb ot skool taht ,elbat eht morF .)sehcni 23 semarf 01 ni nellaf ecnatsid eht ,alumrof eht morF .semarf .thgir tuoba staht os ,sehcni 3/1 33 si

Tip: The brick drop test is challenging for

tency is most important when the brick is not moving, such as at the beginning and the end of the animation.

traditional animators because it is difficult to draw the brick with consistent volume and shape, especially in perspective. This consis-

Physics of Paths of Action

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Moving & Falling

The path of action of an object moving horizontally as it fallsverticallyisaparabolicarc. Agoodexampleofthisisaballrollingoffatable.

The parabolic arc is the combination of uniform horizontal motionandacceleratingverticalmotion.Horizontaldistances equallyspacedaswithuniformmotion. Fallingstartswithkey#4,withverticaldistancesincreasing as1:3:5:7:(seetheOddRuleinthePhysicsofTimingand Spacingtutorial). Notethatthedistancesfallendonotdependonhowfastthe ballrollsoffthetable.

Question: This softball is 4 inches in diameter. How many frames are there between
the key drawings, that is, are we shooting on ones, twos, or threes?

Answer: no elbat eht morF .sehcni 3 tuoba si 5# dna 4# yek neewteb ecnatsid ehT
os ecnatsid taht llaf ot semarf eerht sekat ti taht ees ew egap suoiverp eht .seerht no gnitoohs erew

is a classic physics demonstration in which one ball is released and falls straight down while a second ball is simultaneously fired horizontally. As they fall the balls are always at the same height so they hit the ground at the same time. Really! Try it yourself by placing a flat knife on the corner of a smooth table. Place a coin on the knife tip and a second coin on the table, next to the knifes handle. Quickly slide the knife sideways so the first coin falls and the second is fired sideways. Listen for when they hit the ground.

Experiment: There

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Spinning & Tumbling

Afallingbrickmayturnbysimplespinningarounditscenteroritmayturnbyamorecomplicatedtumblingmotion. Insimplespinning,theanglerotatesataconstantrate. A brick tipped 45 as it loses contact with the table will fall spinningabout30everytwoframes.

A good example of tumbling is seen when a chair is thrown.

Insomecasesspinningisunstableandtumblingoccurs.This isespeciallycommonforirregularlyshapedobjectsandfor regularshapeswhentheyrenotspinningdowntheshortaxis nordownthelongaxis,suchasthebrickshownontheleft. There is no simple way to describe tumbling. However, the brickscenterstillfollowsthesamepathofaction.

Physics of Paths of Action

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More Parabolic Arcs

Whenaballisthrownupwardbutnotstraightup,thepath ofactionisaparabolicarc. Inaparabolicarcthehorizontalspacingisconstantanduniform while the vertical spacing follows the Odd Rule (see PhysicsofTimingandSpacingtutorial).

The faster the horizontal speed,theflatterthearc.

Question:

This softball is 4 inches in diameter. How many frames are there between the key drawings, that is, are we shooting on ones, twos, or threes?

Answer: 5# dna 4# yek neewteb ecnatsid ehT

no elbat eht morF .sehcni 3 tuoba si eerht sekat ti taht ees ew 11 egap eht erew os ecnatsid taht llaf ot semarf ?railimaf dnuoS .seerht no gnitoohs 21 egap no noitseuq eht eeS

The path of action of a jumping character or a steam of water flying through the air is also a parabolic arc.

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Bouncing
Thepathofactionofabouncingballisaseriesofparabolicarcs,eachwithalowerapex(duetosomelossofenergy onimpactwiththeground). Typically, the height of each bounce is lower by the same percentage(about25%inthepicturebelow).

Bouncing ping pong ball

Bouncing Object Golf Ball Billiard Ball Hand Ball Tennis Ball Glass Marble Steel Ball Bearing Brick Clay Ball

Percent of height lost per bounce 33% 40% 50% 50% 60% 67% 95% 100%

To animate a bounce accurately you need to consider the elasticity of both the bouncing object and the surface on whichitbounces.Forexample,agolfballbouncingongrass losesmuchmoreheightthanbouncingoffofconcrete. This table shows roughly how much height various objects losewhenbouncingonaconcretefloor.

Normally,abouncingobjectlosesheighteachtimeithitsthe ground.However,itcouldgainheightifthesurfacewasmovingupwardonimpact(suchasbouncingatennisballupand downasyoumoveyourracket).

Physics of Paths of Action

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Successive Bounces
Eachsuccessivebounceisasimilarparabolicarc. Typicallythehorizontalspacingstaysconstantfromframeto frameyetthedistancetraveledwitheachbouncedecreases sincethetimeintheairisalsodecreasing.

9 frames in the air

8 frames in the air

7 frames in the air

A simple way to do successive bounces is to repeat the upper part of an earlier bounce.

