GR#157 - Robot Character - Animations

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

That version

[HezaKey]

I don't think the walk cycle has a lot of character to it.  Very high, very stiff.  The steps are also really small for such a big guy.
I think you could get weirder with the walk, since it is a robot.  I would try making the space between each leg longer, but I also think you can exaggerate a lot. 

I keep thinking of two things really:
The Big Dog Robot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww, too many legs though.
And the Slig from Oddworld: http://spritedatabase.net/file/13965

The slig has a walk and run cycle, and it's legs are pretty similar in shape.

[sevinkydink]

@Mr. F - Ahh, ok, I'll play around some more with the leg shape.

@Milo - great resource, and I love the slig. The steps could get bigger, I agree.  I'll keep trying some distances and see what looks best.

Here is a slightly updated version that hopefully isn't quite as stiff!



edit: More rotation and movement.  Added subpixeling on chest/torso for rotation.

[HezaKey]

This is looking much better.
Kind of a little thing, but the shoulders/arms need to be in opposite rotation of the hip/legs as seen in this Tutorial: http://www.angryanimator.com/word/2010/11/26/tutorial-2-walk-cycle/

This isn't just a human gait thing, it's actually needed to maintain balance.  It's one of the reasons Japan had such a heck of a time creating walking robots (the other being that we're always making microadjustments to balance as we walk, but I digress.)

[sevinkydink]

@milokey - Great Catch!  Stare at something too long and you miss the obvious things I suppose 

Updated with the arms reversed.  The motion feels a little off and snappy or just maybe the arms are swinging too far not sure.  Thanks for the input though!

[HarveyDentMustDie]

I looks off, because elbow is in the same place during whole animation. Personally I don't like arm swing. Try to imagine that this is humanoid robot, a perfect machine, and you don't have to apply all human characteristics (btw no human swings his arms like that ).

I still have the impression that robot walks diagonally, and it's definitely because his whole body (not just his torso) is in 3/4 perspective view. I agree that still animation should be in 3/4 view, but maybe he should walk more sideways, cause after all this is 2D.

[PixelPiledriver]

Some thoughts:



You've reversed the high and low point of the walk.
Not a bad thing, helps him be more unique.
Just be aware and make sure to control it and be consistent.