Walk Cycles in Anime Studio and more...

http://www.lostmarble.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7904

http://www.slowtiger.de/examples/walk3.html


http://www.ilex-press.com/publishing/pdf/X-3DTO-058-113-live-UK.pdf

That’s why mastering the simple mechanics of a walk,
seemingly one of the easiest but in fact one of the subtlest and
most difficult motions to get right,has always been the essential
rite of passage for any journeyman animator,CG or traditional.
In 3D,tricky aspects of kinematics (‘Hmm,should I use forward
kinematics on the legs, or inverse kinematics?’) can make it
even harder to achieve a good walk or run.

There are two essential poses in a walk cycle.In the
‘strike pose’,the weight of the character is evenly distributed
between the front foot,which has just struck the ground,and
the back foot,which is about to leave it.

In the ‘passing pose’, the weight is balanced exactly over one foot while the other
foot passes by off the ground.

Transitioning between these
two poses gives you the basic foot motion for a walk,but more
work is needed to make it convincing.For example,the path
that each foot takes,whether arc-like or saddle shaped,can
make the walk look either mechanical or fluid.

Many characters have what’s called a ‘footfall’.Heavy
characters usually pause perceptibly between steps,as they
absorb the impact from the previous step and work up the
energy needed to move their bulk forwards for the next.

The footfall is the dip in the pelvis movement that occurs as the
character brings itself to a stop and starts on the next step.
Huge characters can have tremendous footfalls that last as
long as a step or longer,complete with secondary action on
blubbery bellies.

Lighter characters may have barely
noticeable footfalls that help convey a minimal sense of weight.
A walk is a signature motion for a character,and can
be used to express personality and mood.

Think of the
difference between the relaxed stroll of Bugs Bunny and the
obsessed,angry bursts of Daffy Duck.Art Babbit,one of the
old Disney master animators, often added little defining
flourishes to the walks of his characters.For example,Babbit
would make Goofy stick his feet out sideways just before
hitting the strike pose.

Of course, getting the walk mechanics right is only
the beginning.The walk must also reflect a wide variety of
other factors,notably the physical environment,the emotional
state of the character,and the dramatic situation of the scene.
Moreover,walks are often mixed with other forms of motion,
such as talking,gesticulating,or running.In the sequence of
frames featuring the dog and cat,the dog walks backwards
while using his hands to direct the actions of the cat, while
the cat struggles to gain control of her newly active limbs.
A run is reallya series of jumps rather than a controlled
fall.In many situations,animators combine what is basically a
fast walk with small jumps/run cycles; in others, the run is an
entirely separate action with its own dynamic.

Runs,too,can be character defining; for example, a predatory character may
bound forward, crouched low, arms out and ready to clutch,
whereas a preycharacter skitters left and right,head turned to
watch his pursuer.The run pose for Avalanche's Tak character
expresses much of his plucky,determined personality.