Continuing to work on the video game I’m making, I sketched both a walk cycle animation, which will be one of the animations that plays as the player moves, and an idle animation, which (so far) is just breathing.

I’ve tried a few walk cycles before, but only simple ones, like this one here. It’s made up of eight frames, four for each opposing leg. I would have had no idea how to approach this animation if it weren’t for this video by moderndayjames on youtube. Even with tutorials, I still find it confusing. However, I find that it’s significantly easier if you do three things:

Firstly, focus on only one body part at a time. You could start with the up and down movement of the torso and then move on to the legs, etc. To work on the whole thing at once is overwhelming, at least to me.

Secondly, start with the keyframes, and afterwards fill in the frames exactly in between those. I find it easier to keep track of what is what this way. 

Thirdly, pay close attention to where the foot is meeting the ground—in fact, if you’re working on the leg movements, try drawing the feet first, and then positioning the legs accordingly. These tips may not work for others, but they helped me out. 

I’d like to add more personality to the walk cycle, because it came out looking standard, how anyone would walk. I’m glad I started it simply though, because if I had focused on that from the beginning, I probably would have confused myself. Same goes for the idle animation, which would be a good opportunity to show her character. There will also be a run animation, likely an attack animation, and others which I can’t think of right now. I’m excited to work on those ones eventually, but first, this one needs refining.

Featured image (and above): Williams, Richard. The Animator’s Survival Kit. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 2009. Book. Image retrieved from http://carelize.blogspot.com/2016/03/my-method-of-animating-walk-cycle.html