#it /is/ a ball but you know. squash and stretch for emphasis

[infini-tree]

assorted caps themed after Something soccer adjacent

[gecko-plushie]

Phantoms are made of tears 2/?

tumblr said links are illegal so I can’t link pt 1 sorry, look in my blog history till tumblr gets their shit together or shuts down

Phantoms are made of tears

Chapter 2/?

The phantom rushed through the grass, the blades which only tickled earlier beat against them sharply, their single eye darted every which way, no matter how much they tried they simply couldn't figure how to get away from the tigers that had killed their sibling. For a moment they thought they'd escaped the thundering tiger paws only to fall over backwards trying to avoid slamming right into one of them, they stayed perfectly still waiting for them to smash them into smoke, but instead they'd made harsh sounds with their mouths;

"REPORT FROM GENERAL GILBERT RECEIVED, PHANTOM RAID HAS MOVED TO THE LAKE, REPEAT, PHANTOM RAID HAS MOVED TO THE LAKE, BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SPAWNERS" the tiger in front of them shouted, its voice nearly shook the little phantom "MOVE OUT TROOPS" the voice commanded and the phantom's world exploded into thunder once more, luckily the tigers had been so preoccupied with making it to the "phantom raid" at the "lake" they'd failed to notice the blue phantom in the silver grass.

And that brought them to where they were now, running through the grass avoiding every tiger they could. To make matters worse they could hardly see in front of them after some dark fluff in the sky had covered their main light source, were they just supposed to live like this? were there tigers everywhere? was every part of the world other then where they'd first appeared just dark like this? They'd been so lost in their fears they only now noticed.. the ground had stopped shaking.

A trap they thought. They burrowed themselves in the grass and stood perfectly still for several minutes.

And then several more minutes.

And a few more just for good measure, before finally standing (well, floating) up and looking around, they couldn't see any tigers, but in their short existence they'd learned the tigers to be very sneaky and they listened more closely.

Then they noticed a buzz, or not quite a buzz but as if there were several people humming, the phantom moved closer to the ground at this and jumped a mile back when they saw a small creature sitting on the ground in front of them.

Upon realizing the creature was in fact much smaller then they were they leaned closer to it and it started making noises which made the phantom, again, jump a mile away and the cricket, alarmed by the sudden movement, flew away instantly to join the chorus of chirping.

The phantom finally began to relax slightly and began drifting through the forest, after a while it noticed there were less and less trees until they abruptly stopped altogether and the land became an open field, stretching over the hills, it was also becoming much lighter.

The phantom glanced back the way it came- and that was when they saw it.

the bottom of the sky behind them was bathed in orange and yellow, all coming from an bright orb in the distance, it was a spectacular show until the phantom remembered where they'd seen those colors before, when one of the larger phantoms had struck a tree with electricity and it had become engulfed in blazing hot fire.

They were lighting the forest on fire the phantom thought with a start, although last time there'd been that smell, it was also attached to something, not just floating in a ball in the sky.

Needless to say the phantom was thoroughly confused, but at least it was light out now and the fire didn’t seem to be coming towards them or anything, so it was probably fine.

Eventually they reached some very odd looking trees, or logs or whatever they were, they were smooth, flat and had no leaves, and, upon closer inspection, seemed to be stuck together.

And that was when they heard the voices, although they weren't as loud and harsh as the tigers from before, peering through the gaps in the fence they saw lots of animals, not running anywhere or smashing anyone but just standing around making noises to each other or wandering around putting up colorful papers and tying colorful floating orbs on strings to things. There was also a monkey pounding on what looked like some smooth logs with a flap of something tied to the top and a lemur blowing into a stick with holes in it.

The phantom was so preoccupied it hadn't realized it was being stared at by a tiny bunny holding way too many flowers in its small arms until it scooped the phantom up in its paw and plopped it securely into its ginormous bundle of flowers and smiled before running off towards a larger rabbit sitting at a table talking to some other animals.

