How Do Animators Stop Feet Sliding in a Walk Cycle?

How do you stop the feet sliding when you animate a walk cycle? It's a question often asked by students starting out at Escape Studios. The answer is a little technical, so here is a video which explains how to tackle the problem. It's about 10 minutes long, and explains how to get it right first time, and stop those feet from slipping around.

The Problem of Sliding Feet

Anchor Animation Tool

Why worry about slipping feet? Here's a story from Escapee Kevin Richards, who has recently started a new animation job at Cloth Cat in Cardiff. 

 

"Hi Alex i just wanted to share with you a cautionary tale about my first month as a pro animator. I started out doing loads of walk cycles. The animation supervisor and the director where very happy with them until they turned on the infinity curves and the ground translation. I had forgotton to staight-line my X translations - which meant that the feet wouldn't stop sliding.  It took a massive effort to beat the cycles into shape. I really had to nail it all down in the side view against the grid. I eventually got it into shape but it was a lot harder than it should have been.  Feel free to use this story as an example of the importance of good preparation if you like".

So there you have it. Watch the video above, and make sure those feet don't slip!

Anchor Animation Tool

Also, don't forget the super handy Anchor Animation Tool on the Escape Studios animation shelf, which helps to lock feet into world space to stop feet from sliding.

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