styles of walking and running?
Author
I'm looking for a webpage or book which visually contrasts different styles of walking and running (preferably in terms of animating them). By different styles, I mean how some people lean forward, some slouch, some keep their backs stiff, some look forward, some look at their feet, some bob their head, etc. I'm trying to figure out what style of running would best express a character's personality, but I don't know what all the possibilities are that I can choose from. So, anybody know of any resource like this? (I think I'm looking for something bouncy with high knees, maybe like jogging - I want the character to be energetic and almost look like they're floating.)
[Edited by - sunandshadow on January 27, 2007 5:32:35 AM]
Hard to find.
Maybe this book. Never had it. But heard good things about it. Google will lead you: The Animator's Survival Kit from Richard Williams.
Maybe this book. Never had it. But heard good things about it. Google will lead you: The Animator's Survival Kit from Richard Williams.
The Animator's Survival Kit is simply the best book written on animation, period. I have it and it rocks. He very much so goes into depth on how to animate a walk cycle to convey a given sense of emotion.
Quote:Original post by zer0wolf
The Animator's Survival Kit is simply the best book written on animation, period. I have it and it rocks. He very much so goes into depth on how to animate a walk cycle to convey a given sense of emotion.
Seconded. I'm planning on going through some sample walk cycles myself as I teach myself animation, and this book has lots and lots on that very topic.
Amazon link if you want to read up on the details.
Author
Yay, pencil test! [smile]
Obviously it's not very good yet - the boobs don't bounce, it's totally lacking in detail... but she runs! [grin] She's a concept for the thin female version of a 2D MMORPG avatar (there will be plump and muscular versions, and a male version of all 3 body types, in various skin tones, with hair, eyes, clothing, an other details applied as transparent layers on top of the basic sprite sheet to create user-customized sprites. Feel free to critique/make suggestions if you notice anything that looks wrong to you. At the moment I'm thinking I want the knee to go higher and the hand to not go as high.
Obviously it's not very good yet - the boobs don't bounce, it's totally lacking in detail... but she runs! [grin] She's a concept for the thin female version of a 2D MMORPG avatar (there will be plump and muscular versions, and a male version of all 3 body types, in various skin tones, with hair, eyes, clothing, an other details applied as transparent layers on top of the basic sprite sheet to create user-customized sprites. Feel free to critique/make suggestions if you notice anything that looks wrong to you. At the moment I'm thinking I want the knee to go higher and the hand to not go as high.
I wouldn't call that a run... it's more a trot/rigid jog.
Running is an act of controlled falling... the body is too upright, the center of gravity should be forward of the vertical. Also, the front leg needs to extend much more. Finally, you need some better timing/motion on things like the arms, which shouldn't follow a linear motion, they it should be almost parabolic... they have to decelerate and accelerate when they come to the end and beginning of their motion arcs.
I think this comes down to observation.
Running is an act of controlled falling... the body is too upright, the center of gravity should be forward of the vertical. Also, the front leg needs to extend much more. Finally, you need some better timing/motion on things like the arms, which shouldn't follow a linear motion, they it should be almost parabolic... they have to decelerate and accelerate when they come to the end and beginning of their motion arcs.
I think this comes down to observation.
Author
I should have said jogging then - I was actually aiming for a jog, not a run (see first post). [smile] I had to look hard to find an example sprite that had nice upright posture. But that's a good point about the arms, I'll take a look at their timing.
Author
Next version. I added skin tone and boob bounce, which made it look more nude, so I'll link to it instead of pasting the image here:
Thin Female Avatar Color Test
Still looks craptastic - I switched to vector graphics so it looks kinda lumpy, the sizing/proportion of things got a little strange, and I suspect the boob bounce is timed wrong... but at least the arms and legs seem to be all in the right places, lol.
Thin Female Avatar Color Test
Still looks craptastic - I switched to vector graphics so it looks kinda lumpy, the sizing/proportion of things got a little strange, and I suspect the boob bounce is timed wrong... but at least the arms and legs seem to be all in the right places, lol.
Finally I see why it looks strange to me.
You have one too many frames where the leg is picked up, and one too few where it is put down. On the rear leg, when it is lifted, the ankle sort of stops moving and shakes. It should be a very constant and smooth motion. On the front leg, it is sort of 'kicked' out, instead of... correct. I think adjusting your frames along the leg in the air would really help this animation. If you look at the Muybridge, the human body looks very mechanical, very smooth... in the drawings, however, the motion isn't really smooth and regular.
You have one too many frames where the leg is picked up, and one too few where it is put down. On the rear leg, when it is lifted, the ankle sort of stops moving and shakes. It should be a very constant and smooth motion. On the front leg, it is sort of 'kicked' out, instead of... correct. I think adjusting your frames along the leg in the air would really help this animation. If you look at the Muybridge, the human body looks very mechanical, very smooth... in the drawings, however, the motion isn't really smooth and regular.
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