"Oh- are those all the blue flowers you could find sweetheart?" the larger rabbit asked and the smaller one nodded enthusiastically "I got.. Bluebells!" it shouted in a much higher pitch voice, placing emphasis on every word. "Those aren't blu-  why don't you go get all the orange flowers now?" the larger one said- in a somewhat annoyed tone, as it began pushing the smaller rabbit away and turning back to the other animals it had been conversing with a moment ago.

Just then a wolf appeared out of seemingly nowhere "Before you run off, we're cutting the cake in a second, why don't we move over there? You can give those flowers there to the birthday girl!" they said kneeling down to look at the small bunny.

Everyone moved to gather around a smaller wolf wearing a pointy brightly colored hat as another wolf sliced into a giant cake, a dollop of frosting falling off unto the phantom's head as they moved the slice unto a plate, not exactly knowing what to do with it, it "ate" it, the phantom didn't exactly have a mouth but it managed. No one seemed to really mind it being here and it was actually somewhat enjoying itself, still huddled in the little rabbit's bundle of flowers.

The rabbit tugged on the wolf in the brightly colored hat's ear to get its attention before scooping up the phantom and holding it outwards towards the small wolf "Here! You can have the prettiest bluebell!" the wolf bent down to inspect the "bluebell" before jumping back and shouting "THAT'S A PHANTOM!!"

Everyone's attention immediately turned to the phantom and it suddenly it didn't feel so comfortable here- but it wasn't a phantom it was a bluebell, that’s what the bunny said! Suddenly the larger wolf started growling and an animal next to them immediately batted the bundle of flowers out of the bunny's hands and just like that the phantom was running again.

i'm not a phantom i'm a bluebell!

Many of the larger animals jumped around, trying to squash the phantom, although mostly squashing flower petals, the phantom ran and hid in a piece of cake someone had dropped, trying to think of the best way to make its escape.

"Where'd it go?!" "It must be from the phantom raid in Sarapia last night!" “I think I got it- wait” lots of animals were shouting to each other, either staying perfectly still or running around madly.

Finally the phantom- bluebell took its chance and make its escape back through the fence, only the bunny that had picked it up saw it go.

[ellaraymaughan]

12 Principles of animation:

There are 12 principles of animation which are crucial for good animation practice. The first principle is Squash and Stretch. 

Squash and stretch: 

This principle is used to show the density of an object whilst making it look as realistic as possible. For example, when a ball is squashed it will look flatter while also being longer. This is because the size of the ball doesn’t change when squashing and stretch so when the ball is being squashed down it also has to stretch outwards to keep the same density. 

Squash and stretch is used also in facial expressions. For example, when a character is shocked, their face will squash down and then stretch upwards in order to show expression and what the character is feeling so that the audience doesn’t miss the movement and wonder why the character is suddenly surprised or upset. 

Example gif made by: furoushka 

Anticipation: 

The second principle is anticipation. This principle is used to inform the audience into what action is about to happen. To give an example, this would mean bending the knees before jumping and holding the pose before the jump. Therefore giving a more life like look. 

Staging: 

This next principle is staging. Staging is where you use motion to guide the viewers eyes and draw attention to whats important within the scene. Keeping the focus on whats important within the scene and keep the motion of everything else which isn’t as important to a minimum. 

Straight ahead action and pose to pose: 

Straight ahead action is where you draw frame-by-frame from start to finish. This can be used to make smooth, fluid, realistic movement. 

Pose to pose is where you draw the begining frame, the end frame and the few key frames in-between. After this then you go back and complete the rest. This gives you more control within the scene and allows you to increase the dramatic effect of the motion. 

Follow through and overlapping action: 

When an object stops moving, different parts of the object will stop at different rates. Not everything on the object will move at the same rate. If a character is running across a screen, their arms and legs will move at a different rate from their head. This is called overlapping action. 

When the character stops running, their hair will continue to flow for a few frames.This is called follow through. 

Slow in and slow out: 

Thinking about this principle in terms of a car and how it starts up and stops. It starts moving slowly before gaining momentum and speeds up. The reverese happens when a car breaks. This is achieved by adding more frames into the beginging of a sequence. 

Arc: 

Its important to stick to the laws of physics when creating animation. Most objects follow an arc or path when moving and your objects should follow that arc. For example, when a person is throwing a ball, their back will create an arc which joins the body to the legs and arms. 