Eachsuccessivebounceoccursatashallowerangle,forexampleiftheballloseshalfofitsheightwitheachbounceand theincomingangleis45degreesthentheoutgoinganglewill be35degrees. The angle of a bounce will be shallower if the ball has top spinsincethespingivestheballaddedhorizontalvelocityon impact.Soaballwithtopspinwillbouncelowandfast. Conversely,aballwithbackspinloseshorizontalvelocityon impactandwithenoughbackspinyoucanevenhavetheball comebacktoyourhand.TryityourselfwithaSuperBall.

Bouncingdownastaircaseisaninterestingexampleofsuccessivebounces.Asusual,theballlosesafractionofitsenergyoneachimpactbutthenitpicksupspeedfromfalling theextradistancedowntothenextstep. Afterthefirstbounceortwotheballgetsintoarhythmand bounces to the same height with each step. For example, ifhalftheheightislostonimpactthenitbouncesuptothe heightofthepreviousstep,asshownontheright.

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Paths of Action and Scale

Thepathofactionandthespacingsonthatpatharetypicallynotaffectedbythescale;itsusuallythetimingofthe motion that reveals the scale. Isthisa6inchrockfalling4feet? Isita60inchboulderfalling40feet? Thespacingsandthepathofactionarethesameinthetwo cases.However,thetimingisdifferenttherockfallsfor12 frameswhiletheboulderfallsforabout38frames. Whenscalemodelsareusedinfilmsthetimingmaybecorrectedusinghigh-speedcameras.Forexample,ifthefalling rockisfilmedattriplespeed(72framespersecond)thenit willlooklikeaboulderwhenplayedbackatnormalspeed.

Director Ishiro Honda holding upper body of the monster Gojira, also known as Godzilla. (1954)

Adjusting for scale is tricky when a variety of forces are at play. For example, the timing of the droplets splashing through the air depends on gravity but the droplet size depends on surface tension.

Physics of Paths of Action

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Parabolic Arc in Perspective

Todrawaparabolicarcinperspective,suchasforaball movinghorizontallyasitfalls,itseasiesttoworkusingposeto-poseanimation.

As described in Physics of Timing and Spacing tutorial, use the Fourth Down at Half Time rule to locate the midpoint between the apex and the lowest key pose.

To add more drawings, use the same principles for finding in-betweens as for any falling object. Remember that slowing out is most noticeable near the apex.

To draw a rising and falling parabolic arc in perspective, select the start and end points on the ground plane. Decide on the maximum height and draw your perspective lines to the vanishing point.

The intersection of the diagonals locates the midpoint, which gives you the apex of the arc. Now use the Fourth Down at Half Time rule to locate the positions on either side of the apex.

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Arc Errors
Wrong The arm is too short in the middle pose. Right

The most common error in drawing arcs is to not draw arcs. In other words, to incorrectly draw a straight path of action. Arelatederroroccurswhenthetimingorthespacingaretoo uniform. Othercommonerrorsaredrawingarcsthewrongshapeor withthecorrectshapebutwiththewrongspacings(i.e.,puttingthekeydrawingsatthewronglocationsonthearc).

Wrong Path of action is straight and the spacings dont slow in or slow out.

Right Path of action is a parabolic arc with the correct spacings.

Whenever forces act on an object, such as gravity pulling downonthethrownball,theresaneffectonthetiming,spacing,andthepathofaction(andthethreeareinterrelated).

Wrong Spacings are too uniform in the vertical and not uniform in the horizontal

Wrong Apex is not at the center of the arc.

Physics of Paths of Action

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Basic Motion Graphs

Motion graphs are closely related to paths of action yet they describe spacing and timing in a different way. Since motiongraphsarecommonincomputeranimation,itsgood toknowhowtheylookfordifferentpathsofaction. Theparabolicpathofactionofathrownball combines constant motion in the horizontal withslowinginandoutinthevertical. Since the horizontal spacings stay uniform themotiongraphofthehorizontalpositionis astraightline. Themotiongraphfortheverticalpositionisa parabola,justlikethepathofaction. Inallcases,themotiongraphissteepestat keyswheretheobjectismovingthefastest.

50

40

30

20

Vertical Position Horizontal Position

10

-10

Keyframe

Question: What does the motion graph for a bouncing ball look like? to n t t oz o b tn p ht Answer: noofithopmreghnoistotmaeshnTo.censiyl athsgidaeresps l,atingair,sihnehttislloap leahnozoirnih sroofnhpairW r a t a na oi t o g
.noitca fo htap eht sa epahs emas eht ni ,epahs-V a si noitisop lacitrev eht
100 80 60 40 20

wi Slo

ng

in

Themotiongraphfortheangleofaswinging pendulumisanS-shapedcurve. Thependulumslowsinandoutofeachapex; the curve there is not exactly parabolic but close to it. Inthemiddleoftheswing,asthependulumis movingatitshighestspeed,themotiongraph is steep. The graph is nearly a straight line sincethespeedisnearlyconstant.
8

Angle

Tim

ing

#7
#1

-20 -40 -60 -80 -100 0

Ev

en

in low
1

go

ut

#4

Keyframe

Ifthependulumcontinuesswingingbackand forth then the S-shaped curve repeats and lookssomewhatlikeasinusoidalwave.

