Animators survival kit: walk cycles

part of the importance of the walk cycle in character animation is to communicate the 'character' of the subject. the attitude, emotion, and personality is accentuated when a character of subject is in motion. communicating the weight or speed through the exaggeration of the standard walking movement and the timing of the frames. highlighted on page 106 is the difference between an open and closed posture and how that is conveyed in a walk cycle.

part of planning a walk cycle is similar to the of a head turn which creating a arc of movement. the body shifts and goes up and down when walking is key to highlight when animating. using both the contact method (creating the positions in which the feet make contact with the ground) and the down positions (the moments in which the body shifts downwards) creating the motion.

exaggerating and shifting the body also helps in creating the sense the character is walking.