Why Animation Demo Reels Need a Walk Cycle

Character walk by Ben Swallow

Every animation demo reel should include at least one good walk cycle.  It might seem too basic, but a well executed walk tells a recruiter a lot about your animation skills — timing, weight, character, and appeal — all in a few seconds of motion. 

You can have a number of walk cycles on your reel, as long as they show character and personality, and as long as you keep them short and snappy.  

How a Bear Walks - Quadruped Locomotion

Bear Walk by Amanda Costa

How does a bear walk? All animators need to learn how to animate a quadruped walk cycle.  All quadrupeds walk in more or less the same way, allowing for anatomy (herbivores have less flexible spines than carnivores). 

To the left is a bear walk cycle animated by Amanda Costa, showing the live action reference used to create the animation.  

Mad Scramble Run Animation Tutorial with "Monty"

Cartoony run and smear frame exit with Monty

In this new animation tutorial we show how to animate a cartoony "mad scramble" run and smear frame exit with Monty, the green pea.  

It's a simple tutorial aimed at animation beginners, and covers runs, jumps and smear frames.  We'll also need to do some attaches and parenting (for Monty's hat) basic lighting in Arnold and learn how to add motion blur to the final render.

Crab Scuttle Animation Tutorial

Animate a crab scuttle underwater

In this new animation tutorial we demonstrate how to create a locomotion cycle in Maya with a crab rig, showing how to take a complex motion, break it down - and make it simple.

A crab's sideways scuttle looks complex, but is in fact very easy to animate, by following this basic tutorial.  We start by animating a single animation curve, and then copy it across the crab rig. 

Animate a "Take" With the Pixo Jr Lamp

Animate a "Take" reaction shot with the Pixo Jr lamp

In this simple free tutorial we show how to animate a "take" (a reaction shot), with the Pixo Jr lamp rig which you can download from highend3d.com. 

The tutorial is a simple one, aimed at animation beginners, but it helps if you are already familiar with the Maya Interface.  Follow the thumbnails below to replicate the tutorial.

Free Tutorial: Animate a Cartoony Car To a Stop

In this super simple beginner animation tutorial we show how to animate a vehicle coming to a sudden stop. The free tutorial uses the free "AnyCar 3.1.4 for Maya" rig, downloadable here from Creative Crash.  

This is a fun, simple tutorial that is aimed at animation beginners in Autodesk Maya, part of our series of animation basics for students who have never used Maya before.  

Blend From a Walk to a Run with Marc Stevenson

In this tutorial students learn how to blend animation From a walk to a run with undergraduate Programme Leader  Marc Stevenson, veteran animator on multiple animated feature films.  Marc's tutorial explains how to take a walk cycle with "Monty" the Green Pea, and also a run cycle, and blend from one to the other effectively. 

Animate a Military Walk with Monty

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

In this latest tutorial, we show how to take a basic walk cycle using the "Monty" rig (free for download from highend3d.com) and make Monty march like a goose-stepping soldier on a parade ground.  

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

Animate a Cowboy Walk with Monty

Cowboy walk with Monty

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk. In our latest tutorial, we show how to take a basic walk using the "Monty" rig (free for download from Creative Crash) and make Monty walk in a masculine way - with just a few clicks.

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

Animate a Sneaky Walk with Monty

Sneaky Monty

In the video tutorial below we show how to animate a sneaky walk with "Monty" the green pea.

To complete the tutorial, first start with a Basic Walk with "Monty" - which you can learn how to do here.

Then, as with our other character walks tutorials, adapt the basic walk to give it character and personality - in this case a "sneak". 

Animate an "On the Spot" Walk with "Monty"

Monty Strolling in Cartoonland

Our newest Locomotion Tutorial Video explains how to animate a basic walk cycle "on the spot" (on a treadmill) with "Monty", the green pea, at our Vimeo Channel, available to all our students and Escapees.

The new tutorial videos add to our growing series of animation tutorials, hosted at Vimeo, with a tutorial on how to animate a basic walk, cycling the walk "on the spot". 

The tutorial uses the free Monty rig, one of the rigs that we recommend for student use in the early stages of learning animation.  

Why Animators Need Sine Waves

Sine waves are the friend of the animator, especially when you are working on a walk cycle.  Not because we are good at maths (it was my worst subject at school) but because in 3D animation, a sine wave typically shows that your animation is smooth and flowing, without bumps or mistakes.  Watch the very short video above to see how to look for a sine wave in your walk cycle. 

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.

How to Fix Knee Pops in a Walk Cycle

In the video above, we show how to fix knee pops in a walk cycle. IK chains can "pop" if the leg on a character gets over extended, so the trick is not to completely extend the leg. Straighten the leg on the contact position, then slightly dial it back and relax it. That way, the leg won't "pop" on the bend. To find out more, watch the short video above.

Animate a Run Cycle with "Monty"

Monty runs for the bus

In this tutorial we show how to animate a simple, basic run cycle with "Monty".  The tutorial uses the excellent "Monty" rig - which you can read about here - and which you can download for free from highend3d.com.  

This tutorial is part of our large and growing library of animation and vfx tutorials at our Vimeo Channel - free for all our students. 

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.

Animate a Jump with "Monty"

 

In this Locomotion and Mechanics tutorial we show how to animate a jump with a simple character, using the marvellous "Monty" rig, free for download at HighEnd3D.com.  The idea is to get a basic jump working, that feels fluid and believable, with weight and balance. You can read more about the Monty rig and how to use it here.

Horse Run Tutorial at Our Vimeo Channel

In this latest animation tutorial at our Vimeo Tutorial Channel we demonstrate how to animate a quadruped running. The tutorial is based on a horse, but all quadrupeds run the same way (allowing for anatomy).  Every animator should know how to animate quadrupeds in motion; these are the basic "scales" of animal and creature animation.  This tutorial can be applied to any four-legged creature, but the easiest way to follow the tutorial is to use the free horse rig - available for download from the Mothman TD website. 

Horse Trot Tutorial at Our Vimeo Channel

We've added a new tutorial to our expanding Vimeo Channel showing how to animate a horse trotting. A trot is an intermediate gait between a walk and a run; all quadrupeds trot in the same way (allowing for anatomy).  The Escape Studios Vimeo Tutorial Channel is our main hub for our animation and VFX video tutorials, making it easy for our students to find tutorials to support their classroom studies.

Character Walks with the Bio Motion Walker

Bio Motion Walker

This week our first year undergraduate students are studying how to animate a walk cycle, creating a successful biped walk and then giving it character and personality.

One very useful resource is the Bio Motion Walker from the Bio Motion Lab, located at York University in Toronto, Ontario.

The Bio Motion Walker allows animators to move a range of sliders showing how to make a walk cycle feel masculine or feminine, heavy or light, anxious or calm, happy or sad.  

Animators study live action, and then incorporate - and exaggerate - real life in their work . The Bio Motion Walker is a useful tool for analysing how people walk and move in different ways.  

You can find the Bio Motion Walker here.