Walk Cycle Tutorial by Amanda Costa

Walk cycles are part of the foundation of the study of animation. Animating a walk cycle introduces student animators to the basic principles of human locomotion.

Adding to our growing body of tutorial videos at Vimeo, we now have an introduction to walks by our very own Studio Assistant Amanda Costa.

The tutorial uses the Ultimate Walker rig, free for download, and can be found at our Vimeo Channel here.

Vimeo Tutorials
Missed a class, or fallen behind? We've got you covered.  In this video, hosted at our Vimeo Channel, Studio Assistant Amanda Costa walks students step-by-step through the basics of animating a primitive character walking.

Free Rig

 Amanda Costa

The tutorial uses the excellent Ultimate Walker rig, part of a series of free "Ultimate" rigs which can be downloaded from CG Meetup. 

Why Animate a Walk Cycle?
Walk cycles are the foundation of the study of animation. Animating a walk cycle introduces student animators to many of the most important principles of animation, such as timing, spacing, weight and balance. 

Most animation courses begin with basic locomotion and walk cycles. It's where students first encounter the concepts of looping cycles, and also how to use important tools such as the Graph Editor.
Being able to master a walk cycle is a vital skill - it's like being able to play scales on a piano.

A walk cycle can be completed well or badly, and the exercise - although superficially simple - can be done to a high level of skill and complexity. 

Where you do find the tutorial video?
You can find the walk cycle tutorial video here.  As with all our tutorial videos, this one is password protected, for our students and Escapees. If you're a current student or Escapee and you'd like the password, ping me a mail at alex.williams1@pearson.com  To see more animation tutorials available at our Vimeo channel, follow this link.

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To find out more about our BA/MArt, follow this link.  To apply, visit the offical page here.