I started with researching run cycles, so I turned to Pinterest and Youtube for inspiration, I was looking specifically for strong fast runs.

I found inspiration like this animation –

I also found 3D walk cycles like –

I found the further someone is leaning forward, the more intense the run, so I tried to implement that generally with Nyx. I started with blocking out the general movement. I slowed this down to show off posing.

I began implementing smear frames as an experiment, and I ended up keeping them after recieving feedback that they added power to the run.

This was me still filling in the character pass. Something was off but I couldn’t tell what it was at this point. I felt like there wasn’t enough weight in the animation.

The hair gave me a lot of grief, but I think I conveyed movement alright here. I also realised what was throwing off the motion was the up pose was too drastic, so I scaled it back and it look a lot better now.

The finished animation! I learnt a lot from my walk cycle. I used separate layers for smaller details that moved, like the eyes and her tattoo, and I think that really helped with consistency. I captured the energy that I wanted to convey, so in that regard I was successful. I also really enhoy the experimental side of animation, trying things to see if they work and trying out ways to implement it into my workflow. The smears/motion lines were a part of that. It’s the benefit of being a complete beginner, I get to try techniques I never have before.

Initially, I wanted to do a sword tricks animation, as tw0 swords are Nyx’s usual weapon of choice besides her magic. I realised as I was doing it that I didn’t have time and it would be better to stick to something simpler and do it well than something complex badly.

I got this far before deciding to go for a jump instead. This is an animation I’d like to go back to over the summer, maybe. It also wasn’t a waste of time as it allowed me practice with smear frames, which is something I’d like to experiment further with.

I used this account as reference –

@edenwilliamskarate

I vibe with this. #sword #martialarts #karate #sportkarate #weapons

♬ If We Were A Party – Alexander 23

@edenwilliamskarate

a lil sword action ⚔️ #martialarts #swordtiktok #sportkarate #karategirl #sword

♬ Jupiter & Mars – ARDN

 

As Nyx is athletic and has been doing things like jumping buildings for a long time, I started by looking for reference from parkourists. I found a few good refs on Youtube shorts.

These all helped me figure out general posing and jumping with confidence. It also helps that they slow down the video during the height of the jump, so I had a better idea of how a jump actually works.

I also gathered reference from Richard Williams’s book, which is included in my Pinterest board here

His book, along with multiple animated references within that board, helped to inform my animation.

 

 

I started with blocking out my animation, as I have previously done. I included my run cycle as height reference, and also because I planned to insert a few frames to give power behind her jump and also so I didn’t have to animate another run.

In hindsight, I should’ve left more room for the run up to be seen. Oh well, it’s something to keep in mind when framing future animations.

Here’s my blockout without the reference or secondary motion.

I sketched in hair and arms here.

Character Pass progress

I started lining not too long after this point. I actually made a progress video of some of the lining process.

Here’s the lined and sketch animation

   

Finished animation.

 

I think this animation really demonstrated my improvement, it’s got nice movement, a good flow and I think I improved a lot on consistency due to the errors I’d made previously. I’ll admit I forgot the smears in the second half of the animation, but I don’t think it looks too out of place. I think I’m finding a rhythm with animation, and that’s a really nice feeling. I’ve made massive improvements over the last year. I still have a lot to learn, there’s a little bit of snapping, the hair at the end could be refined, and I think I could make the jump feel more bouncy and stylised with some practice. In all though, I’m happy.

I knew for this project that I wanted to do 2D animation to further my skills in it.  I also knew I wanted to use my character Nyx for the project, she’s a character I’ve drawn and doodled so I’d have a good shot at keeping things consistent, and I thought she’d be fun to do.

To try and summerise her character is a struggle for me, but Nyx is a criminal who, at the time we meet her, has just broken out of prison to hunt the man who put her behind bars. Againt a cyberpunk themed backdrop, Nyx is essentially battling the law, old enemies, and her former friends to reach her goal. She’s disciplined, confident, assertive and athletic. She’s skilled in combat, which informs the way she moves. It’s very precise, is the best word I can think of. These are core personality traits that will inform my animation.

This informs her character design, as you can see below. This isn’t a full design, I left out some details because I drew this generally knowing what I wanted to include in my animation. She usually wears a long coat and has weapons matching the theme, but I didn’t want to complicate these cycles too much.

I used this sheet as a way to draw her as I know her, and then refine further.

I started with drawing a sheet of her usual design, and began problem solving to simplify it down.

I’m at this weird inbetween with my art style where I can draw side profiles, but they don’t look consistent with my style, this is because I learnt how to do them a certain way, and I just haven’t been able to break those habits. this project definitely highlighted that area for me to work on. But, for this project I thought I could maybe get away with it, or get it to work.

I made some notes on the page to remind me when I was drawing up further iterations. Some of the key ones are her tattoos and her prosthetic. For the time that I have and the skills I currently possess, I don’t think I can keep these consistent while animating, so I plan to hide or simpify them down.

Then I drew up some very messy and not great sketches of the design. I wanted to get started quickly as I knew with my inexperience and general slowness, mixed with the other assignment taking up a lot of time, that I needed to start this asap.

Yeah, not great, but it’ll be enough for me to get started. If I have time I’ll go back and try to make these more consistent.

Next was to seek out reference for my animations, I started with the walk cycle.

I found this on Walk Cycle Animation Walking 5 – Preview (webneel.com) and I found it quite helpful, it’s easy to over exaggerate the step the character is taking and make it look more like a jog or someone with a very wide gait.

I also used Richard Williams’s book, Animator’s Survival Kit to get more indepth advice and explain the why. Why his advice works and how the application should look if done correctly. I find his book to be of great help.

I also searched for reference in video format. I found a few that I took reference from, so I wasn’t letting the reference dictate exactly how I animated Nyx.

I also collated a Pinterest board for all of my animations here

I started animating in Clip Studio.

I started with a very basic body to focus on the movement and capturing how it should feel. I wanted Nyx to feel confident, her shoulders back, and I wanted it to feel purposeful like she’s very sure of where she’s going.

I added in the arms as well. I think I generally achieved my goal with the movement, I think she has some really nice weight as well. The hair flick was added in because I liked the energy it added, I feel like it adds some power to her walk.

This was the walk sketch finished.

This was the lining partially done.

 

I noticed after the lining was done that the eyes jumped about a little, and weren’t very consistent. So I went back to fix it.

Also, I acknowledge the prosthetic lacks consistency at points, I noticed after I’d finished how noticeable it was, but ultimately didn’t have time to go back and fix it. However, the mistakes I made in the walk cycle helped inform my other animations, so I think I improve my issues with volume and consistency throughout. There’s a lot I’d change, but I’m happy with this animation, considering I don’t have a lot of experience.