Creating playful animations that incorporate physics can add a sense of realism and engagement to your projects. Whether to build these animations from scratch or to utilize existing libraries largely depends on your specific needs, expertise, and resources. Here’s how you can approach both options:
Building from scratch:
Learning and Skill Development: This approach allows you to deeply understand the mechanics behind physics-based animations. You’ll learn about motion equations, forces, inertia, and elasticity which can be beneficial for customizing complex interactions.
Flexibility and Customization: Starting from scratch gives you full control over every aspect of your animation. You can customize the physics model according to the specific needs of your project, enabling unique and innovative features that are not constrained by the limitations of a library.
Tools & Technologies: Popular programming languages like JavaScript, Python, or Swift alongside graphics capabilities in HTML5 Canvas or WebGL can be employed. Utilize math libraries and browser tools for prototyping and testing.
Using Libraries:
Speed and Efficiency: Libraries like GSAP, Matter.js, or Three.js in JavaScript, and PyGame or Pyglet in Python, offer pre-built physics engines and animation systems. These can drastically reduce development time.
Reliability and Community Support: Established libraries come with extensive documentation, community forums, and examples. They are typically reliable and have been tested across different applications and scenarios.
Feature-Rich: Many libraries incorporate not only physics but also rendering optimizations and support for various device interactions. They cater to both simple and complex requirements, giving you a wide range of features to work with.

In conclusion, if your goal is to learn and produce highly customized animations, starting from scratch might be advantageous. On the other hand, if you’re constrained by time or require robust solutions quickly, using a physics or animation library is the better choice, enabling you to leverage existing components and community knowledge. Evaluate the trade-offs in terms of development time, flexibility, and the complexity of the animations you intend to create before deciding on the best approach.