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SaphireNishi β walk cycle 07
Published: 2013-02-24 18:13:51 +0000 UTC; Views: 25828; Favourites: 195; Downloads: 1933
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Description
and an other attempt to make a walk cycles from scratch.. this time with motion blurring but that created a big problem on the hair now.. that would be the next thing to figure out how to fix now..
489 frames @ 1280x540 pixels
total render time: 6 hours 42 minutes 18 seconds (50 seconds average per frame)
program used:
photoshop
poser
zbrush
3ds max
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Comments: 313
This very very good.
She is still sliding but you know, I would be just to happy to even get that far!
Great job.
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thanks a lot, babes..!!!
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You are most welcome, you are getting so good with the Animations.
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Steeds beter lieverd..i doe het je niet na..
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dank je wel, mooierd..!!!
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Many already commented and as you have said it doesn't help you much by just pointing to the mistakes,
I'm not an professional animator, but I just would like to give some perhaps useful tips anyway.
For the locomotion of the body. Try to think of every step she takes as a tilt forward
(as if she would fall flat on her stomach if not acting) but before tilting too much she extends one leg and catches herself and regains her balance.
This gives you a moment of "falling" forward and a "hit" when the heel touches the ground and catches the weight.
You already have all the small nuances of balancing with the hips and counteracting with the shoulders and arms down so it is more a tweaking of the amount and timing to get som overlapping action.
I think you asked for the curves of the spine. Instead of trying to nail a specific animation curve I think you can just start with a simple bend and twist of the spine.
That is, while moving the left leg forward rotate the hips so that the left side hip also moves a little forward and counter that with rotating the shoulders in the opposite direction.
Let her bend the spine ever so slightly forward to make the body fall forward and then let the spine bend backwards again as she plants her foot and tries to slow down her fall forward a little.
The bend should then counteract and try to keep the body upright all the time. But the motion also gives a slight slight "head bobing" And I'm talking very slight.
Since you are aming for realism this could be a bit too cartoony for you.
but one last small thing.. Try exagerating all the motions to begin with. And then scale them back. Rotate that hip a little more than what you think is necessary.
(Perhaps not stride lenght thou since it is hard as it is not to get sliding feet, with or without planted keys)
With exageration I think it is easier to really see that you get the timing right and the broad strokes and motions into place. And then you finetune it by scaling back the values or ranges of motion.
Keep up the good work!
A small simple walk reference clip. Guessing there is alot more and better ones out there on the web. [link]
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the help is appreciated but yeah, its not helping when people are pointing out the obvious.. i mean everyone knows what a walk should look like.. its not like nobody ever saw a walk motion before.. we see them daily, on almost every second that we are a wake.. the problem is the technically aspect of a walk.. what happens when we step in.. how does that effect the hip, foot and shoulder.. when does the shoulder rotated in each step compared to the leg movement.. keeping the center of mass under control.. its things like that i need to figure out..
my biggest problem now is timing.. for example.. when we step in the opposite arm of the leg we step in with has a short delay compared to the leg.. so i need to figure out the timing of the limbs.. the other problem is how the spine is reacting while we are walking.. like you say, when we step in its actually a forward movement which is coming from the front leg, a slight hip rotation and a spine curve.. and i need to make all these things work together now..
i actually saw a vid a couple of days ago where this dude said the same thing you said.. its easier if we exaggerate movement and then tone down the movement to make it more realistic.. the problem indeed is when doing that the different kind of keyframes are becoming really hard to control on the feed.. so i think i need to find a way to combine the workflow i have now with the exaggerate workflow..
and thank you for the link.. but i think you are like the 20th person that gave me that specif link.. 
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Sorry for my ignorance the other night. Didn't read through all other replies you had got. But I guess I should just have said that I thought you need to prioritize getting the weight down before working on the intricacies of timing. The broad strokes first then detail, as it were. But thatβs just me. Keeping up the great practice that you do you will get there fast.
Do you use one of the bipedal fullbody IK systems CAT or Biped? Or is it a custom bones rig? And if so, do you use multiple IK chains on the legs and feet to drive the animation?
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not sure what ignorance you showed on you previous comment.. you one of the few that actually understands what is going on here..
and you right.. i need to get the basic outline of the animation right first before adding smaller details.. this one of those things that people just dont seem to understand.. they want everything all at once.. which of course is just simple impossible..
the rig im using now is based on a simple bone structure with multiple IK chains.. im working on a full biped version of her too but thats not finished yet..
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Saph, all of this can be made easy if you watch a motion grab movie OR just do the following - cut out dozens of radium stickers that glow under fluorescent light. Stick these on a subject and make her walk and while she is walking [you should have a fluorescent light source available] capture this video to analyze later! Just as I did myself and much later using a motion grabber
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hehe... can be made easy.. thats nice.. i like your idea, but can i borrow your video camera, fluorescent light lamp and do you have a dozen of radium stickers for me too..? cause i dont have any of these items laying around the house.. i dont even think i know anyone that has these things in their home...
