This unit on Walk Cycles has been very useful and I have learnt loads. I started by researching walk cycles, different moods and timings. I have produced 2D walk cycles using Toon Boom, I tried to make a rough perspective walk and realized some of the difficulties involved.

After the 2D we started the 3D walk cycles, this involved tutorials in Maya, this is hard to learn as there is so much to take in at the start, it is something that becomes easier with practice. We also learnt how to model a character and rig it. I really enjoyed the modelling of the character but found the rigging more challenging and need to practice this to improve my skills. Whilst we did this I also produced my 3D walk cycle.

I have really enjoyed this unit and feel I have learnt so much, but also that I still have so much to learn and practice.

Final 3D Walk Cycle

Here is my final 3D walk. I enjoyed doing this but it was one of the most frustrating things to do. Some animation I find a bit frustrating to do, but most of the time it is frustrating trying to learn the software and it can take ages to work out a simple procedure until you know how. I know there are mistakes in my animation, especially where I have joined the walk cycles together after stopping. I already know that I can improve and speed up what I have done. I would benefit from doing the tutorials again now I know more about Maya.

3D Walk Cycle Research

The 3D walk cycle brief was to interact with the environment. I decided to have ‘him’ walk forwards, stop, interact with an object and then walk on.  I did research for this 3D walk by filming myself pushing a box out the way with my foot. I built up a very simple environment like a street made up of cubes. I would like to have made something more complex with textures, but this was beyond the remit of this brief.

The tutorials were very helpful and made me realize how much there is to think about and so many small adjustments to be made. I much preferred the Digital Tutors as it was video based learning that I found much easier than the book. I also thought the rig was easier to use as a beginner. The rig could not do as much but at this stage of learning this made it easier.

Final 2D Personality Walk

Attempted Improvment of 2D Personality Walk

Final 2D Walk

These are my final 2D walk cycles. The lowest video is just a walk across screen, with no emotion. This was just a practice to develop my understanding of a walk cycle.

When I had my Formative assessment Dan suggested some improvements to my walk cycle with emotion. He suggested trying a bit more follow through and slightly adjusting the cycle so that it is not all exactly the same. I also could have copied and pasted the drawing to keep them more consistent. I had a go at trying to improve the walk cycle; it did not go very well. (This middle video is how I tried to improve my walk cycle).  When I copied and pasted the components it looked better, but the actual cycle did not have the same feel of emotion and would not repeat properly. In the end I gave up as it was not going well. I intend to revisit this again when I have more time.

This is my final walk across screen with emotion. I still think this conveys emotion better than the other animations, although it lacks the consistency of drawing. The walk is a direct, forthright and angry walk. I am pleased with the feel of the walk but would like to improve my technique. I might try and animate in Maya using the 2D perspective.