- Modules
- Four-Legged Walk-Cycle Animation
- Photo and Video References
Photo and Video References
T-EXC-002-003
If you are going to study creatures moving, such as animals running or leaping, it may benefit you to watch live-action video. You can find footage on television shows about animals or wildlife. These may also be available for rental from video stores or local libraries. Having a live-action video has certain advantages as you can replay the action and movements you want to study and pause frames to observe certain poses.
Studying the compiled works of Eadweard Muybridge, a photographer who extensively researched and produced photographic studies of walk-cycles and animal locomotion, is invaluable. These works are an amazing resource for anyone intent on animating realistic character movements.
His studies consist of sequences of images of human and animal movements, shown against a calibrated background, enabling movement over time to be measured. Muybridge's work is widely available in bookstores or at local libraries.
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)