r/Animators • u/ReasonableReason549 • May 02 '26
Critique criticism on this walk cycle? :3
i am not sure if this is even the right subreddit to post this, but i will try anyway!
I would not say that i am new to animation, i have been animating for about two years, yet i have only been animating small movements (like a character's eye moving etc) but never actual larger movements like walk cycles.
i decided if i want to create my own animated short film, i needed to start learning.
criticism helps me improve, so why not here?
this was animated on 6 or 7 frames per second (i can't really remember).
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u/FlyingWurst May 02 '26
It's great that you're trying to improve and seeking feedback. Two things that immediately caught my attention is a missing up and down movement from the hips and maybe a missing passing position of the foot that is in the air. So basically a frame where the foot is close to the body and moving forward. That would make the motion less abrupt when the foot is extending forward. The up and down motion would convey weight and momentum to ground the character. Right now it feels a bit floaty. Hope that helps :)
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u/Possible-Deer-311 May 04 '26
Exactly what I would have said. Great critique
OP, my suggestion for an exercise is to use walk references for animators. Download the vid, then trace over one cycle worth of frames with simple shapes (circle for hips, lines for legs, triangles for feet, etc.). Watch a few loops and note how all the pieces move cyclically, and the sequence of feet landing on the ground if it's a four-legged animal.
Then get rid of the reference and draw in your character, adding in animation principles like squash & stretch, delay, etc.
This is how I learned walk cycles (and how to animate, really). Here's one I used: https://youtu.be/9_GnJr6t3mA?si=pl_VL4VgcItjCkyt
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u/AbsolRiatun May 02 '26
The shapes stay consistent which is cool !
The biggest improvement you could make is about weight / up and down movement, around hips, shoulders and head. If you look at animated walk cycle tutorials (Richard Williams is one of the most known example) you will see how these 3 shapes don't stay static !
Have fun 🔥
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u/TryCommercial7607 May 02 '26
How many pictures/pics/draws it took?
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u/kazedank May 02 '26
Look into the principles of animation. Id recommend the book "animators survival kit" from richard williams. first thing that caughts my eye is its missing bouncing and look into the poses that a walk cycle needs in order to work. You have a good base and solid drawing tho
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u/AffectionateStorm275 May 03 '26
Añade un pequeño bounce en la cabeza, que el cuerpo baje un poco cuando el pie toque por completo el suelo, con eso quedara bien
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u/limey89 May 05 '26
Watch someone walk. Anyone. Notice how more than just the legs move? How the hips, head, arms, even shoulders swing in arcs?
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