Getting the ball rolling

Before we get into the Graph Editor, we’ll need to insert some initial keyframes as we did in the previous chapter. As a general rule, it’s better to block out the most important positions of an object before adding details, so our first two keyframes will simply make the ball roll from left to right.

Rolling is just rotation in perfect sync with location. All we need to do is key the location and rotation of the ball on the same frames, making sure that we rotate the ball according to a precise mathematical formula based on how far it moves. After we get the ball rolling, we’ll use the Graph Editor to make it bounce.

Let’s key the initial placement of the ball. To save time, we can key the location and rotation of the ball at once:

1. Go to frame 10.
2. Select the ball and move it -5 units leftward on the X axis.
3. Press I to bring up the Insert Keyframe menu and choose Location & Rotation.

   This inserts both rotation...