Animating a Walk Cycle from Front view :
Keyframes for a walking cycle from the front
Most walking cycles work best at 9 frames per step = 18 frame cycle for both feet.
The animation presented below is slower - this is a 24 frame walkcycle (for a double step, both legs) at 24 fps, without any inbetweens:
When animating a character walking from the front we need to show:
- The body MASS going up and down
- The legs bending in perspective
- The feet flipping
Mass
Moves up and down as it does in the side view.If you wish to elaborate - show the hips swinging - the foot that's forward brings its side of the pelvis down.
Drawing legs in perspective
Most of the foreshortening happens to calf.The thigh gets fore-shortened as well but unless your character brings its knees up very high - don't shorten the thighs too much.
Flipping the Feet
If you are animating Flash or After Effects Cut Outs, you have no choice - You need to draw the foot from three angles and switch between them as you animate:- Frontal view, flat
- Raised up, showing the laces
- Flipped, showing the underside.
Stylize the walk
For different kinds of characters, play with- Step Width - men take wide strides (gee, I wonder why!), women walk in narrow steps.
- For a stylized feminine walk - cross the legs over, the way runway models walk. Swing the hips!
- Most people point their feet outward. We don't walk all that straight!
- Remember that regular people barely lift their feet off
the ground - it's a waste of energy to lift the knees higher than
needed.
There's no need to drag the feet, but for a natural looking walk, don't lift feet and knees more than is absolutely necessary.
very interesting........
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