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Complex Motion Graphs

Themotiongraphforacomplexpathofactionisirregular anddifficulttointerpret.Nevertheless,themotioncanbeunderstoodbybreakingitdowntoexamineitpiece-by-piece.

120

Vertical Position #1 #1

100

80

60

#6

#6

40

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Keyframe

10

Theleafisprimarilymovingdownwardyetwith eachloopitalsohasatemporaryupwardsurge. Eachtimethattheleafsmotionchangesfrom upward to downward the motion graph of the verticalpositionhasapeak(andtheresavalleyeachtimethemotionreversesfromdownwardtoupward). Notice that, unlike the path of action, the curve on the motion graph can nevercrossitself;ifitdidthentheobjectwouldbeintwoplacesatthesame time(andthesamekeyframe). Astheleafdriftsdownwarditalsogoes lefttorightandthenback.Thisrepeatedoscillationinthehorizontalposition issimilartothebackandforthrocking ofapendulum. Keyframe

100

120

20

40

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0 0 2 4 6

#1 Horizontal Position

#6

Sometimes things are easier to see when you change your point of view.

Note:

8 10

Physics of Paths of Action

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Timing & Spacing for a Path of Action

Timingandspacingonacomplexpathofactionmaybe foundbybreakingitdownintosegmentsandusingtheprinciplesabovetoestimatethemotiononeachsegment. Takealeaffloatingtotheground.Wherethepathisflatthe leafslideshorizontallywithnearlyconstantspeed. Whenthepathisasteepdownwardslopetheleafslowsout asitslidesdownwardwhileitslowsinonanupwardslope. Roundingadownwardcurvethetimingislikethatofapendulum while on an upward curve its nearly exponential as theleafslowlycrestsoverthetopofthepath.

Picture yourself riding on the moving leaf as if you were on a roller coaster. If your timing and spacing are realistic then you should feel the motion (and so should the audience).

The motion will not follow these timing and spacing patterns if another independent force, such as a blowing wind, pushes on the leaf.

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Character Design
Thefirsttwotutorialsdiscussedthetiming,spacing,and paths of action for simple objects, like a bouncing ball or a fallingbrick. Inthenexttutorialwellseehowphysicscanhelpyouwith characterdesign,inparticularcreatingbalancedposesand believableactionposes.

Image Credits

Sports Car, pg 10, http://images.paultan.org/ AllillustrationsnotlistedbelowarebyCharleneFlemingand images/135itestdrive/450/title.jpg photosnotlistedarebytheauthor Dr. Experiment,pg.12,RebbazRoyee Bouncing Ball, pg. 3, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ Image:Bouncing_ball_strobe_edit.jpg Detective,pgs.3,21,RebbazRoyee Golf Swing, pg. 5, Harold Edgerton, http://www.artsology. com/gfx/motion_in_art/edgerton_golf_swing.jpg Skateboarder, pg. 7, http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2005/ catch-air.jpg Whirlpool,pg.9,http://www.spiralwishingwells.com/guide/images/whirlpool2.jpg Tetherball, pg, 9, Draper Inc., http://www.draperinc.com/images/GYM/Images/Tetherball.jpg Logarithmic Spiral, pg, 9, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Image:Logarithmic_spiral.svg#file Ripples, pg. 9, http://www.free-background-wallpaper.com/ images/Wallpapers1600/water/Enhanced-Ripples.jpg Rainbow Flag, pg, 9, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/3/33/Flyingrainbowflag.JPG Chair, pg. 13 http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedromourapinheiro/2441369249/in/set-72157604362514045/ Man Jumping, pg. 14, Thomas Eakins, http://www.pbs.org/ eakins/img_1882.htm Water Fountain, pg. 14, http://bovitz.com/photo/traditional/ jpgphotos/2006/2006-10Toronto/Bird-water-fountain.jpg Bouncing Ball,pgs.15,16,Prof.A.Davidhazy,RIT,http://people.rit.edu/andpph/photofile-b/strobe-bouncingball-3607-1.jpg Tennis Racket,pg.15,http://web.mit.edu/3.082/www/team1_ f02/pictures/tennis-ball-rebound-1a.jpg Ishiro Honda, pg. 17, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ Image:Inoshiro_Honda_and_Godzilla.jpg Water Splash, pg. 17, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/0/00/Water_splash.jpg Roller Coaster,pg.22,http://www.negative-g.com/NoLimits/ No%20Limits%20Defunct%20Coasters.htm Leaf Blower, pg. 22, http://www.re-nest.com/uimages/renest/4-17-2008leafblower.jpg

Special thanks to Alice Carter, David Chai, John Clapp, Courtney Granner, Lizz Greer, Rex Grignon, Martin McNamara, and the Shrunkenheadman Club at San Jose State. Physics of Animation is a project supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation

Physics of Paths of Action

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