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LOL those stickers -
1) Commonly available as a tape at automobile shops, or stationary marts! A variety of them are used by interior designers to line up the ceiling to create a magical sky effect! Once day light is reduced, these stickers glow on the ceiling!!
2) As for fluorescent light, just any Ultra Violet lamp does the job perfectly. Inquire at shops who sell currency theft analyzers [to detect fake currency notes].
For a video camera, your mobile phone can capture good amount of detail. These stickers really GLOW under fluorescent light!!
Well, if can't obtain first two items, inbox me your snail mail address and I can easily ship these to you free of cost!
Hope this makes it easy
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Saph all of my animations are corporate property and cannot be put up on ANY website. But, like I said I did use this method to learn body movement! When I could afford to buy a motion capture software and hard ware I switched over to wonderful sequence!! Finally when I acquired Endorphin it was all too easy for me. Yes, the learning curve is steep and difficult at each step.
Let me find you some university studies on motion analysis. Meanwhile have a look at patents issued for methods I just mentioned - [link] and this one - [link] this one too - its a software - [link]
I used extremely simple setup - mentioned earlier. Once video was captured I played it back on a monitor on which grid was drawn by me using market pen!! It was THAT simple a setup!! Since you never shared your technical background, it will be difficult for me to judge your capabilites
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can you upload some of your animations ? i wanna see how easy it all is for you..
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wow...Saph...^_^ but,if what if I write you my compliments in italian? ^_^ you're totally AWESOME!!! Bravissmo,maestro!!!
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hehe.. my italian is really bad.. but compliments always works in any language
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aww...don't worry Saph...I was joking...I love speak english,it's my only way to communicate with the world...one day,I hope I'll know english at the best level...it's a little bit embarassing with girls,if you don't know what say..^_^
But,hey...I was talking about YOU...^_^
You're awesome!!! Badly awesome!!! Have a good night...ciao ciao!
Andrea
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The bounce in her step was a good decision, much more realistic now. The only thing that throws me off now is actually how her torso/chest seems to be a little too far forward; the curve in her back seems too deep and it feels like she's a bit off balance because of how she appears to push out her chest more than necessary.
That's more of a problem with the model though it seems so I won't push it. The animation itself is nearly perfect, only a few small tweaks that anyone with a good eye can spot (as I'm sure you can).
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yeah the problem is how the spine reacts when we are moving.. i need to figure out how it curves when we are taking a step.. there is not a lot of reference material about it.. so its all a matter of looking at people how they walk.. i figured out how the feet work now.. so i can move up the spine now.. i have to just do it step by step to get better results..
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Sounds good, good luck
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very good, a big improvement indeed
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i dont tihnk there is anything wrong with the knees actually.. i think the center of mass is the biggest problem when looking at the feet to hip movement.. the hip feels like its to far to the back which creates a small backward step and the feeling she is leaning to much backwards.. gotta see if i can fix that in the next one..
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yeah i wasn't 100% sure what was 'wrong' with it, plus i wasn't 100% focused on the actual animation, just her ass 
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hehe.. well that would be the easy way out.. i mean i can make the front view look good too.. but the problem is we need all sides to be correct.. otherwise is just cheating yourself.. its just freaking hard to create these things and im not in a rush.. im taking my time with these to figure out how everything bends, twists and moves.. its all good fun
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i usually just animate in a 3/4 view, so watch the animation through other perspectives to get it right, there is usually one perspective where the animation might look a little off, but i try not to change ti too much since i know how animation like being a pain when you start changing things after setting keys etc >
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looks better than before, keep forward
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thank you very much..!!!
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great job
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thanks.. but what does "giving it more accent while taking a step" means.. i dont get what you mean which accent.. nor do i get what you mean with step.. one step is the whole process of thew whole walk cycle.. so if the step is wrong the whole thing is wrong.. you have to be a bit more clear if you want to try to help..
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I really find it hard to give you any advices about this whole animation process you started not long ago, I'm very familiar to animating, I did a lot of those this past 2 years, and some things for me are just obvious, what on the other hand makes it hard to provide you any tips, please dont understand me wrong, I really want to help you. Let me ask you first what technique are you using for the walk cycles? mine is: every 9-10 frames Im making a major key. When my character lands with his foot on the ground... next 9 frames... when his leg is crossing his second leg, while the torso is reached farthest upwards.
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well what i do now is start with 50 frames total.. frame 1, 25 and 50 are all the same poses but 25 is a mirrored pose.. then i make segments of 5 major keys and start working from there on forward.. now if i have this time lined up then basically there is a repeat going on but a mirrored one which means.. frame 5 is the same as frame 30.. frame 10 is 40.. and so one.. so highest point of the animation where she actually has her feet crossing would be on frame 12 and 37..
