Character Animation: Locomotion

2h 42mIntermediate2014-05-28

Authors

George Maestri

Animation Director and Producer

Course details

Getting characters to walk is one thing; adding character to a walk is another. But it's not impossible and it's not software specific. In fact, the locomotion techniques in this course apply to any style of animation: 2D or 3D, hand-drawn or digital. The only thing you need to bring is personality. George Maestri shows how to make your character walk, run, and skip with style, and subtly move the story along.

Learning objectives
Animating the lower and upper body, arms, and legs
Adding weight
Adjusting timing and gait
Starting and stopping walks
Adding personality
Animating runs and skips

Skills covered

Character AnimationAnimation and IllustrationDeep Dive (X:Y)

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome
02 - Maya rig overview
03 - C4D rig overview

1. Animating Walk Cycles

04 - Reviewing walk basics
05 - Understanding walk cycles
06 - Cycling the feet in a walk
07 - Animating lower-body poses
08 - Animating the spine in a walk
09 - Overlap and follow-through in the arms
10 - Putting on the finishing touches

2. Refining Walks

11 - Working with foot placement - Narrow steps
12 - Working with foot placement - Wide steps
13 - Modifying key poses to add personality
14 - Starting a walk
15 - Stopping a walk
16 - Limps and injuries

3. Animating Runs

17 - Basics of a run
18 - Lower body - Taking a leap
19 - Lower body - Landing
20 - Animating the spine and shoulders
21 - Animating the arms
22 - Animating the head

4. Animating a Fast Run

23 - Overview of a fast run
24 - Start with the extended position
25 - Animating the cushion position
26 - Animating the stretch position
27 - Finalizing a fast run

5. Skips

28 - Exploring the anatomy of a skip
29 - Animating a skip - Foot placement
30 - Animating a skip - Spine
31 - Animating a skip - Arms
32 - Animating a skip - Head

Conclusion

33 - Goodbye