How to Animate with "Heavy" in Maya 2024

We've recently updated the "Heavy" rig, one of the free rigs we recommend for learning animation. Heavy can be downloaded from highend3d.com, and you can read all about him here, as well as see how to use him to Animate a Basic Walk Cycle and also animate a Run Cycle with Heavy here. 

Animate a Basic Walk with "Heavy"

Animate a Basic Walk with the "Heavy" Rig

Every animator needs to know how to animate a character walk. 

In this short tutorial, we show how to animate a simple walk cycle using the "Heavy" rig. (free for download at Creative Crash).  The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

The tutorial uses simple thumbnails that show all the main poses in the walk.

Animate a Run Cycle with "Heavy"

Human run by Edward Muybridge

In this tutorial we show how to animate a simple, basic run cycle with a human biped.  

The tutorial uses the "Heavy" Rig which you can download for free at HighEnd3D.com. 

Animators must master the art and craft of basic locomotion, including walks, runs and jumps.  These are the "scales" of animation, and should be on every animator's demo reel, demonstrating that the student has mastered these basic steps.

Throwing a Box Tutorial by Marc Stevenson

In this new tutorial, Escape Studios tutor Marc Stevenson explains how to animate a character picking up a box and throwing it. Being able to animate physical actions that have have weight and feel believable is one of the key skills that all our animation students must learn to accomplish.