Advanced Animation/Project 1: Walk Animation

28/05/2025 - 11/06/2024 (Week 06 – Week 08)

Shao Han / 0369187

Advanced Animation / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylors University

Advanced Animation/Project 1: Walk Animation

CONCENT

• INTRODUCTION
• LECTURE
• PROJECT 1
• SUBMISSION
• REFLECTION

INTRODUCTION

LECTURE

Body Mechanic of Walk

Fig1.1 Class Notes，Week 6 (28/05/2025)

Basic Understanding of Walking:

Learning various walking styles is the first lesson in animation, as walking is one of the most difficult movements to master.

The Essence of Walking:

It's a continuous process of "falling forward and catching yourself."

The movement consists of a cycle of "steps" and "catch."

Body Leaning:

Slow walking results in better balance, while faster walking results in a leaner body and increased risk of losing balance.

Technique Summary:

When walking, we lean forward with our upper body and swing one leg out to "catch" the body.

Walking is divided into several phases:

• Medial
• Going Down
• Going Up
• Repeat with the other leg (loop)

Movement Details:

• One arm moves in coordination with the opposite leg;
• Downward movement accelerates, lowering the center of gravity;
• Upward movement swings the arm to reduce the sense of center of gravity;
• The order of foot landing is: heel → ball of foot.

PROJECT 1

Objective:
You are tasked with creating a natural and dynamic walk cycle animation using provided character rigs. The goal is to develop a vanilla walk and an attitude walk, focusing on timing, spacing, poses, and fluidity to achieve a believable and engaging animation. This project will enhance your understanding of character movement, weight distribution, and how subtle changes in timing and pose can convey different attitudes.

Vanilla Walk

The character I used was Snow, and here is the Blender character rig. I followed Mr. KAMAL's class tutorial to better understand how to create a proper walk cycle animation.

First, we adjusted the character's binding settings in Blender's data panel so that we can better adjust the character's posture in the subsequent production.

Fig2.1 Numerical Adjustment,Week 6 (28/05/2025)

I followed the instructor's instructional video step by step, first using the Pose-to-Pose method to establish the key poses for the animation. Initially, I set a few extreme poses, each separated by approximately three frames. Once these key poses were set, I moved the keyframes back on the timeline, inserting transition and detail frames in between to create a smoother and more complete animation.

Fig2.2 Production process,Week 6 (29/05/2025)

In terms of details, we need to set the position, rotation, and scale values of the green circle controller behind the model's feet to 0. This is to reset the controller to the default state. This ensures that the foot animation starts from the standard position and is not affected by previous incorrect operations or other keyframes.

Fig2.3 Production process,Week 6 (29/05/2025)

Adjust the slight rotation and shaking of the upper body when the character walks, making it closer to the walking effect of a real person and making the movement more natural and realistic.

Fig2.4 Production process,Week 6 (29/05/2025)

Hang the model's hands down to simulate the swinging of arms when a real person walks. At the same time, it is important to note that the elbows will naturally bend when the arms swing, and the bending amplitude of the forearm and the back arm should be different.

Fig2.5 Production process,Week 6 (29/05/2025)

To make it more realistic and natural, the wrist can also rotate slightly with the arm.

Fig2.6 Production process,Week 6 (29/05/2025)

Rendering results

• YOUTUBE LINK

Attitude Walk

First, we find the dynamic video references we need on the Internet and observe them to better restore the action.

Fig3.1 Dynamic Reference,Week 7 (01/06/2025)

• YOUTUBE LINK

Just like the steps in Vanilla Walk, I will follow them step by step.

Fig3.2 Production process,Week 7 (02/06/2025)

The highlight of the Attidude Walk template I chose is that the arms are very large and exaggerated, which directly expresses the protagonist's high emotions through his body language.

Fig3.3 Production process,Week 7 (02/06/2025)

In order to match the action, I adapted the expression to better reflect the emotion.

Fig3.4 Production process,Week 7 (02/06/2025)

To make the final rendering clearer, I added background and background color rendering.

Rendering results

• YOUTUBE LINK

SUBMISSION

• YOUTUBE LINK

REFLECTION

Experiences

Creating the walk cycle animation was my first full experience animating a character from "standing" to "walking." I followed the teacher's instructional video step by step, starting with keyframes for the four key poses, then gradually adding in-between frames. The animation process was more complex than I expected, but it was also very rewarding.

Observations

Through reference videos and images, I discovered that walking isn't as simple as it seems. Maintaining balance while constantly leaning, tilting, and adjusting requires meticulous attention to detail. For example, in the "down" pose, the body sinks quickly, while in the "up" phase, the character's body needs to exhibit a slight upward extension.

Furthermore, different walk styles vary significantly in terms of arm swing, footstep rhythm, and body tilt. The vanilla walk is more stable, while the attitude walk emphasizes rhythm and style.

Findings

I've discovered that even the most basic walk cycle requires meticulous rhythmic control and pose design to create a natural, non-stiff look. I also learned how to use Blender’s animation tools more effectively, such as how to use the Pose-to-Pose method to build the framework and then use Straight Ahead to fill in the details.