Secondary action: 

Secondary actions are used to support or emphasis the main action. This could be hair flowing behind the character or a hat bobbing up and down on the characters head as it walks. 

Timing: 

You need to use physics in order to make the animations more believable with this principle. This means that moving an object faster or slower than it orginally moves at will make the animation look unrealistic. Using timing allows you to controll the mood and reaction of your characters and objects. You can push timing a little bit when creating an imaginary world. However, you need to make it consistant. 

Exageration: 

Too much realism can make your animation look static and boring, which is why exageration is added to characters and objects more dynamic. 

Solid drawings: 

You need to know the basics of drawing. This includes 3 dimentional objects, and learning about form, anatomy, weight and volume, lights and shadows. 

Its important to stay consistant with this too. 

Appeal: 

The character, objects and worlds they live in need to appeal to the viewer. This includes having an easy-to-read design, solid drawing and a personality. You need strong character development. 

[michaelakhan]

My happiness is… How my varsity squash career went so wrong, but so right

Michaela here, your resident university squash player. No, squash is not the same as racquetball. No, you don’t get hit by the ball that often. But yes, it bloody hurts when you do.

I’ve grown up in what you would call the epitome of #SquashFam. My dad was (and is) pretty freaking good at squash – 2x individual and 3x team OUA champion, former #1 player in Trinidad. My sister is the current #1 player on the Western University team. Our parents actually met playing squash in the great city of London, Ontario, where I have been living for the last 6 years.

It should be no surprise that I started playing squash when an adult racquet was probably taller than me. I played recreationally throughout my childhood, but it was mostly just a place to hang out with friends. Instead, I was enjoying a rather illustrious gymnastics career, while also dabbling in a gazillion other sports. However by my mid-teens, it became evident that my time gymnastics was coming to an end (story for another day). Being the ‘all or nothing’ type of person I am, I knew I needed to find another sport that I could throw myself into. With an international coach at my fingertips (shoutout to Coach Khan aka Dad), squash seemed like a decent place to start.

One little problem. As it turned out, I really, really, really hated squash. Emphasis on the really.  

I cannot tell you how many times I threatened to quit. I would cry in the change rooms after (sometimes during) practice, thinking how anyone could enjoy this absolutely brutal sport. Chasing around a tiny, uncontrollable ball while trapped in a 4 walled room... That was supposed to be… fun?!

LOL. Apparently.  

Fast forward a few years. As much as I despised squash, I was fueled more by competitiveness than hatred. The more tournaments I entered and got my ass handed to me in, the more I desired to master the crazy game. Finally, I made the decision to try out for the squash team at the same university my Dad had played at the #1 position for.

I miraculously made it through try-outs and onto the playing team, but my first year on the team was incredibly trying. I still hadn’t fully figured out if I actually liked the sport, but I had decided I didn’t fit in on the team. New teammates, new coaches, new school. I struggled so much socially that just showing up to practice seemed like a chore. Squash may be an individual sport, but I had never felt so isolated.  

Thankfully, the ball seemed to become more controllable as I moved through university. I made the jump from the #4 player in my 1st year to the #2 player in my 3rd year, and looked set to hold down the #1 spot in my 4th year. I had made life-long friends on the team, endured punishing tournaments that pushed me to my limits, and was maintaining a solid GPA. My love for the sport was blossoming. Squash dominated my thoughts, even when I wasn’t on court.  

Life may have seemed good on the outside, but inside, a storm was brewing. One year after another, I would end the season with one of my feet in a cast. The third time I slipped on my trusty old Aircast boot, my doctor wouldn’t clear me to play. Weeks went by, then months. Finally, my injuries stretched through the seasons. Plural. It took so much of my physical and mental energy to crawl my way back to the court after so much time not being able to crawl out of bed because of the pain and heartache.    

I got there in my 6th year at Western. I rejoined the starting line-up in September 2018 - not fully functional, but at least on court.

I was out again by December 2018. Surgery scheduled for April 2019. 

‘Devastated’ doesn’t come close to describing it.  

