Walk Cycles

[thumperness]

Got a general question about walk cycles. I have fought these things from the beginning so I want to make friends with them.

 

Say I'm making a short with a very charismatic preacher on stage pacing back and forth. Each of his walk paths are of varying lengths and sometimes it's a stroll; sometimes he's walking a little faster.

• Can I use the same walk cycle for each of these?
  
• If I set the starting and ending frame for each time he walks, will it adjust his walk speed and keep his feet from slipping?
  

The last time I tried to do this he would take one step and then slide along the walk path. I hope am able to figure out why that was too.

[robcat2075]

Each of his walk paths are of varying lengths and sometimes it's a stroll; sometimes he's walking a little faster.

• Can I use the same walk cycle for each of these?
  

This is an interesting topic. A walk is a controlled fall onto each succeeding foot, so walks of different speeds would need to be animated differently to keep that falling appear right.

 

And also a stroll and a fast walk have different appearances in body posture and the way the weight shifts from one foot to the other.

 

 

But technically, you can take a walk you have animated and reuse it at different speeds. The farther you get from the original speed the odder it will look.

 

If I set the starting and ending frame for each time he walks, will it adjust his walk speed and keep his feet from slipping?

 

the path constraint has an "ease" property the you can keyframe to decide how far along the path the model is at any time.

 

If the walk cycle is constructed properly A:M will add or remove frames to keep the feet moving at about the right pace vs. the ground.

 

The last time I tried to do this he would take one step and then slide along the walk path. I hope am able to figure out why that was too.

 

your walk action has a repeat value you can set in its properties in the chor.

[robcat2075]

btw... some tuts on basic walk animating...

 

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?s=&am...st&p=258588