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so I suggest you to build your base like that then: (also you are using IK chain right?) start - whatever pose you want (#1-leg,foot crossed,torso far up//#2-two foots touching ground), lets say you start with #2 - torso downwards, move to frame "10", make pose #1, torso upwards, left leg knee contracted, right leg knee 'almost!' fully extended, frame "20" - make pose #2 (mirrored of course) and repeat the cycle mirrored, with this base made out of two 'real' poses and while keys in max are set to curve(default) the animations should be very smooth (the more keys the less smooth - tereotically) therefore start making details from now on- foot bends, arms swing, head lean back and forth, shoulders bounce, butt swing, try keeping most of the keys at the same frame as the pose ("10""20""30") except butt, arms, bounce details ect. 
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well thats basically how i do it already.. the biggest problem is timing.. for example.. when we step in with our left foot the the right arm swings forward too.. but there is a slight delay in the swing of the arm.. now the question is how much.. this goes for every single joint on the human body.. its not a uniform movement.. so its not when this moves then that begins to move.. all joints are relatively moving from each other but not at the same timing.. the way you explain it now creates a very uniform movement, kinda like a robot.. and thats what i have now too.. but thats not what we want when we are creating an animation when going for realism.. hehe.. so if this is the only thing you can come up with then i did exactly the same thing what took you years in just two months
do you have some walk cycles online somewhere ? i would love to see them..
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Well I've just told you the very basic, easy and reasonably way to aquire realistic walk cycle base, dont think thats all I have learned in 2 years
I'm not posting walk cycles on internet due to their easiness (haha just kidding
You are saying that this base is looking like a robot?, it looks like we have different max default key setup then. OR your rig is somehow untypical. Regardless try using trajectories feature to determine keys flow, with it you can adjust those arms delays more accurate. Also also also try walking around yourself to discover how human motion looks like or look for some other references, like stock videos on internet
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well the basics i got under control.. otherwise i wouldnt be able to make this last one either, right ? so no need to explain the basics.. i need the advantage lessons..
i really like your animations, but they are all based on cartoon motions.. it doesnt have a lot to do with realistic movement.. the way you have particals under control is awesome tho.. that must have taken forever to understand how that works.. what program did you use for the particals ?
and no, i mean if you use only keyframe sets then you end up with a robotic movement.. what you need is offsets from keyframe movements.. so things dont happen all at the same time.. a body isnt waiting for one movement so it can start an other.. swings of arms and legs have an overlap, an offset from each other.. and the trick is to get that to work..
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thank you very much saph
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i really dont think it matter what kind of walk you are making.. the problem is understanding how the body moves.. what happens when yuo take a step.. with cartoon character is it doesnt really matter if things are off cause we kind expect them to be off.. but the problem is with realism is if on finger is out of place we will notice it.. and that is the hard part of it all.. now if you know how a human but reacts when we walk you can make any walk you want, simple cause you know what to except.. and that is what i need to learn now.. for example.. when the left foot steps in do you know what happen the rotation of the neck.. what angle the arm is compared to the leg.. how far the rotation is on the hip.. if you know all this you can make walk cycles really easily.. i have seen people on youtube doing it over and over again.. and getting amazing results.. its all matter of practice and knowhow and understanding.. and not about the kind of walk...
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yeah you are totally right - about "body motion knowledge" at least, I still don't agree with you about cartoon animations, just look at the pixar! their animations are hyper real (because of the cartoon 'non-natural' characters you are probably saying what you are saying [like most of the uninitiated people]), if you want super realistic human motion (non-perfect, low possibilities) see motion capture.
Animating is such kind of thing that no one can actually teach you how to do it, one can tell you the basis, but cannot show you the way he sees it, just like in painting, so I guess I can't give you any good advices from now on (because you said you know the basics)
What I just wanted to tell you is whats wrong with your base keys, but if you got it all adjusted as you want I cant provide you any better tips than saying those obvious stuff like: foots are sliding a little or heel is raised too fast.
I wish you getting better and better and make more epic/sexy poses, models, and well... animations
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i dont think you fully understand what i mean.. when you are animating a cartoon character you dont need a lot of detail on the movement to make it believable.. the guys at pixar use a lot of complicated movements on their characters which works perfectly fine and looks really awesome.. you can always put more detail in a character.. but what im saying is less works too on a cartoon character.. which doesnt mean if you put more then it wont work.. it does.. but less works too simple cause our brain is not expecting a lot of different details in it.. for example.. breathing on a cartoon character is not a must.. you can apply it and it will add an extra feature to the whole character.. but you dont need it to make it look believable.. now leave this out of a animation where you are trying to simulate realism.. then it wont work.. so on cartoon character its easier to create a believable animation and you dont need a lot of details to make it work.. again which doesnt means that you arent able to apply more details.. and same goes for movement on joints, hair, and clothing and so on and on..
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thanks a lot..!!!
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Hey, much improved! Looks pretty real now.
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hehe.. cool.. thank you very much, babes..!!!
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You're welcome. 
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Almost there. It's the best one yet.
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