During my recovery, I came across an article by Alex Cyr, a St FX and U Windsor track athlete (http://uwindsorlance.com/a-friendly-word-of-advice-to-fellow-student-athletes/). He talked about athletes whose lives are consumed by their sport (check), and what happens when, by cruel twists of fate, you can no longer play it anymore. He suggested that if and when that happens, to find new ways to contribute to your sport.

Looking back at my university squash career, I saw immense failure. It was painful to admit that I would never be a true #1 on the team or leave any sort of legacy. I felt like a fraud - walking around in my varsity jacket knowing how long it had been since I had played a tournament. However, after reading that article I realised that I may have still found the ‘ways’ that Alex talked about.  

I had been a 1x vice-captain and 2x captain, roles I took very seriously and still consider to be the biggest honour Western ever gave me. I had the opportunity to tour prospective high schoolers around campus. I logged hours upon hours of court time, coaching the team through drills. I cheered for my teammates in matches and travelled with them all over the province. I had the privilege of introducing players in tournaments and giving the pre-game pep talk. In the minute and a half between games, I offered teammates the best advice I had to give. Hands were held and shoulders were cried on during the hard times. Milestones – everything from first kisses to overcoming mental illnesses – were celebrated. We danced the night away at tournaments and laughed until we hit the floor. My heart would swell with pride when teammates sent me good midterm marks that had boosted their grades. My own grades had stayed consistent too – earning an OUA All-Academic Canadian certificate (and a darn good free lunch) each year and a fully funded master’s degree. I had also found my voice – less afraid to speak up when things didn’t feel right. As a 6th year veteran, I felt it was my duty to make sure that no teammate should feel like I had in my own 1st year.  

In those aspects of varsity sport life, I had not failed.  

My time on the Western University squash team will not be remembered in writing like my Dad’s achievements. My kids will not walk past squash trophies with my name on in Thames Hall or a picture of me in Western’s Student Recreation Centre. I was not an MVP, Purple Blanket winner, or an OUA All-Star. 

Did I want all those things? Hell yeah.

But things don’t always work out the way you want them to, and now I can see my gains instead of losses.

Through all my successes and failures, I will always be proud to have worn the Mustang on my chest for 6 years - as a teammate, captain, coach and, most importantly, a friend.

So for the last time - Stangs on 3.  1, 2, 3… STANGS!

Be kind to yourself, 

Michaela (aka girl who asked for a burrito immediately after her surgery but was denied this right because she threw up after chugging ginger ale)

☼ / ☾

Picture time!!!!

Yep, pretty sure the racquet’s taller than me

First OUAs at home in London - it may look like I was on top of the world here (ha ha) but I was really struggling

Dad’s picture at the Western Student Recreation Centre - I walk past this picture of my Dad each time I go to the courts on campus. It’s a good reminder that he is quite literally always looking over and out for me 

Dad and Western University’s legendary coach Jack Fairs at the Western Mustang Sports Hall of Fame Banquet, Oct 2018. Dad’s holding a picture his 2nd individual OUA championship trophy in 1990. As a coach and mentor (read “second father”), Jack changed my Dad’s life in many ways. I am always thankful to have spent many weekend afternoons with Jack and Peg, hearing stories about the glory days and indulging in Peg’s unparalleled baked goods

At Western, you receive a Bronze W award if you play on the first team for a minimum of 3 years. I was given mine exactly 25 years after my Dad earned his

I didn’t know it at the time, but this would be my last appearance as a Mustang on court, so it’s fitting it was in London. Ankle braces in tow, but I was ecstatic to be on court again! #ThatHeadbandTho

Last Athletic Banquet -  always a fun time with old and newer friends. Miss you all (and that buffet!!!!) already

I found a family on the squash team, but was also unbelievably lucky that my squash family included a member of my real life family. My sister Madison is my inspiration and I will always look up to her. Literally and figuratively – she may be younger but she happens to be much taller. Still trying to convince her to move to Vancouver with me, any help will be greatly appreciated!!! I told her she could keep kicking my butt out there but apparently that’s not enough (she’s been able to beat me for years, probably getting bored of it)