Animation

Keg

starting to learn how to animate again, so I am looking for crits. Just a basic walk cycle to start things off. Character is a stock one in XSI with a stock XSI rig. Rigging I am comfortable with but could probably use the practice making rigs.Also suggestions for animations to do would be appreciated.

Walk Animation

e_x

might want to edit that link so it works better.

You need to put a lot more movement in all on the body. There is a lot more to a walk then just arms and legs. The hips and shoulders move just as much too. They will always counter rotate from each other, so keep that in mind. The feet should probably contact the ground a lot sooner too. I don't know if you put in any left to right movement, but it is needed for the transfer of weight. Right now the whole thing is very floaty. He needs to catch himself with every step. Think of the walk as "controlled falling", it might help.

If you are serious about getting into animation, the first thing you might want to do is pick up Richard Williams' "The Animator's Survival Kit". It is an amazing book by an amazing animator. Breaks down the walk extremely well, and would be a great help to you.

It's a good start, but you are still a very long ways off from having this to look good. Keep at it though.

Gmanx

I built this as an introduction to rigging/animating in blender. Its just a basic walk which is the first thing I do with any new animation rig ->

http://www.gmanx.com/album/BlockyWalk.avi

It's an Xvid avi (40k). It's very basic, but many of the essential elements are there.

Watch people walking, you'll see what happens as the weight shifts from one side to the other, and back and forth. Look at what your body's doing when you walk. I too would recommend Mr Williams's book, it's a very comprehensive guide. There's lots of stuff on the net as well, naturally.

e_x

Here is a quick walk I banged out today. Hopefully it will help.

Keg

Thanks for the comments. Yes I do have Richard Williams Animators Survival kit have read it through a couple times now. thinking a third time is in order. There is shoulder and hip rotation, but it's subtle and not as pronounced. I've tweaked the feet so they're pointing outwards slightly.

e_x: I know of walks being "controlled falls" i'm just not sure how to convey that little bit.

e_x

One thing I try and do is add a little bit of front and back movement to the center of mass. This will help him look as though he's falling forward on each step. Also, delaying the upper body on each step will help to give him more weight. Try and exaggerate the movements, then tone it down a little if you need too. Don't be afraid of overdoing it at first.