- Modules
- Four-Legged Walk-Cycle Animation
- Anatomy of a Four-legged Walk Cycle
Anatomy of a Four-legged Walk Cycle
T-EXC-002-002
Why study the anatomy of the creature you're trying to animate? First, each creature looks physically different. This, combined with its weight and size, determines how an animal moves. For example, a very heavy, lumbering animal such as a hippopotamus moves in a different way than a lightweight cheetah.
Secondly, the underlying skeletal structure is important as this allows the creature to move and flex its body in different ways. Different skeletal structures allow for different levels of agility, limb movement, and speed. Studying this structure will allow you to see how a creature moves through its surroundings.
Time Estimated 5 mins
Difficulty Level Beginner
Topics List
- Understanding How Four-legged Animals Move
- Anatomy of a Four-legged Walk Cycle
- Photo and Video References
- Four-legged Walk Basics
- Analyzing Four-legged Walk Animations
- Rough versus Clean
- Activity 1: Observation
- Activity 2: Drawing the Key Poses
- Activity 3: Adjusting the Paws for a Pan Background
- Activity 4: Creating In-betweens
- Activity 5: Cleaning and Painting Your Animation
- Activity 6: Creating a Background
- Activity 7: Setting the Animation on a Peg
- Activity 8: Animating a Bear and Dog (Optional)