For this assignment I was given a task to create a walk cycle, a run cycle and a body mechanic cycle. My choice of medium I chose to do 2D animation as I am more confident with my 2D skills. During the process I have used YouTube, Art station and Richard Williams book “The animator’s survival kit”.
Side Walk Cycle
Helpful Videos and References
A simple introduction to walk cycles and the basic principles.
This video was just for inspiration as I wanted to look at a variety of walks.
A video of a simple feminine walk so that I could work off of it. It also slowed down so it’s easier to break down the moments. This also helped with timing with the arms.
For my walk cycle I looked at Richard Williams chapter about walking. For my process I blocked out my character’s walking in the key poses making sure I had a contact, pass poss, up and down. For this I used paper and a Lightbox and started making the keyframes. I scanned the drawings into the computer used After Effects to create an animated sequence. Next I used Krita to draw the in between poses.
This character had a sassy walk and to achieve this I made sure to exaggerate the hips so that they’re moving side to side. Also so I made sure that the legs had quite a snappy motion as I wanted them to look cheeky. For the in between poses I wanted to “break the bones” so that it had that cartoony bounce.
Front Walk Cycle
I did create a front walk cycle to go with the one above, however I ran out of time to complete it but wanted to show it as I have achieved the rolling hip motion that I wanted. I had to work on the hair, the upper body and arms as they weren’t moving with a flowing motion.
Run Cycle
These references and videos helped me determine the difference between a run and walk cycle. A run cycle has one foot touching the ground at a time. Both feet off the ground is the take off pose.
I found this great example of a running animation from ArtStation. It showed the progress of making a run cycle and the frames. I also used 12 frames for my cycle. I also noticed the rotation at the waist and one foot is on the ground at a time. This is important for a running animation as the character is taking off.
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4nG0q
I started with a rough idea for the running animation and then made the key frames. I then added the in-betweens and cleaned it up. I also added a concept to the character to give her personality. I went for a space ranger or a space action hero.
The first rough animation there was a few flaws that I needed to fix. The flow of her hair was off with the timing and moved to much. She was missing her up and down motion which makes her look like she’s running in place. Also the foot was at an odd angle that looked like it sticked.
After fixing my mistakes I went a did a rough animation with her hair and clothes. She has more of a personality now and looks like she’s on a mission. I didn’t think the hair had to move much like the first attempt. When I was happy enough I cleaned up the line art, colour and shadow.
Jump Cycle
For the jumping pose I wanted to make an angry jump and which I got from the video below. It gave me inspiration and it was good to look at all the ways you can jump. Jumping also uses elements of squash and stretch which I wanted to add for a cartoony effect.
Video Reference
I started off with a rough animation with key poses. I wanted an angry stomp motion. I wasn’t too happy with the arms as they were all over the place. Also it look like she was jumping out of place and only wanted to have jump in place.
I then added in between frames and added a line below so that she lands in the same place. She now has more of a child’s personality. She also has more of a squash when she lands. The arms move in a better motion and you can understand the movement.
For the final animation I’m satisfied with the action and posing but I think it needs more frames and work with her legs. I think they move in the wrong direction. However I’m happy with the squash and stretch motion. This does need more work and I will go back to it in the future to improve my skills.
Conclusion
My final thought on this project is that I have a lot to learn about cycles. Theres so much more than just making the character walk they have to have a purpose, personality and look. You have to think about how the arms swing, what the hands are doing, how fast they walking, what the face is doing and so much more. I will think about these factors when I’m doing a cycle next time. I have learnt that I can achieve a finished animation and have a good amount of skills already to understand blocking and in between frames. I really enjoyed making character animations and giving them personalities. Exaggerating the poses and using animation techniques such as squash and stretch are so fun and I love drawing in this cartoony style. I would like to go back and try different styles such as focusing on human anatomy and see how muscles work when a human walks. This could help me with future 2D projects in different styles. Overall I really enjoyed this assignment and I’m glad of what I achieved and created.